The Cup

For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup

with foaming wine, well mixed,

and he pours out from it,

and all the wicked of the earth

shall drain it down to the dregs.

Psalm 75:8

In the hand of the LORD a cup is lifted high,

Foaming with justice, mingled and strong.

He tips its edge neath a darkened sky.

and righteousness pours out where wrong ruled too long.

The proud sinners recoil as bitter rains fall,

Their hidden sins drawn into God’s light;

Kings and beggars alike hear the same call,

each drop of judgment witnessing to the right.

Down to the dregs the wicked drink their due,

no lie survives, no refuge found;

The wine exposes every deed untrue

until the last drops splatter on the ground.

Yet on the cross the cup was lifted still.

As Jesus drank what wrath and justice decreed;

The grave lay silent, emptied by God’s will —

and a new cup celebrates how in mercy we’re freed!

confident faith and hope

​He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. 1 Peter 1:20-21

These verses lift our eyes past the tunnel vision moment of “now”. They anchor our faith in the loving, eternal plan of a wise and gracious God. Before the universe began, Jesus’ sacrifice was already foreknown— meaning the cross was no accident. God’s love was an intentional and eternal rescue! In just the right moment in time, Christ was born (made manifest), lived, and died for OUR sake so that what was planned in eternity is now real history to be known personally by all who believe. We are reminded that our salvation rests not in human circumstances or our own feeble efforts, but on the unchanging purpose of a wise and loving God!

Peter directs our focus to the heart of the gospel: the vicarious death and resurrection of Jesus. He suffered and died in our place, bearing sin and punishment that we could not bear, so that through Jesus we truly can believe and know God. His resurrection declares that His sacrifice was perfect, sin’s power defeated, and death is now dead to us. When God raised Him from the dead to His glory, He testified that the full price was paid… our redemption is now complete. Our faith is not a mere wish— it is grounded in this historical, verifiable, and victorious deliverance planned by God from all eternity.

That is how our faith is securely grounded in God Himself. There is no hope in self-effort, in personal consistency, in human ability, or in our power to do anything “good”. It is all finished and complete in the Cross and the empty Tomb! When suffering or doubts grip us we can always circle back to this truth: Jesus took our place in life and death and He now stands in glory for us! Therefore, Christian, live in a firm confidence that this same God Who planned, accomplished, and confirms our salvation through Jesus carries us in love to Himself forever!

The King to be feared

Make your vows to the LORD your God and perform them;

let all around him bring gifts

to him who is to be feared,

who cuts off the spirit of princes,

who is to be feared by the kings of the earth.​

Psalm 76:11-12

All authority bows to one great rule. There is one God Who overrules princes, potentates, presidents, parliaments, and popes. No earthly power is close to His equal. No one contests Him. All other power is simply granted by His good pleasure alone. He is the source and the ruler of all things. Nobody gets to question Him, deviate from His decrees, or seek a successful rebellion of His supreme authority. All bow to the God of the universe. All must bend the knee, and though many are defiant in heart, none are able to remove the cosmic King from His throne. God is to be feared because He easily cuts off princes and kings.

We need this reminder in a world increasingly obsessed with pathetic human politics. We are kids in a playground by comparison! Communism? A human limited failure. Capitalism? Another flowed losing system. Democracy? Broken by sinners. Authoritarianism? Overruled by the King of Kings. Republics? Vanity exposed by the perfections of the Prince of Peace. Legislatures? Lawless in comparison to His perfect Law. Church leaders? Only good as undershepherds answering to the Great Shepherd and Overseer of our souls. No worldly power can match God’s absolute control. We have no King but Jesus!

Jesus rules politics.

Jesus sets policy.

Jesus saves sinners and administers justice.

Jesus speaks and teaches truth.

Jesus decides the future.

Jesus loves the world and unites hearts.

Jesus judges the earth.

Jesus is Lord of Lords.

Jesus is King of Kings.

Let all bring gifts to Jesus… Him Who is to be feared!

Remain

Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.  James 5:11

It is hard now, Lord

so i call out to Your name

show me strength in Your Word

Today help me remain

Steadfastness in trial

is my heart’s refrain

I obey in self-denial

Oh, help me remain!

I long for Your blessing

I need sustaining grace

My heart now confessing

I look for Your face

I have heard how Job could last

with excruciating loss and great pain

I too must stay steadfast

as You help me remain

So I will press on — go forward

in the hardship and pain

as You direct me running toward

Your care… I remain

I long for the day with You

when I stand by Your side

Eternity’s grand bright view

as faith will then be sight

You will keep me steadfast

through great loss and great gain

until one day at long last

with saints in glory I remain

Lord willing

​

Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”  James 4:15

I must confess that “Lord willing” is not a phrase I use as much as I should. Here it is, Monday morning, and I’ve already had to wrap my head around the tasks of a busy week ahead of me, not just for today, but for the foreseeable future. It’s a rollercoaster ride. And since it is the last week of the month, I am in the task habit this week to look 90 days out, and into the entirety of the rest of 2026. And I am accountable to church leadership for my ministry priorities, which means I try to create measurable goals as a good steward of the riches of the gospel and the kingdom provisions God provides in my church.

It is too easy to get into planning mode and keep all the focus on my personal willpower, time management, people care, and “personal life balance”. But am I really submitting those plans and ideas in worship of the God Who truly is in control of my schedule and Who gave me all the resources of this life to use for His glory and the advance of the gospel?

There is a saying I heard as a young man that has stuck with me in decades of ministry lifestyle: “The plans are man’s but the odds are God’s”. That is a pithy reminder that I should be submitting in humility to God’s will as the ultimate planner and task manager. I can try to manage projects, people, or tasks, but it is the King’s decree, supply, and empowerment that I must seek most of all! I can task list my “Key Result Areas” with pinpoint precision but it is all certainly in vain if God isn’t leading, supplying, and being made much of in all my life.

Lord,

“Your kingdom come, Your will be done in earth as it is in heaven.” I have graciously learned this year that this is “the prayer that never fails”. Align my thoughts with Your will. Make Your agenda mine. And let all that I do count now for eternity!

Amen

Wisdom’s way

Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. James 3:13

Wisdom should be the mental and emotional outflow of a Christian’s walk with God. I intake the wisdom of God by the gospel in God’s Word. The outcome should be visible wisdom observable by others. Wisdom is forming the best plans and actions using the best means. God gives us tested expertise in His Word that enable us to do so. This wisdom will then be known by good behavior and in deeds that are done in humility for His glory. My personal agenda is demoted. God’s will is promoted.

But we live in a fallen world and there can be either a right or wrong wisdom that we can demonstrate. Eve thought that the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would make her wise (Genesis 3:6). She chose a wrong wisdom with wrong moral logic. We easily do the same. I do all the time. This is why we can only be wise with God’s clear revealed wisdom informing, leading, and training us. This can only come by faith, by commitment to follow the gospel, and by obedience to what God clearly reveals in the Bible.

And wisdom will be shown in the dynamics of our relationships with other people. James says it results in righteousness sown by peace by those who make peace (James 3:18). We sow in peace and invest in the future with people. We reap peace as we engage in living out God’s wisdom in life.

Lord,

I believe I will live in Your wisdom as I live by Your Word.

Help me deny myself and my flawed moral logic.

Help me refuse self-interest in favor of the interest of others.

May Your glory define my life in the meekness of wisdom.

Amen

be still

“Be still, and know that I am God.

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!” Psalm 46:10

In the constant noise of a world gone crazy, this invitation (really a command) speaks a vision of peace to every anxious heart. Yet it is so very hard to come away, to make space, to slow the pace of the screaming urgencies and simply “be still and know that I am God.”

Blaring loud alarms awaken us to each new day. A hurried rush to caffeinate, get out the door, and join the wheeled metal herd of bumper to bumper madness starts each day. Along that way perhaps combative talk shows or chatty podcasts numb us from the din of traffic chaos. Perhaps the work day is an endless flow of ringing phones, “urgent” messages, mind-numbing meetings, or incessant information flow demanding our attention. “Break rooms” buzz with 24 hour news channels. Internet news and phone apps keep blowing up our screens with notifications… many of them meaningless. The bustle doesn’t end until we walk exhausted through our front doors after another noisy commute home. This is what most people endure at least in part daily. It is very hard to be still.

Yet stillness is where God says He can be known. He demands we find Him in stillness. It does souls good to cultivate it. I can find it if I make the effort. Yes, it takes work to be still. It can be found on an urban trail walk. It can be found resting on a park bench, Bible open, heart ready to hear from God. It can be found streamside listening to the song of creation in notes of bird voices and the soothing flow of the water. If I will only be still, I will start to know.

So draw my heart to let Your Word dwell in me richly as I find stillness, my Lord! Help me creatively get away… even today… to know my Savior… to enjoy the love and grace of my Father… to feel the nearness of Your Spirit indwelling me. Be still my soul!

Amen

evil partiality

…have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?  James 2:4

There is a natural tendency in humans to evaluate others unfairly using the standard of self-opinion to make wrong judgments. James warns us that we can reason incorrectly. We can adopt wrong standards. We can judge with an authority that we do not possess. We can hurt others and bring judgment upon ourselves by God when we reason our ways into discriminatory and evil distinctions that devalue people and exalt our own standards of importance.

These words were written to Christians seeking to live under love (James 1:8) in the church. But evil thoughts that create an evil partiality can exist among us. The situation that James confronts shows the evil logic of our unholy judgment of other people.

Here is the evil reasoning of partiality according to James:

• We look at outward appearances only — “gold ring, fine clothing” vs “shabby clothing” (James 1:2).
  
• We assign rank or position based on outward appearances — “you sit here” or “you stand over there” (James 1:3).
  
• We ignore the upside-down nature of the kingdom of heaven that chooses to emphasize humility, neediness, and poverty of spirit (James 1:5).
  
• We feed an oppressive cycle by practicing worldly partiality (James 1:6-7).
  
• We sin against humanity and God with our partiality in full practice (James 1:8-12)
  
• We act as if mercy does not exist in God’s gospel-directed order of things in the church (James 1:13).
  

Lord help us! May we learn to love all people… the poor… the despised… the outcasts… the oppressed… as those redeemed by Christ, repentant of sin, to be made new… spiritually enriched… loved by Christ… brought in as kingdom nobles… beloved… and empowered to be used for God’s glory together with us in Christ!

Amen

Beautiful King

Your eyes will behold the king in his beauty;

they will see a land that stretches afar.​..

For the LORD is our judge; the LORD is our lawgiver;

the LORD is our king; he will save us.

Isaiah 33:17, 22

My heart looks up

I long to see

the saving love

of this beautiful king

My soul exults

My praises sing 

of the great love

of this beautiful king

All alone and lost in sin

I’d never known where to begin

until my Savior took my hand

and led me to His gracious land

The Lord’s my judge

to Him I bring

obedience to this

Righteous King

The Lord’s dear Word

the truth I follow

Giver of life now

and tomorrow

The Lord’s my King

and He will save us

my beautiful ruler

is only Jesus

My eyes behold

one wondrous thing:

the saving love

of my beautiful king

No more alone or bound in sin

my Savior lifted me to Him

and now led by His strong hand

ruled by His love in a spacious land

Hearing AND doing: the outcome of trials (James 1:19-27)

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But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.  James 1:22

I must remember that this admonition to have a faith in action from James comes in the context that started with the exhortation to stay joyful in trials of various kinds (James 1:2). During seasons of trial we may be tempted to pay lip-service to the truth of God’s Word while living in our own self-deception. We are warned here to pay attention to doing what we “hear” God saying. We look in the mirror of scripture (James 1:23-25) and then act in change on what it shows us to do.

So there are particular actions to avoid in trial and certain actions to perform as well.

ACTIONS TO AVOID:

• Quick anger (James 1:19-20)
  
• Thoughtless words (James 1:26)
  
• Unfiltered messages (James 1:19)
  

ACTIONS TO PERFORM:

• Listening and control of anger (James 1:19)
  
• Repentance of known sin (James 1:21)
  
• Meek, humble reception of God’s Word (James 1:21)
  
• Careful, deliberate speech (James 1:26)
  
• Care for the neediest among us - widows and orphans (James 1:27)
  

It is noteworthy that so much of the avoidance of sin involves control of speech. And so much of the “real religion” has no speech to it but is evidenced instead in humble, generous action to meet personal need. Faith is found most not in just doctrinal confession (but that is still necessary and good), but in practical expression (the poor and forgotten are esteemed and assisted in a living demonstration of what the gospel does for us all). Difficulties should then bring out the best in the church (real needs met) and not the worst in us (anger, judgment, uncontrolled and unfiltered words, strife, fear, or selfishness).

Lord,

Help me to be a doer of the gospel in these hard times!

Amen

A prayer: blessing in trial (James 1:17-18)

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.  James 1:17

Father in heaven,

By the merits of Your Son I can come to You in prayer, thankful for the good and perfect gift of salvation through the completed sacrifice and resurrection of the Savior You provided. You have given me the good and perfect gift of new life, of a full life, of a forgiven life, and of eternal life through Jesus. And in that gift many more gifts come to me now.

Thank You, Lord, for the gifts of

• Your Word which lights my way… shining down from the Father of lights.
  
• Your Spirit Who indwells the temple of my body, sealing me in Christ, teaching me in Your Word, and comforting me in my struggles.
  
• A new self being created in the image of Your Son. I am now Your new creation!
  

Father, by Your own will You have led me into a new birth, informed by Your Word in the gospel so that I am reborn as part of the harvest of new creation that only Your salvation brings (James 1:18). May I never lose the wonder of this new life.

And all of this is the perspective that helps me endure difficulties. Indeed, my Father, even my trials come from the Giver of every good and perfect gift. You long to create from hardships the very character of Your Son in me… to help me grow in maturity in Christ. And so, unchanging Father of lights, shine Your good on me. May grace from above be the perfect gift seen in all the good times and the hard times of my walk, until that day You carry me home to be with You!

Amen

temptations and trials (James 1:12-16)

​But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. James 1:14-15

Trials can bring with them unique temptations. These can be temptations to doubt, temptations to run to past sinful comforts, temptations to get lazy in spiritual pursuits, temptations to seek self-made solutions, or temptations to blame God. So James reminds us of the blessing of staying steadfast while undergoing trial (James 1:12). God has a crown of life waiting for those who endure in the love of Christ.

Those temptations to blame God are subtle. If we confuse temptations with trial we can easily do so. “God brought this trouble my way.” “God knew I would succumb to this choice in my sadness or my anger”. “God did not provide anything different even though I asked Him to.” “God could have stopped this, so He is the reason I can’t say no.” But God does not tempt us (James 1:13).

How then does temptation come to us in trial? The same way it always comes to us: we are led away by our own selfish desires. We want what we want in a temptation. It isn’t an outside force tugging at us. It is the centrifugal gravity of the weight of our own desire that starts the pull of temptation. This makes us always vulnerable, especially in difficulty. It calls us to constant vigilance over our own hearts.

Also, we must remind ourselves of the path of destruction that temptation creates. Our desires lead us to sin. Sin, left unconfessed in repentance will always lead to death. It may take time. But it does. The death of a person, or of a relationship, or of a reputation… all are the result of sin. All sin does this. Death is where sin ends up. Will we put sin to death by turning from our own evil desires in repentance to Jesus? Will we confess sin to find it put to death in the forgiveness of Jesus on the cross? Or will our sin lead to a death we never wanted until it is too late? As James 1:16 reminds us… Do not be deceived! Stopping temptation in its tracks saves us from death.

humility in trial (James 1:9-11)

For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.​  James 1:11

Trials come with their needed humility. James teaches that the best attitude to endure a season of suffering is to bring humility in with us at the start. He uses social position as an example. Both the rich and the poor would experience persecution in the early church. The lowly (poor) person would be exalted by enduring trial. The wealthy person would need to humbly admit that in the heat of trial they might lose social esteem and even wealth. True hope then is found in God. And getting caught in the deceitful shell game of pursuing riches at the cost of discipleship would be an awful undoing. How much better it would be for the wealthy person to begin with humility rather than end in humiliation.

When I am humbled in trials I have several principles I can cling to for hope and understanding. Here are a few that are worth thinking about during difficulties:

• God exalts the humble in His time. Trials are a means to a better end, if I will trust God’s work in suffering.
  
• The scorching heat of trial shows true worth (character) and wilts what is superficial (worldly accumulation or philosophy).
• Jesus is the example of endurance in trial. He humbled Himself, becoming the Servant. God has now made Him Lord of all. He is my model of humble endurance.
• God sees the heart even if others run from my suffering or judge me in it.
• Humility operates alongside faith and obedience to yield Christlike character. There is no bigger gain or better outcome than that!

asking in faith (James 1:5-8)

​

But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.  James 1:6

God promises to provide wisdom to those encountering trials of various kinds (James 1:5). That promise rests on the character of God Who is generous in ALL of His gifts. It is God’s grace to us that in difficulty He will provide wisdom… wisdom to endure trial… not necessarily wisdom to understand trial and everything behind it. But sometimes we demand all the answers.

Just ask Job. The one line that Job crossed for which he had to repent: He presumed to understand God’s ways. He demanded answers that were not his to demand (Job 42:2-6). Wisdom does not mean that we question God’s authority or demand He explain Himself.

How we ask for wisdom is crucial according to James. Again… Job is instructive. In his pain, Job began to demand answers from the Almighty, moving beyond lament to a place of presumption. Once God made Himself known and confronted Job (and his accusing counselors) with His unique authority and power, this presumption was exposed in Job’s awareness and he quickly repented. 

So we must root our desire for wisdom and perspective in faith in God. That is what James pictures for us: an unwavering assurance in God, not a doubtful pleading that focuses on the winds and the waves of the current trial. It is not faith to demand God explain Himself.

James says such a wavering prayer, driven by fear and doubt, is unstable thinking. He calls such a kind of prayer “double-minded”. You cannot have one eye on heaven and the other on the earth. By faith we must plead to God alone for the wisdom we need, turning from our own presumptions or purposes while suffering. It is the prayer of faith, not doubting, that is rewarded generously. And so to have wisdom given, we must have faith generating our request and hope in God alone.

Lord, forgive my frequent doubting prayers. Like Peter whose gaze saw the waves and he sank, so I am one of little faith in the storm. In seasons of wind, may I ask only of You, looking to You in faith.  Amen

the joy of trials (James 1:1-4)

​Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds… James 1:2

James is encouraging a group of early believers (primarily ethnic Jews) who have been recently driven from Jerusalem and the land of Israel in reaction to a wave of persecution aimed at their faith. They are dealing with hardships of many kinds: economic, political, religious prejudice, family breakdown, and even genocide as some Christians leaders were being arrested, imprisoned, and executed. These “various trials” for them meant life or death. So these words are significant and serious.

Why should they consider this kind of suffering as something in which they find an attitude of joy? I think James emphasizes two reasons why. These reasons also teach them how to find joy amidst trials. First, they needed to remember what was being tested. God was showing the world the strength and virtue of their faith. This made the trials about showing how much God can be believed and trusted. In essence their response answered this about them: Would they trust God in hard times? 

Trials point to the person of God. We should let them do so. Suffering grows faith. That is a great outcome from a gracious God despite a grievous experience.

Secondly, testing of faith will have a rewarding outcome: maturity and completeness. Trials show our faith and as we cling to hope in God we will not be let down. God is faithful. He will see us through. We will grow in Christlikeness, in maturing commitment to God, in understanding God’s character and His gracious care, and in witnessing to the sufferings of Christ in the gospel as we suffer well. It builds (as James puts it) steadfastness of character. And that steadfastness in trial after trial leads us to a mature understanding of life. We trust God even more. We live for His good kingdom even as an evil kingdom tries to discourage us from doing so.

So the testing of faith produces patience, grace, and maturity. It is what we hope for in Christ. And when hope is realized there will be joy in trial. Amen!

James 1: an outline for enduring trial

​If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.  James 1:5

I think I will spend some time camped out in James chapter 1 for a while. The theme of “enduring in difficulty” is carried through all of it, and right now, at the beginning of this new year is the perfect season for me to understand the strengthening and encouraging truths that the apostle James preaches to those undergoing trial. As a pastor, I am actively shepherding several people through the most difficult passages of their lives this year. 2026 seems scary for some. I need James’ words to become my words to them. And individually, I too realize that although there are definite joys ahead for me in 2026, I also know that I must navigate a hard passage first to get to them. I personally really need the wisdom and grace of James chapter one speaking to me to bring the perspective and faith I need to ride out the storm.

A quick flyover of what I want to explore from this rich sermon from James: 

1) the joy of trials (1:1-4). 

2) the wisdom in trials (1:5-8). 

3) the humility in trials (1:9-11).

4) the temptation in trials (1:12-16).

5) the blessing of trials (1:17-18).

6) the outcome of trials: hearing AND doing (1:19-27).

These six facets of trial, suffering, growth, and maturity are vital, significant, and life-building. I want to know them well.

Lord,

Grant me wisdom over the next few weeks as I “camp” in James 1 for Your wisdom about suffering and trial. Help me see Your purpose and help me to trust You through trial. Give me insight into my own experience and truth to help others see Your perspective and wisdom. Grow me in knowing the good in the hard things that will happen.

You grow us only in this broken world by challenges, struggles, opposition, persecution, mistreatment by others, suffering, temptation-fighting, and patience. Help us lean into wisdom as Your people. See us through in order to endure for Your glory and our good!

Amen

Night Songs

You shall have a song as in the night when a holy feast is kept, and gladness of heart, as when one sets out to the sound of the flute to go to the mountain of the LORD, to the Rock of Israel.​  Isaiah 30:29

How my heart will long

for a sweet note of song

as darkness falls

weariness calls

upon my bed I lay

anxious, worn out from my day

O Lord, how long

until I hear the calm

of Your Spirit softly singing?

over me peace bringing

stars shine in velvet sky

as my heart to You will cry

I remember blessings past

when fleeting joy went fast

I too, blessing from Your hand

received good gifts in Your land

All now pleasant memory

makes me hope in what yet can be

Bless me again with gladdened heart

I pray for hope with each day’s start

Heal my sickness and sorrow

Pour Your grace into tomorrow

Singing softly Your praise

Night songs comfort my weary days