A Nomination (Again)

Posted on September 18, 2025 by Pete

Chewing on my readings this morning and the thought came that a lesser-known guy in the anti-climactic part of the crucifixion story is deserving of an exhibit in the Hebrews 11 “Hall of Faith.” How come? Because he did what he did because he was looking for a kingdom.

Went back through my journal to see if this was a first-time thought. Apparently not. Here’s how it came out 14 years ago.

It was a pretty bold move. Bold because it required him to go directly to Pilate . . . bold because he had already been a dissenting voice on the decision and the subsequent determination . . . bold because he was taking a stand that, if discovered, would not be popular.

And, as I read the brief account by Luke of Joseph’s bold move, a phrase captures my attention . . . a phrase which I think indicates he was a man of faith . . . a phrase which I think demonstrates that he was Hebrews 11 material.

“Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, who had not consented to their decision and action; and he was looking for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid Him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid.”

(Luke 23:50-53 ESV)

Joseph, it would seem, had believed Jesus could be the promised Messiah — the promised King. And so, he was looking for the kingdom of God. And even though he couldn’t make any sense of what had just happened on the cross, he was compelled to boldly step out and honor Jesus in the way available to him. What a dead Messiah had to do with the kingdom of God was probably a bit beyond him, yet he acted.

Talk about faith! Talk about my nomination to induct Joseph as an honorary member of the Hebrews 11 “Hall of Faith.” Tell me he didn’t have the same qualifications . . .

“These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared for them a city.”

(Hebrews 11:13-16 ESV)

There is something about believing that this world is not the final answer . . . that beyond this time and space there is a kingdom . . . a city prepared by God . . . a better country to be part of . . . a heavenly citizenship to embrace. And, it seems, when that clicks, the fire of faith is fueled and bold acts follow. And that’s the stuff of the examples listed in Hebrews 11 . . . great men and women of faith . . . possessing not just a believing faith but also a bold, take action faith.

Faith doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll fully understand the whys . . . doesn’t necessarily mean that “we’ll win” . . . doesn’t necessarily promise a happy ending (this side of heaven). But when, through Spirit of God and by the grace of God, we become wired to look for the kingdom . . . to seek the homeland . . . to desire a better country . . . then, I’m thinking, it affects our the decisions we make and the actions we take here and now.

It sure did with Joseph. It would have been the simplest and least risky thing just to walk away with the rest of the crowd after the execution. Or, at the very least, have “stood at a distance” with the other followers of Jesus (24:49).

But no. Instead — though he didn’t make a big show of it (John 19:38) — he took a step forward from the rest of the line . . . a courageous step forward. Compelled to honor this Jesus in whom he had come to believe, he boldly asked for His body. And then he buried it in a tomb that others would know was his tomb. Because he looked for a kingdom.

And so, this morning Joseph of Arimathea gets my nomination to be inducted into the “Hall of Faith” . . .

By faith, Joseph honored Jesus
— even though the Christ had been crucified —
because he looked for a kingdom,
the kingdom of God.

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

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Looking Forward

Posted on September 17, 2025 by Pete

Entered the Hall of Faith this morning, Hebrews 11. Though I have a “seasons pass”, as I enter and behold the exhibits again, I’m struck that I really should be visiting here more often — more than my once-a-year reading plan visit. It stirs something deep within. What fuel for the soul!

I welcome again its welcome as I behold afresh the plaque over the hall’s entrance:

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

(Hebrews 11:1 ESV)

Faith is “the reality” (CSB) of hope. It is “the substance” (NKJV). It is “the title deed” (WNT). It is “the fundamental fact of existence . . . It’s our handle on what we can’t see” (MSG).

What a great definition of faith!

How we need something solid and real in this AI, algorithm-driven world where now even seeing isn’t reason enough to be believing.

And while this definition of faith at the doorway to Hebrews 11 again grounds me, it’s another phrase, found in the Abraham exhibit, that captures my thoughts this morning as a simple, actionable, working definition of faith.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.

(Hebrews 11:8-10 ESV)

For he was looking forward . . .

How’s that for a two-word definition for faith — looking forward?

Faith is helpful when it comes to making some sense of the past. It’s often vital when it comes to enduring the present. But isn’t the “superpower” of faith looking forward? I’m thinking . . .

Abraham ended up going, though not knowing. He packed up and went to live in a land of promise which, quite frankly, didn’t end up being too promising as he died owning but a plot of land where his wife, Sarah, could be buried (Gen. 23). But he died as he had lived — looking forward.

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.

(Hebrews 11:13-16a ESV)

Looking forward reminds you of who you are, reconnects you with your people group, and reinforces your true citizenship, reminding you that you are but strangers and exiles on the earth.

Looking forward sets you on a journey of constant expectation — a journey where each day is enveloped by a hunger for better things which will be realized by seeking a homeland.

Looking forward is the motivation needed to keep on keepin’ on, the reason to refuse the opportunity to return to the land of bondage of slavery — no turning back, no turning back.

Looking forward is what fuels the desire and appetite for another land, a better country, that is, a heavenly one.

Looking forward is looking for a city. A city that has foundations. Built on solid, trustworthy ground. Built on the Rock of our salvation. A city whose designer and builder is God.

That’s our reality. That our assurance. That’s our substance. That’s the handle we hold onto.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Earnest Counsel

Posted on September 16, 2025 by Pete

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Iron sharpens iron,
       and one man sharpens another.

(Proverbs 27:17 ESV)

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

Praise God for friends who engage in earnest counsel.

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

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

Posted on September 15, 2025 by Pete

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

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

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

(Hebrews 10:12-14 ESV)

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

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

For by a single offering, He has perfected us.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

~ Adelaide Addison Pollard (1862-1934)

Done deal! But not done dealing.

Because of grace. For His glory.

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Our HOV Lane

Posted on September 12, 2025 by Pete

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

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

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

(Isaiah 35:8-10 ESV)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We are on the Highway of Holiness.

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

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

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

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

By His grace. For His glory.

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Bad Breath

Posted on September 10, 2025 by Pete

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

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

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

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

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

(Isaiah 30:33 ESV)

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

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

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

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

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

(Isaiah 30:18 ESV)

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

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

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

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

(John 19:30 ESV)

Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Behold our God.

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

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A Delicacy Free Menu

Posted on September 9, 2025 by Pete

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

But who is the “his”?

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

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

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

(Proverbs 23:4-5 ESV)

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

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

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

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

(1Timothy 6:6-10 ESV)

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

Only by His grace. Only for His glory.

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We Wait (2016 Remix)

Posted on September 8, 2025 by Pete

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

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

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

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

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

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

And so, we wait.

Of that Isaiah prophecies as well:

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

(Isaiah 25:9 ESV)

We have waited . . .

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

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

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

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

And in that day, we will proclaim,

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

Only by His grace. Only for His glory.

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The Pompous Pride of All Glory

Posted on September 5, 2025 by Pete

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

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

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

(Isaiah 23:8-9 ESV)

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

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

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

And that’s not just an Old Testament thing.

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

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

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

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

(1Peter 5:6 ESV)

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

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The Blessing

Posted on September 4, 2025 by Pete

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

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

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

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

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

(Isaiah 19:19-22 ESV)

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

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

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

(Genesis 12:1-3 ESV)

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

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

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

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

Hallelujah, what a Savior!

O, what grace! To God be the glory!

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