A Stiff-Necked People

Posted on February 9, 2026 by Pete

Like a dog with a bone — that’s Moses. He’s relentless and won’t let it go. And so, the conversation continues just as it had started. “Lord, go with us!”

Moses has just encountered God as closely as any man could. Hidden in the cleft of the rock, Moses sees the LORD descend in a cloud; knows the Creator’s intimate presence as God “stands with him there”; feels the rush of wind as the LORD passes by him; and hears God’s voice as the Almighty proclaims His holy name (Ex. 34:5-7). And then, Moses does what you might expect someone to do after such an unprecedented encounter of the divine kind.

Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped.

(Exodus 34:8 ESV)

You might expect that to end the scene. God shows up! Moses goes down! Run the credits . . .

But wait, there’s more. Moses speaks.

Rather than just being still and knowing He is God (Ps. 46:10), Moses interrupts such a holy moment by bringing up a potentially triggering request (if God could be “triggered”). Rather than bask in the etherealness of the encounter, Moses crashes things back to earth by reminding God again of a stark reality.

And [Moses] said, “If now I have found favor in Your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for Your inheritance.”

(Exodus 34:9 ESV)

Moses! Why break such a moment with such an ugly reminder?

Like fingernails pulled down a chalkboard, like a needle being dragged across a vinyl LP, Moses has to bring THAT up again. You know, that golden calf thing (Ex. 32). That thing that shattered the 10 commandments — literally! That thing that left 3,000 dead at the foot of the holy mount. That thing which resulted in God’s refusal to continue journeying with the people to the promised land lest He “consume them on the way” (Ex. 33:1-3). Moses, after such high and holy communion, why bring that up again?

‘Cause it was the whole point. Moses wanted to see God’s great glory, in order to know again the depth of God’s giving goodness and be assured afresh of God’s going grace. That glory encounter happened because of Moses’ post golden calf plea, “If Your presence will not go with me, do not bring me up from here” (Ex. 33:15-16).

And here’s the thing that grabs me this morning: the reason Moses gives the LORD for going “in the midst of us” is not that they were saintly saints but that they were a stiff-necked people.

Obstinate (NASB). Stubborn and rebellious (NLT). Hard-headed (MSG). That’s the price of admission for needing the glory of God to fuel the grace of God in order to know the goodness of God as God goes with you “in the midst.” It’s because getting to the promised land was not something they were going to do on their own. No matter how hard they might try to “straighten up and fly right”, they would always be prone to being stiff-necked and veer off course. And that’s why Moses pleaded, “O Lord, please go in the midst of us.”

So often we miss the presence of God because we fail to see our need for the presence of God or refuse to believe that God really does dwell with those who are “contrite and lowly in spirit” (Isa. 57:15). We fail to know His leading because we think we can trust our own GPS. We fail to know His grace because we won’t admit our need and weakness (2Cor. 12:9) — our weariness, our mourning, our feelings of worthlessness, our failures, our stiff-necked sin.

If we have found favor in Your sight, O LORD, go in our midst. Not because we’ve earned it or merit it. But because, knowing ourselves, we desperately need it!

It’s then that we can know afresh the solid footing of being set in the cleft of the Rock. It’s then we can experience anew the glory passing by as the goodness of God’s name is proclaimed. It’s then we can fall to our faces in worship and persistently plead, “I’m a stiff-necked person, Lord — a sinner saved by grace. Please continue to go in the midst of us.”

Only because of His boundless grace.

Only for His everlasting glory.

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They Said, “Yes”

Posted on February 4, 2026 by Pete

They had been schooled by the Master. Taught in parables. First, as part of a “public school”, Jesus having first spoken a number of parables to the “great crowds gathered about Him” (Matt. 13:1-35). Then, the disciples were privately tutored. Presented with additional insight concerning fields, weeds, and the harvest at the end of the age, followed by three additional, short-snapper parables (Matt. 13:36-50).

And, as any good teacher ought to do, He gave them a test. A simple, single question, “Yes” or “No” test.

“Have you understood all these things?”

(Matthew 13:51a ESV)

“Are you starting to get a handle on all this?” (MSG) Is it ALL coming together? Got it?

That’s quite the question. Especially if it’s viewed as the be-all and end-all determiner of whether they passed or failed the course. But they were quick to respond.

They said to Him, “Yes.”

(Matthew 13:51b ESV)

Yes, Master. We get it.

I can’t help but wonder if they were rightfully answering or just giving the right answer. The former, possible as they had “ears to hear”, hearts ready to receive the seed of the word of the kingdom, and the Author of the Word sowing the seed firsthand. The latter, though, also a possibility. Who, after all, would have admitted that simple stories about treasures and pearls and nets were too much for them to grasp. Who would risk saying, “No” in front of the others? And — I’m not gonna lie — if for some of those disciples they were just giving the right answer, then what Jesus says next kind of brings a smile to my face.

And He said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

(Matthew 13:52 ESV)

Got it? Good, says Jesus. Congratulations! You are now scribes trained for the kingdom of heaven.

A scribe? A learned man? Someone trained in the Law? Someone qualified to share the Law? Someone who could be expected to speak to the Law? Or, as the case might be given their recent schooling — someone trained in the Kingdom, qualified to share about the Kingdom, and able to speak to the Kingdom?

Wait a minute! I’m a fisherman, a tax collector, a political activist, some guy who was sitting under a tree and responded to a call to come. Me? A scribe? A learned one? Uh, uh, I’m no academic. Not a brain. I’m just a follower.

Yup, says the Master. A follower who has been taught something. Has gained some insight into the good news of the kingdom. Now, a follower who can teach what he’s learned of the kingdom. What you’ve grasped now regard as treasure in your house. New treasure to go along with the time-tested gems of Moses and the Prophets. Not treasure to be stored up and hidden, but to be brought out and distributed.

If some of those disciples weren’t really picking up what Jesus was laying down, but were just giving the right answer, can you imagine the shock when all of sudden they “pass the course” and are conferred the title, “Scribe”? I find it kind of amusing.

But the amusement fades quickly as I chew on the implications of being taught by Jesus. Because they got it, they were expected to give it. What they had freely received they were expected to freely give (Matt. 10:8). They were not instructed by Jesus so that they could be reservoirs of knowledge, instead they were to be channels of blessing.

What they had learned about the kingdom was to be regarded as a sacred trust to be shared with others. They were now expected to be teachers and interpreters to others. Not necessarily behind a public pulpit, but certainly around their own dinner table. Not expected to be an orator, but at least open about their faith. Not that they should be regarded as some expert, but that they would be noticed as an everyday guy, or everyday gal, who had been with Jesus.

They said, “Yes.”

Yes, they got it — at least to some degree. Now, they were to give it.

Only by His grace. Always for His glory.

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Up and Down Intercession

Posted on February 3, 2026 by Pete

Don’t know how long it took Moses back then, but today there’s apparently a well-worn, 4.2 mile trail that allows you to hike up to the top of Mt. Sinai and back in about 4 to 6 hours. Covering a thousand foot vertical from the base of the mountain, when you’re at the top you are actually 7,500 feet above sea level — not incidental. So how come the interest in Mt. Sinai’s elevation? Because what hits me as I’m reading Exodus 19 this morning is the up and down nature of intercession.

First, Moses goes up to God (Ex. 19:3). Moses went up in order to receive what God wanted him to tell the people (Ex.19:4-6). Moses went up, but the people couldn’t go up (Ex. 19:12). So, Moses goes down (Ex. 19:14).

Then God calls Moses to the top of the mountain again. And Moses goes up again (Ex. 19:20). Only to receive more instructions for the people. So Moses goes down again (Ex. 19:25).

But, there’ll be another round trip. For God also tells Moses, “Go down, and come up bring Aaron with you” (Ex. 19:24). Whew! That’s a lot of hiking, a lot of up and down.

Up and down. Up and down. Up and down. That’s what it took for Moses to be the go-between he was tasked to be. That’s what it took for him to be the messenger God had called him to be. It’s kind of written into the job description of someone who is to intercede between a God who is “high and lifted up” (Isa. 6:1), dwelling in a “high and holy place” (Isa. 57:15), and those confined to the third planet from the sun. Up and down is just what’s needed when, as the author of Ecclesiastes puts it, “God is in heaven and you are on earth” (Eccl. 5:2).

Yet, even Moses’ willingness to remain faithful to such a yo-yo ministry, wouldn’t have been enough unless God was willing to condescend in a unidirectional trek Himself.

And the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever. . . For on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.”

The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

(Exodus 19:9-11, 20 ESV)

The LORD came down . . . That’s what I’m chewing on this morning.

No matter how high Moses could climb; no matter how many laps his legs could endure, unless the LORD came down there’d be no ministry of intercession. 7,500 feet above sea level just wasn’t going to cut it. The LORD needed to come down in order to bridge the gap between heaven and earth. Apart from His will and His work, man’s efforts towards hearing God’s voice would never be enough.

True then, true now. The LORD came down.

In these last days God “has spoken to us by His Son.” He has made Himself known by the One “through whom He also created the world.” Jesus, Second Person of the Trinity, the promised Christ, “the radiance of God’s glory”, bearing “the exact imprint” of God’s nature, upholding “the universe by the word of His power.” Our forever intercessor who came down “making purification for sins” and is now “sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” (Heb. 1:1-3)

Thankful for Moses’ ministry of mountain climbing and his up and down intercession.

In awe of God’s mercies in descending from heaven, in coming down so that intercession might be available for those He came to save to the uttermost (Heb. 7:25) — this day and forever.

All because of grace. All for His glory.

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Bad Weather Worship (2018 Rerun)

Posted on February 2, 2026 by Pete

Where I just see a storm, David saw a stage. Spirit, give me eyes to see.

Here are some thoughts, from a few years ago, on the Psalm that caused me to pause this morning.

A thunderstorm . . . that was the trigger. Foul weather, the inspiration for the song.

Whereas in Psalm 8 it’s the moon and the stars which provoke awe-filled wonder . . . and in Psalm 19 it’s the sun acting as the catalyst for declaring the glory of God, this morning, it’s a loud tempest that evokes praise in Psalm 29. So, I’m noodling this morning on bad weather worship.

Unlike David, how infrequently I connect the every day happenings of the creation with the Creator. Day after day the winds blow and the rain falls and I just brood about being wet. The rivers rise and I worry. The power of the sun is blocked by a massive enveloping cover and I’m thinking about the need for vitamin D supplements.

But what if the endless rain were to bring to remembrance the abundant out-pouring of His grace? A downpour experienced daily, but unable to fully comprehend it’s source. No apparent end to its supply. Filling streams and rivers and seas to overflowing. So much so that it causes us to respond, as another songwriter has written, “If grace is an ocean we’re all sinking.”

Or what if the winds were a reminder of how the Spirit of God works? With unseen, yet blatantly obvious power. Blowing where it wishes. And, though we hear its sound, we don’t know where it comes from or where it goes to (Jn. 3:8). Except to know that the Spirit brings dead people to life. That He enables deaf people to have ears to hear. That He intercedes when dumb people can’t find the words to say. That He is a deposit for redeemed people guaranteeing what is to come. A mighty, rushing wind come from heaven, apportioning divine enabling as He purposes (1Cor. 12:11).

And what if the cloud cover–that day after day after day of cloud cover–what if it were less a source of lament and more a reminder of the Father’s enveloping presence? Instead of seeing the grey skies as something to roar against, I rejoiced afresh in the refuge that is mine in the shadow of His wings. Reminded that, just like the seemingly endless cloud cover, “You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings I will sing for joy” (Ps. 63:7). That the skies can be more than a constant grey to be endured, but could be creation’s cue to again sing with the psalmist of God’s faithfulness: “How precious is Your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of Your wings” (Ps. 36:7).

Yeah, to be more like David. Where, in Psalm 29, the thunderstorm isn’t just the thunderstorm, but it’s the voice of God. The voice over the waters. Breaking cedars. Flashing forth flames of fire. Shaking the wilderness. Causing animals to go into labor.

Where every day (literally “every day!”) common atmospheric conditions reveal a God who is anything but common. Declaring, if we’ll but take notice, that Jehovah is “full of majesty.” And reminding us that “in His temple all cry, ‘Glory!'”

I encounter bad weather and often wring my hands. David encountered bad weather and worshiped.

Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings,
       ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name;
       worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness. . . .

The voice of the LORD is powerful;
       the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.

The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
       the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.

(Psalm 29:1-2, 4, 10 ESV)

Oh, to be more like David. To know more of bad weather worship.

By God’s grace. For God’s glory.

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God’s Offspring

Posted on January 30, 2026 by Pete

If ever there was a man zealous for the kingdom of heaven on earth, it was Paul. So to eavesdrop on him “confronting” a city full of idols (Acts 17:16); to observe him “battling” those who reduced God to an inanimate object after their own image and imagination (Acts 17:29); to learn from him what it looks like to “stand against” times of ignorance (Acts 17:30), I think would, at the least, be instructive, and might even be quite helpful. So how does Paul take on these enemies and idolaters shrouded in ignorance? What rhetoric does he employ?

How does he identify their tribe? God’s offspring, that’s how.

“And [God] made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find Him. Yet He is actually not far from each one of us, for

       “‘In Him we live and move and have our being’;

as even some of your own poets have said,

       “‘For we are indeed His offspring.‘

Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.

(Acts 17:26-28 ESV)

God’s offspring . . . We are indeed His offspring . . . That’s what’s hit me this morning.

While a sinner might be many things, at their most fundamental, they are God’s offspring. While an idolater might transgress the first and second commandments in various ways, they are first God’s offspring. Though the blasphemer and the workaholic might refuse to honor God as they should; and while the murderer, the sexually immoral, the thief, liar, and coveter might refuse to respect other humans as they should, still they enter this world as God’s offspring.

For

God created man in His own image,
       in the image of God He created him;
       male and female He created them.

(Genesis 1:27 ESV)

In defending the faith there may be a place for escalation of words. But that is not the first place. In contending for the truth there might be a time to shake off the dust from our feet (Mt. 10:14). But that is not the first time. Instead, as Paul did, I think it wise to regard those who are not with us (Mt. 12:30) still as God’s offspring.

If nothing else, it helps set the right tone.

For

The Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

(2Timothy 2:24-26 ESV)

Not quarrelsome . . . kind to everyone . . . patiently enduring evil . . . correcting his opponents with gentleness . . .

Easier to do, I think, when we see “the other side” as God’s offspring.

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

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A Song for the Redeemed

Posted on January 29, 2026 by Pete

It’s a song to be sung when your season is one of trying to hold on for dear life. A song for when the natural thing to do is to be fearful and afraid as you look out on an all too familiar battlefield. Whether it’s facing flesh-and-blood foes or enemies of circumstance and situations, it’s a song for when you look out on the day and there are adversaries again encamping against you, ready to war with you (Ps. 27:2-3). For it’s a song that focuses afresh on the LORD who is “my light . . . my salvation . . . the stronghold of my life” (Ps. 27:1). A song that refuses fear. A song that sets again the heart towards one thing:

One thing have I asked of the LORD,
       that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
       all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
       and to inquire in His temple. . .

You have said, “Seek my face.”
My heart says to You,
       “Your face, LORD, do I seek.”

(Psalm 27:4, 8 ESV)

Gaze upon His beauty . . . Seek His face . . .

Turn your eyes away from the battlefield. Focus your heart away from the fight. And look to the One who will hide you in His shelter, conceal you under the cover of His tent, and lift you high upon His Rock (Ps. 27:5). Cry out to Him to teach you His ways, lead you on level paths, and give you not up to the will of your adversaries (Ps. 27:11-12). And do it with a song.

How?

By faith.

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD
       in the land of the living!

(Psalm 27:13 ESV)

The NKJV translation of this verse, with its translator added context, hits home.

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living.

(Psalm 27:13 NKJV)

Though today’s battle may look a whole lot like yesterday’s battle (and the days of battling before that), what’s the antidote for the propensity to despair? It’s believing we will see the goodness of God. And not just in some future, ethereal, “there and then” place and time, but “here and now” in the land of the living.

For we hear His voice as we read His word. Then, by faith, we purpose to seek His face and to gaze upon His beauty. And thus, we know again His shelter and His strength. Even as we are confident we will look upon His goodness.

And so, we keep on keepin’ on with a song — a song for the redeemed.

Only by His grace. Always for His glory.

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Saved to Serve (2024 Rerun)

Posted on January 28, 2026 by Pete

Two years ago, the words popped as I was getting ready to fly down to the “Golden State” to see two of my daughters and their families. This morning, I’m sitting in the “Beaver State” — both families having moved here shortly after that visit. And reading in Exodus 9 this morning, the thought forms as it did two years ago: The people of God are saved to serve. God’s people are rescued from slavery to sin in order to serve a Sovereign in righteousness. They are led out of the darkness of Egypt to serve as light for a coming kingdom. While we are no longer subject to the power of the prince of this earth, yet we belong to and submit to Another, the King of heaven. Saved to serve. Here’s how those thoughts came together a couple of years ago.

Flying down to the Golden State tomorrow morning to see kids and grandkids, so decided on doing a double reading in my reading plan this morning. It bore the unexpected fruit of picking up on one of those repetitive drumbeats often found in Scripture. An echo which reminds me that deliverance from one master is really for the purpose of serving another.

Ask someone who’s read Exodus (or has watched Charlton Heston in “The Ten Commandments”) what Moses’ ask was of Pharaoh and most are gonna be pretty quick to quote that famous line, “Let My people go!” And they’d be right. Mostly.

This morning, I’m chewing on the reason behind the ask.

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve Me.” ‘ ”

(Exodus 9:1 ESV)

Encountered that they may serve Me three times this morning. That’s three of the six times it is spoken by Moses’ during his showdown with Pharaoh. Three times that arrested my attention and reminded me that while salvation is about freedom, that freedom is found in serving the Lord.

Let My people go isn’t just about being delivered from the tyranny of a wicked taskmaster. It’s also about being delivered unto the rule of the True Master. It’s about having ownership transferred and becoming the servant of Someone else (1Cor. 7:22, Gal. 1:10, 1Pet. 2:16). Not about being released from bondage in order to serve myself but being bought with a price so that I’m no longer my own and now belong to Another (1Cor. 6:19-20).

But at its core, the servanthood of deliverance is different. I was reminded of this too in another reading this morning.

“Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” ~ Jesus

(Matthew 11:28-30 ESV)

My Deliverer is now my Master. My Redeemer, now my Lord. But my Savior is also a Shepherd.

My task is to trust Him as He leads so that I might know His rest. A rest found in taking upon myself His yoke which is easy and knowing that whatever “burden” he calls me to bear will be light, for He bears it with me. Saved from slavery in order to serve Another. Saved for my good but saved for His glory.

“Let my people go, that they may serve Me.“

That’s the cry of deliverance in its fullness. The cry of deliverance which leads to flourishing.

Deliverance by His grace. Deliverance for His glory.

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Not a Straight Line

Posted on January 26, 2026 by Pete

It reads so simple. It all sounds so clean. The plan is clear. The outcome is promised. And yet, I’ve read this story a few times. I know what’s coming. I know how this is going to play out. And let’s just say, it’s not a straight line.

It’s been a long time coming. The oppression has been happening for a long time. The crying out to heaven has been happening for a long time. The preparation of a deliverer has been happening for a long time.

But now, Moses is on the doorstep of all that changing. Actually, he’s barefoot and on holy ground. And he hears the plan.

Then the LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

(Exodus 3:7-8a ESV)

I’ve seen the affliction, says the LORD of Hosts. I’ve heard the cries. I know the suffering. I have come down to deliver. I’m getting directly involved.

Yes! Amen! Finally!

Goodbye Egypt! Hello land flowing with milk and honey.

Clear. Simple. Easy. If God is for us, who can stand against us? Let’s go! We’re outta here!

But if you know what’s coming, while the plan might be clear, it will be anything but simple and easy. While their prayers and pleadings will be answered, the pathway will come with new problems and pressures. While God’s promise is sure, the people will be fraught repeatedly with questions. That’s kind of how deliverance goes. Often that’s how answered prayer goes. It’s not a straight line.

And so, we walk by faith. Believing in the future, trusting in the moment, even as we dodge (not always) what’s being thrown at us along the way.

For my family, this last week’s been a roller-coaster. Looks like we’re ending up where we should, but we weren’t expecting the ride, nor anticipating the turns it took. Repeatedly, just when we thought there was clarity, there was more confusion. Just when we started feeling some peace, there arose another reason to panic. Not a straight line.

But God is faithful. He knows the plan. And we can rest (try to rest) knowing that the plan is always in line with the promise. The promise of being conformed into the likeness of His Son (Rom. 8:29). The promise of “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (1Peter 1:4).

But it’s not a straight line. From here to there, we can expect “‘various trials” to test the “genuineness of our faith” (1Peter 1:6-7a).

And in this, God sees. God hears. God knows. And God has come down to deliver.

With ever-present, over-flowing, abundant grace.

That it might “be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1Peter 1:7b).

Amen?

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Stay In the Game (2024 Rerun)

Posted on January 23, 2026 by Pete

Too soon to rerun a 2024 post? Apparently not.

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Acts 14:21-22 ESV)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Only by His grace. Always for His glory.

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I Will Go Down with You

Posted on January 22, 2026 by Pete

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

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

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

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

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

(Genesis 46:1-4 ESV)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hear afresh His words:

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

(Matthew 28:20b ESV)

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

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

By His grace. For His glory.

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