The LORD Knows

Posted on December 29, 2025 by Pete

Back to the beginning of my reading plan. A new bible open on my desk. Colored pencils at hand. Let’s a get a jump start on 2026.

Something so grounding in these initial readings. Powerful reminders that God created (Genesis 1:1), God came (Matthew 1:1), God’s coming again (Acts 1:11), and God knows (Psalm 1:6). It’s that last reminder that’s captured my mediations this morning.

The songwriter begins Psalm 1 with a promise: “Blessed is the man . . .” The one who, by God’s grace, refuses the counsel, the way, and the seat of the wicked, sinners, and scoffers. The one who, according to Peterson’s paraphrase, “thrills to GOD s Word” and “chews on Scripture day and night” (The Message). And the blessing? A life likened to a flourishing tree “planted by streams of water.”

Hmm . . . a tree, . . . flowing water, . . . sounds familiar. Like something I read in Genesis 2 this morning. A tree that bears fruit in season, endures forever, and perpetually prospers.

So, take the sovereign, creating God of Genesis 1, make Him the guarantor of the promise of Psalm 1, and hey, you’ve got something to look forward to in the new year.

But then, there’s reality. The experiences — the ups and downs — of last year which have a way of tempering the expectations for this year. A reminder that the certainty of the prize doesn’t preclude setbacks and suffering as we run the race. And while we don’t know what the setbacks and sufferings might be in ’26, we can enter a new year confident in this, the LORD knows.

. . . for the LORD knows the way of the righteous . . .

(Psalm 1:6a ESV)

The LORD knows . . . Chew on that.

Kind of 101-level propositional truth for the believer. But if it’s true — and it is — it is profound truth. It is peace giving truth. And it is propelling truth . . . 2026 here I come.

For I am “the righteous”. Not because of my works or worth, but because I am “in Christ” and His righteousness is credited to my account.

And I have a “way”. A way put in place by the sovereign, creating God of Genesis 1. A way, just as with everything God creates (Gen. 1:4, 1:10, 1:12, 1:18, 1:21, 1:25, 1:31), which works together with all things for good (Rom. 8:28). And because the LORD has charted the way (MSG), the LORD knows the way of the righteous.

The LORD knows . .

I don’t know what ’26 holds. But the LORD knows. I don’t know what blessings and what trials await. But the LORD knows. All I really know is that the LORD knows.

He knows not with just some distant, removed, disengaged awareness, but knows intimately and experientially because Jesus was “made like His brothers in every respect” (Heb. 2:17) — a “way walker” Himself — so that He would be able to sympathize with our weakness (Heb. 4:15) and ready, willing, and able to dispense all-sufficient grace “so that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2Cor. 12:9).

The LORD knows . . .

Not a bad thing to be reminded of heading into a new year. Amen?

By His grace. For His glory.

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Hand on Mouth (2017 Remix)

Posted on December 22, 2025 by Pete

Sticks and stones may break my bones . . . and when the Almighty’s doing the name-calling, that’s gotta hurt too!

Not that God harmfully throws down insults from heaven. But the One who searches the soul and spirits of men will reveal the thoughts and intents of the heart (Heb. 4:12). Not to condemn, but as an invitation to repent.

So, when Job hears God call Him out, there’s only thing to do . . . hand on mouth.

And the LORD said to Job:
“Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?
       He who argues with God, let him answer it.”

Then Job answered the LORD and said:
“Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer You?
       I lay my hand on my mouth.
I have spoken once, and I will not answer;
       twice, but I will proceed no further.”

(Job 40:1-5 ESV)

The Creator has been schooling Job on the inner workings of creation. Using the brush of what can be seen and known by men, God has been painting a picture of power and purpose that transcends their world of gravitational pull. And the Almighty pauses to allow Job a chance to chime in.

After all, Job’s been wanting a one-on-One with the Almighty, and now’s his chance to point out to Him a thing or two. But in turning the floor over to Job, God calls him out, “Speak up, faultfinder.”

Faultfinder. Ouch! Seems harsh. But what’s stated explicitly in the ESV is hinted at in the NIV and NKVJ: “Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him?” I guess if you’re ready to correct the Almighty, it’s because you’ve weighed God in the balances and found Him wanting. You’ve found fault with God. You’re a faultfinder.

There’s a line, it seems. A line between honestly asking questions and arrogantly demanding an audience. Between humbly confessing confusion and insolently calling out the Creator. Job crossed that line. And God loved Him too much to let him stay there. “What do you want to discuss now, faultfinder?”

And Job’s response is the right response. His answer, the only answer.

“I lay my hand over my mouth.”

Nothing to counter. Just contrition. No rebuttal. Only repentance. No argument. Just awe.

Job’s words have dried up. The lesson has been learned. God is God, and nothing less. Man is man, and nothing more.

Sometimes the right response is no response at all. There’s a point where God speaks and ours is simply to listen and acknowledge truth. To confess He is right and admit we have been in the wrong.

Not so God can prove Himself righteous–God has nothing to prove to anyone–but so that we might be restored to Him rightly.

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.

(James 4:10 ESV)

Hand on mouth. Sometimes, when you don’t know what to do, it’s the right thing to do. When there’s nothing left to say, it’s best to say nothing.

Be still, and know that I am God.

(Psalm 46:10 ESV)

It’s His kindness that leads us to repentance (Rom. 2:4).

Such is His grace. To God be all the glory.

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“Woman, Behold Your Son” (2018 Rerun)

Posted on December 16, 2025 by Pete

It’s an annual experience. As best I can recall, the two words, “standing nearby”, have almost always jumped off the page when I’ve worked my way through this day’s reading plan. From the cross, Jesus saw His mother standing nearby.

The words pop because, as is our family tradition, at this time of year multiple nativity scenes are through the house all showing, in some fashion, Mary nearby. Sometimes holding the Son of God in her arms, sometimes kneeling beside a lowly manger looking upon a babe in the straw in wonder at what she was part of.

True at the beginning of her son’s life, true at the end. As she was standing nearby as her son, the Son of God, was crucified.

Here’s some thoughts captured a few years ago.

It’s an annually occurring juxtaposition. Every December I wrap up my reading plan chewing on the death of Jesus at a time of year when so much around me draws my attention to His birth.

Solomon said that “for everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven” and that one of those things is “a time to be born, and a time to die” (Eccl. 3:1-2). True for every man and woman. True too for the One who divested Himself of His heavenly glory and power and determined to fully enter into the human experience. There was a time for Jesus to be born. And, by the Father’s will, a time for Jesus to die.

Though it was the same Jesus, and though the two events were only 33 years apart, in so many ways so many things had changed so dramatically. The anticipation of that silent night giving way to the condemnation of an angry crowd early one morning. The loud song of an angelic host before lowly shepherds, giving glory to God and declaring the birth of a Savior in the city of David, silenced by shouts of “Crucify Him, crucify Him” by stiff-necked chief priests and officers before the most powerful man in Jerusalem.

The Son of God lying in a manager receiving gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh from worshiping wise men, a faint memory as the Lamb of God hung on a cross and was offered but sour wine by indifferent soldiers who just wanted to get the job over with.

But one thing hadn’t changed. One thing is strikingly similar between the idyllic scene around the manger and the chaotic circus around the cross. The mother of Jesus was nearby.

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took His garments and divided them into four parts, . . . This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, “They divided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.” So the soldiers did these things, but standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!”

(John 19:23-26 ESV)

Oh, the contrast between the image evoked by the multiple nativity scenes set up in my home and the picture formed in my mind’s eye as I read in John this morning. The first of a peace filled virgin. Cradling her son as she meditates on angel declared prophecies and shepherd delivered messages. Treasuring up all these things, “pondering them in her heart” (Lk. 2:19). The other of a distraught mother, looking with horror on her derided, naked, and beaten son. Trying to make sense of everything He had told them as she watched Him die.

“Woman, behold, Your Son!”

See Him as the Light of the world come to deliver men from darkness. But know that, though He came to His own, His own received Him not (John 1:11). Marvel that the King of kings should come into the world in such lowly manner and then try and make sense of the darkness that compelled His people to declare they would have no king but Caesar (John 19:15).

Wonder at the Savior born that night, lying in a manger, the hope of the world. Try and comprehend Him suffering as He hung on a cross, the Lamb of God, slain as the final sin offering, the once for all Atonement for the world.

“Woman, behold, Your Son!”

She was there that holy night. She was there that horrific morning.

And Jesus saw her. And He knew her.

Born by her, He would die for her.

The grace of God incarnate. The glory of God manifest.

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

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He Delights in Steadfast Love

Posted on December 15, 2025 by Pete

This year, reading through Micah has been particularly brutal. For some reason (a Holy Spirit reason?), I’ve been more impacted during this year’s readings by the relentlessness and heaviness of God leaving His “holy temple” and “coming out of His place” to “tread upon the high places of the earth” (Micah 1:3). And tread He has — for the better part of seven chapters. And the mountains have “melted” and the valleys have “split open” as God in righteousness judges “the transgression of Jacob ” and “the sins of the house of Israel” (Micah 1:4-5).

So, perhaps it shouldn’t surprise me that Micah wraps his prophetic word with a probing question: “Who is a God like you?”

But I’m struck by the God-breathed answer to the prophet’s rhetorical question. For it is a 180-degree turn from the predominant theme of the book.

Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity
       and passing over transgression
       for the remnant of His inheritance?
He does not retain His anger forever,
       because He delights in steadfast love.
He will again have compassion on us;
       He will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all our sins
       into the depths of the sea.
You will show faithfulness to Jacob
       and steadfast love to Abraham,
as You have sworn to our fathers
       from the days of old.

(Micah 7:18-20 ESV)

He delights in steadfast love . . . That’s what I’m chewing on this morning.

I wrap-up Micah and I can’t help but think, “Oh, the wrath Jesus suffered on my behalf.” And not just for those sins I committed before that moment I first believed, but for the iniquity and transgression of yesterday. For, though yesterday’s sins may not have been as “big” as the sins of my distant past, before a holy God, they are just as offensive. And though I often don’t keep as “short an account” as I should when it comes to confessing my daily sins, yet His wrath is stayed, and His kindness prevails as He patiently leads me to repentance so that He might again pardon iniquity and pass over transgression. All because my God delights in steadfast love.

Behold, our God! A God who delights in steadfast love!

Who is a God like You?

Pardoning iniquity, passing over transgression. Having compassion and pouring out grace. Treading iniquities underfoot and casting sins into the depths of the sea. Showing faithfulness because of promises sworn in days of old. Not retaining His just and holy anger forever. And how come? He delights in steadfast love.

Our God must be provoked to wrath because mercy is His “specialty”, it’s what He “loves most” (MSG). He must be incited to indignation, for His default is to delight in unfailing, unwavering, unconditional love.

Behold, our God! Again!

The God who delights to love with a steadfast love. For our God is love (1Jn. 4:16).

Thus, daily we are recipients of ever new and abundant grace.

And only for His eternal and all-deserving glory.

Amen?

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The Temple Opened (2014 Rerun)

Posted on December 12, 2025 by Pete

One of those mornings where, rather than write in my journal, I read from it. And these thoughts from 12 years ago stir my soul.

What “infinite grace” . . . that I might enter a heavenly place . . . to look on His face!

Glory for me? To be sure.

That the glory might be to Him? Always!

So often I focus on Jesus’ revelation to John as something to be figured out rather than something to be experienced. I can be so intent on the “the trees” that I miss “the forest” . . . so consumed with the facts and what they mean and not spend time in wonder at John’s experience and how it must have felt. Point in case this morning as I sit back and think about the temple opened.

Then God s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.

(Revelation 11:19 ESV)

First, a door standing in heaven was opened and John is invited to come up (Rev. 4:1). Now, the temple of God is opened, and John is invited to come in. John is permitted greater and greater access to the inner sanctum of heaven . . . and so, John draws nearer and nearer as the vision continues to play out on man’s last days on earth.

And it becomes clear to me that as God’s holiness is increasingly revealed, the justification for, and the intensity of His wrath are more understood. Open the doors to the temple, expose the Most Holy Place to the dealings of earth and you might expect nothing less than lightning and thunder, earthquake and heavy hail, to fall upon a world bent on rebellion and transgression.

But what was it for John to see God’s temple in heaven opened? What was it to look into heaven’s Holy of Holies and behold the ark of God’s covenant? Jaw-dropping I’m thinking. Isaiah had a taste of it . . .

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above Him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:

       “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
       the whole earth is full of His glory!”

And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”

(Isaiah 6:1-5 ESV)

Jaw-dropping . . . face-planting . . . awe-invoking. What wonder!

Isaiah trembled because of how aware he was of his uncleanness. John, however, approaches washed in the blood of the Lamb . . . robed in the righteousness of Christ . . . adopted and counted as family with the Son . . . aware of how much he has been forgiven and of what privilege He possesses in the One he has known as Savior.

Today, I can read of the temples of times past and marvel at their function as a place of worship . . . and wonder at what it was like for the glory of God to dwell within their walls. Or, I can be reminded that today God’s people are being built into a living temple . . . a habitation for the glory of God through the Spirit of God.

But what will it be when heaven’s door is opened and I am invited to come up? To, at first, stand at the outer edge of those who, from every tribe and language and people and nation, are gathered around Him who sits on the throne and worship the Lamb in the midst? And then, to see the temple opened . . . and to be invited to draw near . . . that, face to face, I might behold the majesty, the might, and the glory of God. What will that be like? I can only imagine.

When, by the gift of His infinite grace,
I am accorded in heaven a place,
Just to be there and to look on His face,
Will through the ages be glory for me.

Oh, that will be glory for me,
Glory for me, glory for me,
When by His grace I shall look on His face,
That will be glory, be glory for me.

Oh, That Will Be Glory by Charles H. Gabriel

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The Right Filter (2022 Remix)

Posted on December 10, 2025 by Pete

Elihu presents the encore argument.

Job’s other friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite are done talking. Though they came to Job to “show him sympathy and comfort him” (Job 2:11), in trying to make sense of why Job is suffering they have instead speculated on what nature of sin he must have committed that would merit such devastation in his life. But Job doesn’t budge in declaring his righteousness and demanding a day before the throne of the Great Judge in order to plead his case. And so, the friends are frustrated into silence, “they ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes” (32:1).

Cue Elihu. Not sure where he came from, but he’s been listening for awhile. And he’s been getting angry. Angry at Job “because he justified himself rather than God” (32:2). Angry at Job’s three friends because “they had failed to refute him, and yet had condemned him” (32:3 CSB). And so the youngest among the these five men, burning with anger, thinks to provide the answer to the question that no one else has been able to provide.

In essence, Elihu rebukes Job’s friends for condemning Job for sin which Job hasn’t committed. He also rebukes Job for his self-justifying arrogance that because he had no sin God needed to explain Himself. And, most importantly, he reminds his elders about the need for the right filter — that we are to see life’s circumstance in light of who God is rather than see God in light of our circumstance. That hit home today in my reading in Job 34.

“Therefore, hear me, you men of understanding:
       far be it from God that He should do wickedness,
       and from the Almighty that He should do wrong. . .

Of a truth, God will not do wickedly,
       and the Almighty will not pervert justice.”

(Job 34:10, 12 ESV)

Whatever the situation, whatever the circumstance . . . however you try and factor God into it, God cannot act wickedly, He cannot do wrong, He will not pervert justice. Full stop. That becomes at least part of the filter for processing problems, for discerning dilemmas, for figuring out a fallen world.

Job faltered in this filter and demanded God explain himself and defend His sense of justice.

For Job’s friends, even though Job was in fact blameless, upright, one who feared God, and turned away from evil, they had to come up with a sin narrative in order to convince themselves that God wasn’t “doing wickedness” by allowing a “righteous man” to go through the ringer.

Both Job and his friends tried to force an answer to the enigmatic question, “Why do the righteous suffer?”

They did this because they had put God in a box, a box that said that a good God must bring about good things in the life of good people. Neither Job nor his friends were prepared to entertain that suffering under the hand of a sovereign and good God must still be a good God thing for a good God’s purposes — even if those purposes were not at all clear.

Subject God to the filter of our understanding, or subject ourselves to the filter of His revelation concerning Himself? See life’s circumstance and judge God, or see God and trust Him with life’s circumstance in light of who He is?

Seems to me that’s what I’m picking up from what’s being laid down this morning — the need for the right filter.

Only by His grace. Always for His glory.

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No Famine in the Land

Posted on December 9, 2025 by Pete

I’ve been working my way through the Minor Prophets. No beating around the bush with those guys. They don’t have a lot of papyrus to fill so they get their message out fast and they get their message out hard. A lot of judgment prophesied in these morning readings — getting kind of commonplace. But this morning, Amos lays down a judgment that sends chills down my spine.

“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD,
       “when I will send a famine on the land—
not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water,
       but of hearing the words of the LORD.
They shall wander from sea to sea,
       and from north to east;
they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the LORD,
       but they shall not find it.”

(Amos 8:11-12 ESV)

Famine. A pretty common tool in God’s toolkit of judgment. A “go to” retribution designed to get the attention of a hard-hearted, stiff-necked, rebellious people. Sometimes a result of God withholding the natural elements needed for food to be found, sometimes because God calls a foreign army to lay siege to a city. Whatever the cause, something about not eating that’s linked to encouraging a people to have ears to hear what the Lord has to say.

But what if the Lord stops speaking? What if that famine is not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD. What if, though they should awake to their wretched condition, come to their senses, and though they run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, they shall not find it?

No more prophecy. No more preaching. No more pleading for wayward souls to return. No more promises of gracious redemption. Just silence. Nothing but nothing. Kind of makes me shudder!

Oh, the abundance that is ours when it comes to the words of the LORD. Those written words — God-breathed (2Tim. 3:16), living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword (Heb. 4:12). Ready to bear much fruit when it is planted on good soil (Mt. 13:23). So many words, so available, that we can so easily take them for granted. So many words and yet we can find ourselves going days, weeks, and even longer without longing for their taste — fasting from the words of the LORD rather than feasting on them.

Oh, the flood that is ours through the word of the LORD. The living Word. The Word who was in the beginning. The Word who was with God. The Word who was God. The Word who became flesh and dwelt among us. The Word from whom we have received grace upon grace (Jn. 1:1, 14, 16). Why would we be content to not seek to hear His voice, and open the door, so that we might eat with Him and He with us (Rev. 3:20)?

What would it be to have a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD? I can’t even imagine.

Oh, that we would never take for granted the words or the Word of the LORD. That we would come to the table often. That we would come to the table famished. That we would come to the table and be filled.

The law of the LORD is perfect,
       reviving the soul;
the testimony of the LORD is sure,
       making wise the simple;
the precepts of the LORD are right,
       rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the LORD is pure,
       enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the LORD is clean,
       enduring forever;
the rules of the LORD are true,
       and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
       even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
       and drippings of the honeycomb.

(Psalm 19:7-10 ESV)

How sweet are Your words to my taste,
       sweeter than honey to my mouth!

(Psalm 119:103 ESV)

No famine in the land.

By His grace. For His glory.

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No More Tears

Posted on December 8, 2025 by Pete

The fact of the matter is that I am less sure now of how the “end times” play out than I was 30 or 40 years ago. Then, I had it nailed and was ready to spot, identify, and check-off the “signs of the time.” Now I find myself just as sure as I was then of His imminent return, but less sure of exactly how that’s gonna happen. So, when I read Revelation these days I do so — for the most part — trying to keep the big picture in mind. While I try to ask the “literal or symbolic” question as I come to the text, I tend to settle on what’s “for sure” after that time of great tribulation. One of those for sures? No more tears.

Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

“Therefore they are before the throne of God,
       and serve Him day and night in His temple;
       and He who sits on the throne will shelter them with His presence.
They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
       the sun shall not strike them,
       nor any scorching heat.
For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
       and He will guide them to springs of living water,
       and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

(Revelation 7:13-17 ESV)

Good will wipe away every tear from their eyes . . . That’s what I’m chewing on this morning.

Whether the great tribulation is a literal 7-year period or the church age, whether the great multitude (Rev. 7:9) is different than, or the same as the 144,000 (Rev. 7:4-8), what I do know is that their robes have been washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb, and that at some point — whether it’s in heaven or in a Millennial kingdom on earth — they are before the throne of God and that the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd. And while the Son guides them to living water, the Father, as Isaiah prophesied (Isa. 25:8), wipes away every tear.

Count on it! For them. For us too.

No more tears. Hmm . . . Imagine that.

No more tears. Wiped away. Removed. Erased. Blotted out. Obliterated.

No more tears because mourning becomes a thing of the past. No more tears as pain, suffering, and the sorrow of separation are forever resolved. No more tears because the final victory over death is won. No more tears “for the former things have passed way” (Rev. 21:4).

While I may not be sure of the all the details and dynamics of what leads up to the former things passing away, I am sure of this, God will wipe away every tear.

No more tears.

Can’t wait.

Oh, the grace — coming soon — to be anticipated! Oh, the glory — here and now — given to the God whose promises are sure.

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Search Me O’ God . . . ‘Cause I’m Finding Nothing!

Posted on December 3, 2025 by Pete

It’s complicated. Yup, that’s the story of Job.

A man who God Himself repeatedly declares to be “a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil” (Job 1:8, 2:3). And yet, we know that there is “none righteous, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10, Ps. 14:2-3, Ps. 53:2-3) — Job had his stuff; his foibles, his faults, and his failings. And yet again, Job was a sacrificer (Job 1:5), aware that only with the shedding of blood can there be forgiveness of sin (Heb. 9:22). So, he’s a saint whose gotta be a sinner and, like everyone else, is in need of a sacrifice.

But there’s more . . . The complication continues in that Job, fundamentally, is aligned with his non-comforting comforters that sin will bring about suffering and thus, if one’s suffering it must be because of some sin. But Job knows, like we know, that his suffering isn’t tied to any specific sin. In fact, you could say it is tied to his lack of sin — that because he is “a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil”, the God of heaven permits Satan, the ruler of this world, to trouble him (Job 1:9-12, 2:4-6). So, while these flakey friends start grilling a ravaged Job on what sin(s) he must have committed to deserve such sorrow and suffering, Job’s only reply is, “I didn’t do it! Not me!” And so, for Job, life wasn’t making much sense. Like I said, it’s complicated.

Thus, in Job 31, Job starts running through an inventory of potential sins that might merit suffering. Lustful looks at a virgin? Nope. Walk in the way of falsehood? Not me. Making moves on my neighbor’s wife? Uh, uh.

Ignored my servants’ complaints against me? Withheld from the poor when I could have helped? Allowed someone to perish because of lack of clothing? Raised my hand against an orphan? Made gold my trust? Kissed my own hand as I pridefully considered my own splendor above that of the sun or the moon? Rejoiced at the ruin of an enemy, or ignored the hunger of a sojourner? I don’t think so.

I get it, says Job, if what’s happening to me is because “I have concealed my transgressions as others do by hiding my iniquity in my heart” (Job 31:33). But, Job says in effect, I’ve searched my heart, and I’m finding nothing.

And so, he looks outside himself.

Oh, that I had one to hear me!
       (Here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me!)
       Oh, that I had the indictment written by my Adversary!
Surely I would carry it on my shoulder;
       I would bind it on me as a crown;

(Job 31:35-36 ESV)

So complicated is Job’s state that he regards the Almighty as his adversary, his prosecutor. And so, he asks, “Someone give me a hearing! Let me see the indictment!” And what would Job do with such a list of accusations?

I would give Him an account of all my steps;
       like a prince I would approach Him.

(Job 31:-37 ESV)

I would give Him an account of all my steps . . .

I read that. Paused at that. And then shuddered at that. I would give Him an account . . .

Peterson puts it this way: “I’m prepared to account for every move I’ve ever made” (MSG).

Really? Oh, the thought of standing before God and giving an account for every move I’ve ever made. Not just for the sins known, but what about the sins unknown? Heavy sigh!

To be sure, I want God to search me and reveal my sin. But not so I can give an account. But so I can repent in response to such divine, dividing-asunder kindness (Heb. 4:12, Rom. 2:4). So that I can know afresh the forgiveness and cleansing that comes only through the shed blood of the Lamb (Jn. 1:29, 1Jn. 1:9).

While I want my sin to be “found out” it’s not so that I can defend myself but so that I can, by faith, plea again the righteousness of Christ credited to my account resulting from my union with Him. Found out not that the Almighty would be my adversary, but that He would be my refuge.

While I might be finding nothing, thank God the finished work of the cross covers everything.

And that’s not all that complicated.

Because of God’s amazing grace. Only for God’s all-deserving glory.

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Advantage, Us!

Posted on December 2, 2025 by Pete

Though Jesus spoke it to the Twelve, He intended us to hear it as well. Though their ministry would be unique to them and to their time and to their place, the mission was to be shared by all who Jesus would call friend (Jn. 15:15). Thus, what they would need, we would need. And so, advantage, us!

“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you.” ~ Jesus

(John 16:7 ESV)

It is to your advantage . . . chew on that for a bit.

I’m going away, says Jesus, and it will be “better for you” (MSG). “In fact, it is best for you” (NLT). Advantage, us!

The Helper has come. The Comforter (KJV). The Counselor (NIV). The Advocate. The One sent by Jesus, called to draw alongside us. Sent to live inside us. The One who leads the followers of Christ into a deeper truth, and imparts to His disciples a dynamic power, and fills them with a divine presence. Talk about an advantage!

But wait there’s more . . . The advantage isn’t just for our personal benefit but because of our prevailing mission.

And when He comes, He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.” ~ Jesus

(John 16:8 ESV)

More than just deeper truth, dynamic power, and divine presence, the Third Person of the Godhead is sent to disrupt the world. He’s a world-changer.

Okay, isn’t that a bit of overkill? I appreciate the benefit of deeper understanding. I’m all in for more personal power. And yeah, bring on God’s presence. But do I really need a world-changer? Evidently.

“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about Me. And you also will bear witness . . .” ~ Jesus

(John 15:26-27a ESV)

You also will bear witness . . . chew on that too!

The Helper will bear witness, because we are to bear witness. (Like I said, though spoken specifically to the Twelve, also intended for us).

Thus, we need a world-changer, because, within our time and place, we are meant to be world-changers. Testifying through our walk and by our words — as we seek to live in a manner worthy of our calling (Eph. 4:1) — to the reality of sin, and of the true standard and only source of righteousness, and of the judgment already rendered against “the ruler of this world” and the bondage he brings through sin and death (Jn. 16:9-10).

Advantage, us! But not just for us. For the world around us.

We are meant to be channels of power not just cisterns. Acting as rivers of Living Water not reservoirs. A great mission creating a great need met only through the coming alongside of a great Helper.

A Helper who imparts great grace. All for the glory of a great God.

Advantage, us!

Amen?

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