You’re watching over your sheep—the same way you have been for 40 years. It’s the same task day in, and day out.

You’ve circled Midian a million times with those sheep.

You’ve crept up next to Horeb too many times to count.

You don’t know Horeb is the Mountain of God (Exodus 3:1) yet because nothing significant has happened there for you.

Yet as you watch over the sheep your eyes are set on the horizon. You’re watching, you’re active, you’re focused.

You see a fire.

You meet God.

You learn His name.

You’re called and commissioned.

You’re frightened, but you know the I Am.

Now imagine you’re Moses with a phone in your hand.

You’ve had the shepherding gig for 40 years and not much has changed. The task is almost on autopilot by now. So why not just scroll through Facebook for a bit? Why not catch up on the latest Ancient Near East News?

You’re not focused. You’re not watching. You’re not active.

And you don’t see a fire burning in the distance.

You miss God.

This is the hypothetical scenario my brain goes to when I’m considering my own phone usage.

How often am I missing God?

How often am I trading transcendence with the Holy One for transcendence with an algorithm?

How often does the casual check of the notifications, that leads to a 5 minute time warp scroll session, mean that I miss out on a Holy moment with God?

I don’t know.

And I don’t want to over obsess about the possibility and take this thought process to an extreme view—that anytime I blink I’ll miss God.

However, I do want you to consider something as it relates.

Are you allowing for empty space in your day?

Empty space is the time that nothing is happening. It’s slow. It’s quiet. It’s blank.

Our world is fast and loud and our schedules are full.

The empty space is anti-this world and pro-God’s world.

It could be in the car—turn the music or podcast off.

It could be on a walk—silence the cell phone.

It could be at lunch—grab a sandwich and sit outside. Take a real break.

No matter how it happens, we need an empty space. A space in which God can speak. He can be the loudest. We can move at His pace. He sets the tone, standard, and agenda.

Moses allowed for it and it changed the entire course of His life. Perhaps God may have something for you that you’re not expecting.

Thanks for reading.

—Brandon

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I want to encourage you to read Psalm 23, meditate on it, and ask God to help you see how He has drawn near to you in your fear, pain, and needs.

Click here to purchase the same CSB Reference Bible I’m using.

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As part of that transition, I reached out to B&H and asked if I could review this specific Bible. I’ll be honest, I’ve always thought that there wasn’t another Bible publisher that could match Crossway’s work on the Premium ESV translations.

From the moment I pulled this Bible out of the packaging, I knew I was wrong.

Purchase The Bible

The marbled burgundy calfskin leather is near perfect.

The leather is soft, but not fragile. The burgundy is a deep red and textured. The pages appear to have a rose gold type of edging to them, and I may be a Bible nerd here, I guess, but I’ve caught myself just looking at this thing and carrying it around with me.

It’s absolutely gorgeous down to the smallest details.

It’s durable.

As I mentioned in the previous point, this Bible isn’t fragile. I’m convinced it will last a long time, and I plan for it to be the Bible I preach from throughout the foreseeable future.

You may not be a preacher, but if you want a Bible that will last a lifetime. This is a quality pick. This is the type of Bible you can read through, mark up, write notes (because it’s wide-margin), and pass down to your kids one day.

Readability is wonderful, and the references are robust.

Because it’s wide-margin, there’s white space on the page. The text is structured verse-by-verse, which, for me, will be helpful in preaching. I’ve never owned a verse-by-verse Bible, so it’s been something I’ve had to adjust to, but so far I love it. I’ve particularly loved reading Deuteronomy in this Bible.

Not only that, the font is easy to read as well.

The references fit nicely into the second column on each page, and there’s quite a stack of references on each page.

The references add much to my daily Bible reading. I don’t want to pull out my phone to see references on another app. Having these at the bottom of each page has been very helpful and, if you’re new to the Bible, I would highly recommend a Bible like this. My Bible knowledge and familiarity skyrocketed when I started tracking references every time I saw one. This is a perfect Bible for the person new to the Bible.

The three ribbons are so fun.

One of my daughters said, “These ribbons are so cool. When I grow up, I want a Bible with blue ribbons, pink ribbons, gold ribbons, silver ribbons, and black ribbons.” So, let’s make it happen B&H!

In all seriousness, it’s very cool to have three ribbons. It looks good, for one. But secondly, it makes keeping a reading plan a little easier.

Right now I’m reading 1 Samuel but I also want to read a Psalm a day and I want to read in the Gospels. I can keep a bookmark in all three places without a problem.

It has a large concordance

There are 75 pages worth of concordance in the back of the Bible. The CSB team seems to have gone to great lengths to give the reader everything they need to sit with this Bible open for long periods of time without needing to go to the internet to “look something up real quick.” Everything you need is right here in the Bible.

This Bible is a steal at it’s price.

At the time of writing, this Bible is priced at $79 on Amazon. That’s insane. At some point the price will go back up but even at $170, you’re getting a Bible that will last you a lifetime. It will be easy to read, it’s gorgeous, you’re daughters will love the ribbons, and most of all, you’ll be able to dive deep into the text and let scripture interpret scripture.

I highly, highly, recommend this Bible.

Purchase The Bible

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Thanks for reading,

Brandon Moore

I’ve read the ESV for almost the entirety of my Christian life. I’ve memorized passages in that translation, preached from that translation, and spent almost all my devotional time in that translation. You could say my heart's spiritual language is in the English Standard Version.

So why switch?

I’m switching because I realized I—and many others—probably can’t understand it.

I was in front of 600 kids when I was reading a Psalm—giving a call to worship—and I found myself wanting to switch the language to make it make a little more sense to them. The ESV has some beautiful, poetic language, but that language often misses the generation of people growing up with a lack of reading skills.

I found myself having to explain why the sentence was worded a certain way before being able to explain the passage itself.

I heard a theologian say it this way: “The ESV is perfect for people who know the Bible.” And I would agree with this 100%—which is why I loved it for so long. The more I understood the Bible, the more I loved the ESV.

But can I tell you something? My heart is set on discipleship.

My heart is set on reaching the lost and helping a nearly illiterate generation get familiar with God’s Word and hear His voice. That’s why I’m switching to the CSB.

When I read the CSB, I’m consistently refreshed by the simplicity of language. And I find myself understanding the BIble far more than I did while reading the ESV. They’ve been faithful to the original text, yet they’ve made it readable for the average person. Again, I’ve heard it said this way: The Bible was not confusing to the original hearers. The Bible was not written to people with degrees. It was written to normal people who would have spoken the language of the street.

The CSB has done a great job of making the language of the Bible accessible to the common man and woman.

I’m going to be honest: I’m all in on the CSB.

A few weeks ago, I emailed B&H Publishing to share my translation switch with them, and I asked for the opportunity to review one of their Holman Handcrafted Collection Bibles.

A full review of this Bible will go live on Saturday. It’s the CSB Verse-by-Verse Reference Bible, Holman Handcrafted Collection (Marbled Burgundy Premium Calfskin)

At the time of writing, it’s 53% off on Amazon, which is wild. This Bible is far more impressive than I imagined it would be, and I had high expectations before receiving it! Be sure you’re subscribed to get my full review on Saturday.

The best Bible translation is the one you read and understand.

For me, that’s the CSB. This summer, I’ve been reading the Bible out loud to my daughters, and I’ve noticed the language of the CSB is how I normally speak. I’m not using words outside of my normal vocabulary or putting together complex sentence structures as I read. The CSB is actually translated with the common man and woman in mind. I would encourage you to check it out. They have loads of great Bibles, and the one I mentioned above would be a great Christmas present or birthday gift.

Here’s the thing: the next generation is hungry for God and His Word. They want to know God speaks their language. The CSB does a fantastic job of proving that God really does speak the language of the common man. They hit the mark with their “Optimal Equivalence”1 strategy.

Jesus left us with marching orders…

¹⁸ Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
—Matthew 28:18-20 (CSB)

If we are going to be people who teach others to “observe” everything God has commanded us, then we’re going to need a translation of the Bible that makes sense.

The CSB delivers.

Thanks for reading.

—Brandon

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1

The CSB was created using optimal equivalence, a translation philosophy that pursues both linguistic precision to the original languages and readability in contemporary English. We believe that you don’t have to choose between faithfulness to the original text and clarity. The CSB text has been proven to optimize both, making it ideal for preaching and study, and for sharing with others. (From their website)

We realize just how much God loves us when we finally submit to God’s purposes in our suffering. Why? Because we often realize how sinful we are, and only when we realize how sinful we are can we realize how much God loves us.

Passages referenced: Genesis 1-3; 1 Peter 4:1-2; 1 Peter 1; Matthew 26:36-46; Hebrews 12:4

Click here to purchase the same CSB Reference Bible I’m using.

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To support the ministry you can become a paid subscriber on Substack, or you can make a tax-deductible donation to More Than Words Ministries.

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I often find myself repeating words Nick has said from the pulpit in my counsel, writing, and preaching. It would be an understatement to say that Nick, under his own leadership of the Holy Spirit, is a significant reason why I’m doing the ministry God has called me to today. Several years ago, I approached him about this sense I had that I was called to ministry, and he responded with a simple, “Well, duh. We all know that.” I’ll forever be grateful for his unwavering confidence in God’s call on my life.

A few weeks ago, Dr. Floyd released his first book, When You Don’t Know What To Do: Why Desperation For God Matters More Than Clarity

We all find ourselves in situations that are confusing. We’re in desperate need for answers, direction, clarity, and stability. Nick does a fantastic job of redirecting our minds about those situations. Yes, answers, direction, clarity, and stability are good—but most of all we need God. We need more of God than we do clarity. Desperation for clarity often leads to dark places, while desperation for God always brings us into deeper peace and trusting of God. In fact, in our attempts to reach for clarity, we can often reach toward ungodly things/actions. I think this idea is best presented in Chapter 4, in his chapter on King Saul.

“Desperation drove Saul to do some godly things and some ungodly things. The king began in the right direction. He called upon the Lord. He tried to hear from God through the prophets. When God did not speak immediately, he took the ungodly route, abandoned ship, and turned to evil.

Every one of us has a choice to make in the middle of our desperation. Will we push through and wait for God? Or will we let our desperation drive us to wicked decisions? Will we trust the Lord with the details, or will we let the dominoes of our lives fall out of control, causing us to be more off track than we could have ever imagined?”
—Dr. Nick Floyd, When You Don’t Know What To Do, Chapter 4

Nick combines his personal experience with biblical exposition to help us all see that God can change our lives in these seasons of desperation—if we let Him.

Here’s a list of the chapter titles. I share these because if you find yourself in any of these situations, I would encourage you to purchase the book and let God minister to you.

1. When I Need the Presence of God

2. When I Face Uncertainty

3. When Trouble Hits My Family

4. When I Get Off Track

5. When God Seems Silent

6. When I Need Healing

7. When I Get Betrayed

8. When I Feel Exhausted

9. When I’m in the Middle of My Sin

10. When I’m Asking God to Save

Have a great Saturday!

Brandon Moore

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It’s easy to see Jesus as only God—someone who didn’t have to grow up, face trials, learn, etc. But perhaps the most significant way we forget Jesus’s humanity is in His knowledge of the Bible and learning how to live. Jesus grew up learning how to live according to God’s Law and the stories from our Old Testament, but we almost assume He’s immune to such trivialities.

If we’re not careful, we’ll believe that Jesus, in His earthly body, already knew the stories and didn’t need to read the Torah, Writings, or Prophets to understand how to live.

If we pay attention, Luke does not allow us to hold this thought about Jesus.

And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with people.
—Luke 2:52 (CSB)

Luke tells us plainly that Jesus screwed stature, wisdom, and favor with God and man. This means the person of Christ needed to learn. He likely would have memorized the first five books— the Torah—just like every other Hebrew male child would have. He would’ve grown up hearing the stories of the prophets, the kings, and the judges and would have been instructed in wisdom on how to navigate his life in light of those stories.

There are many differences between Jesus and us, but one foundational difference is primarily the fact that he has no sin nature and is in no way corrupt. Philippians 2 tells us that he put aside his deity and clothed himself with humanity. This means that he submitted himself to human limitations. He maintained his God-ness yet submitted fully to his human-ness while on earth. He did not count equality with God as a thing to be taken advantage of. He still had His God nature; he just didn’t use it to his own spiritual, relational, or knowledge advantage. However, because Jesus has no sin nature and no corruption in Him, His relationship with the Holy Spirit is perfect, unhindered, and unbroken. Jesus would have learned so much more, so much faster, than any of us ever could imagine because He would have heard God’s voice perfectly and therefore understood the Scripture without corruption or misunderstanding.

Here’s my point: Jesus learned.

Today, I’m going to be focusing on the reality that Jesus learned to lament. Hebrews says it this way:

During his earthly life, he offered prayers and appeals with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.
—Hebrews 5:7 (CSB)

This is the description of a lament. Lament could be defined as “expressing intense grief.” There are healthy ways to lament, and unhealthy ways to lament. Jesus got it right, of course. But where did He learn this? You could say it happened by instinct—anyone who carries zero corruption in a corrupted world will feel the grief of this world. While I believe that’s a very real reality, I want to make the case today that Jesus could have also learned to lament from a lady named Hannah.

Hannah shows up in 1 Samuel chapter 1. She’s married to Elkanah, but Elkanah is also married to Peninnah. Peninnah was able to have children, but Hannah was childless. Elkanah loved Hannah very much, but Hannah was constantly grieved by her lack of children and the mockery she endured from Peninnah. In a desperate attempt to comfort her one day, Elkanah asked, “Hannah, why are you crying? Why won’t you eat? Why are you troubled? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”1

One day, while Elkanah and Hannah were in Shiloh, where sacrifices and worship happened, Hannah went to pray in the Lord’s presence. Here’s what it says about her prayers:

“While she continued praying in the Lord’s presence, Eli (the priest) watched her mouth. Hannah was praying silently, and though her lips were moving, her voice could not be heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, “How long are you going to be drunk? Get rid of your wine!”

“No, my lord,” Hannah replied. “I am a woman with a broken heart. I haven’t had any wine or beer; I’ve been pouring out my heart before the Lord. Don’t think of me as a wicked woman; I’ve been praying from the depth of my anguish and resentment.”
—1 Samuel 1:12-16 (CSB)

Doesn’t that sound familiar to the way Jesus prayed according to Hebrews? Prayers and appeals to God with loud cries and tears. The only difference was that Hannah was too weary to make a noise.

There’s more.

Here’s how Eli responded to Hannah after she let him know that she’s been praying the entire time.

Eli responded, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant the request you’ve made of him.”
—1 Samuel 1:17 (CSB)

Her prayer was heard.

She eventually got pregnant and had Samuel, who ended up being Israel’s final judge.

What does the text in Hebrews say about Jesus? That he offered up prayers and appeals with loud cries and tears to His Father—and what was the result? He was heard because of His reverence.

Hannah was heard because of her reverence.

It’s not outside of the realm of possibilities that Jesus was reading the account of Samuel as a young teenage boy2 and saw the reality at hand—God hears the prayers of those who lament and entrust themselves to the One who can save. He learned.

I’d like to challenge you the same way I’m challenging myself:

Ask the Holy Spirit to help you to learn from God & His Word the same way Jesus did.

We talk about wanting to be like Jesus.

How He loves.
How He serves.
How He teaches.
How He prays.

Why not try to be like Jesus in how He learns?

Have a great week,

Brandon Moore

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For more about praying prayers of lament, check out these articles:

We often stop too short. We say, “I have faith!” But the type of faith Paul is referring to in Ephesians 6 is faith in a very specific work of Christ. We take a look at that today.

We look at 2 Corinthians 10; 1 John 3; and Revelation 12-13

Click here to purchase the same CSB Reference Bible I’m using.

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Thanks for listening to the podcast today!

If you enjoyed it, you may also enjoy my written content at brandonmoore.substack.com. To support the ministry, you can become a paid subscriber on Substack, or you can make a tax-deductible donation to More Than Words Ministries.

Intro & Outro: Arrival by Riyhsal Free Download / Stream

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I want to offer up 5 encouragements for what it means to be a great dad. There are no shortage of bad examples and often those bad examples are driven by someone’s well intended desire to condense manhood into a controllable box.

As a young dad, it can be challenging to know what to do.

People often say, “Men are like ________ so if we can just do ________ then we’ll be fulfilling our manly, fatherly, and husband roles.”

But being a man is complex and, to use the words of Jason Wilson, we’re called to be comprehensive men. Men who can go to war for their families and cry with them as well.

Here are the encouragements.

Be present when you’re present, and be present regularly.

There are three ways to be present: mind, body, and soul.

Being absent in the body is most noticeable but being absent in soul and mind is equally as damaging to a family.

When you are at home with your family, in the body, be present in mind and soul as well. Be fully engaged.

It’s easy for a man to be more present and more engaged at work because that’s easier for him. Don’t do that. Be engaged when you’re at home, and be at home often.

But when you’re at work, be all in at work. Go be great at what you do. Learn skills, lead, and allow you and your family in a position to flourish because you’re being a good steward of your work.

But when you go home, be home.

Do what your circumstances require of you.

When King Saul received God’s Spirit, Samuel told him, “Do what your circumstances require of you, because God is with you.” (1 Samuel 10)

It’s important that you know, young dad, that if you have received Christ as your salvation, then God is with you. You don’t have to overanalyze your every action as a dad. Be faithful, steward your responsibilities as a father, and love your wife well.

Do what your circumstances require. If God has a special word or assignment for you, He will make that clear to you. Seek Him in His word, and He will communicate with you.

This is where you learn to be a comprehensive man. Sometimes your circumstances require your tears, sometimes they require grit, sometimes they require your disciplinary presence. If you silo your fatherhood into any one category, you won’t be able to be all you’re required to be as a husband and dad.

Be humble, apologize, and repent.

The godliest thing you can do as a father is to repent. If we’re going to be like Jesus, it’s going to mean we are humble. Jesus’s humility led Him to the cross; our humility leads us to the cross. Jesus takes care of our sin at the cross; our sin must be acknowledged at the cross.

Your family needs to see you acknowledge your sin and forsake it. Acknowledging it and asking for forgiveness is not enough—let your confession be paired with spirit-empowered life change (repentance), and your family will be blessed.

If something is off in your home, you need to ask your wife to speak honestly with you. Are you the problem? She needs the freedom to tell you that you’re the problem and trust that you will be able to handle that.

Confess your sin, apologize, and repent.

Take full responsibility.

You and your spouse share the responsibility for cultivating a healthy home.

But Dad, you should take full responsibility for the climate in your home. The home and family will go where you go. What you avoid will grow into a mold-like substance in your home, and what you engage with healthily will grow into a fruitful garden. When you take a step, the earth shakes in your home. Take full responsibility for your home by cultivating in yourself a humble heart that seeks God, confesses and forsakes sin, and stewards your responsibilities well.

If something is off in your home, don’t blame your spouse. You need to lead by seeking God and taking the initiative to figure out what’s going on.

You’re far more incompetent than you realize, but that’s okay. Deal healthily with that incompetence.

When you’re incompetent at something, how do you handle it?

A lot of athletes try to fake it til they make it. Perfectionists bury their heads in the work until they figure it out—to the neglect of everything else. People prone to avoid go into despair, and procrastinators live in an alternative fantasy land reality.

The people of God handle things differently.

We confess our incompetence to God, we ask Him to give us wisdom, we look to His sword for that wisdom, and commit to radical honesty.

When it’s 3 am and your kid is crying, it’s your incompetence dealt with unhealthily that leads you to anger. It’s frustrating when you don’t know how to help them. God’s way of handling that is to be completely honest and present: “God, I don’t know what I’m doing or how to help, but make me a person of peace for my child right now.”

The Holy Spirit meets us in our place of complete honesty and need for help. He strengthens us and gives us wisdom by the grace of God.

I’ve failed more times than not in this area, but I don’t want you to do the same.

If we’re going to set a healthy and holy culture in our homes, it will be because we don’t allow the insecurity we have about our incompetence to drive our lives and decisions. When we cast our anxieties on Christ, He gives us His perfect peace.

Young dad, it’s possible for you to lead from a place of perfect peace. We must empty ourselves before God to arrive there and, no matter how tough it is, it’s worth it. It doesn’t matter what your earthly father left you with, or didn’t leave you with. You’ve got the responsibility to heal and lead for your new family.

Don’t quit.

Happy Father’s Day.

I’m proud of you,

Brandon

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I published a review a few months ago for the other releases in this series, and, truthfully, this is one of my favorites in the entire series.

I asked my daughters what their favorite part of the book was, and one pointed at the lion on the cover and the other pointed at Mary with Jesus in her belly. Here’s the cover:

And here’s the line from the page with Mary:

In Mary’s tummy, who was there?
God’s Son, a baby, in her care.
The Spirit put him in her womb.
Our great big God—such little room.

God the Father, God the Son,
God the Spirit—three in one.

I wasn’t expecting this to be a book about the Trinity, but I love it. The entire storyline is that we have been invited into this Trinitarian love relationship. Every page identifies the Father, the Son, and the Spirit as three distinct persons yet one God, co-equal for all eternity. And that same Trinity loves us and wants a relationship with us. It’s a refreshing read, even as an adult.

My daughters are 3; they’ll turn 4 in November. In some ways, the scenes depicted in the book (creation, Jesus’s birth, Jesus’s baptism, and Jesus’s resurrection) and the Trinitarian nature of each are a bit above their mental capacity right now.

However, they are enthralled by Grace’s illustrations, and the content reinforces what my wife and I have tried to do with them by talking about each member of the Trinity in our normal conversations.

I’m a firm believer that if the church in the West is going to see any amount of long-term fruitfulness in the midst of TikTok Religion, it’s going to be because we are specific about the work of the Trinity and which member of the Trinity is doing the specific work. The general term “God” is simply not going to cut it anymore.

That’s why I’m excited about this book, and I believe you should pick it up as well.

Your kids will benefit tremendously from a thoroughly Trinitarian theology, and Kristen has made these concepts accessible for their little hearts, minds, and ears.

For more on Kristen and the rest of this series, you can check out her website.

Thanks,

Brandon Moore

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You can find it on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Also, my wife and I will likely be restarting ours together sometime this summer as well. God has been kind to us! Spotify | Apple Podcasts

The Truth That Self-Focused Shame Won’t Let Us Believe

Self-Focused Shame over promises and underdelivers, every single time.

I asked an athlete friend of mine one day, “How do you stay motivated?”

His response?

“I tell myself how bad I suck and that I need to get better.”

We both laughed because he acknowledged the obvious—that his motivation wasn’t incredibly great—and because I said, “Man, that was the same thing I used to tell myself!”

What is that?

It’s shame-based motivation.

“You suck. Do better.”

Self-focused shame is a liar.

Self-focused shame puts us in a place of self-loathing and self-despair about ourselves while simultaneously convincing us the way out is through ourselves.

Self-focused shame convinces us self improvement is the only way we can feel better about ourselves while simultaneously telling us self improvement is impossible because we’ll never be better than we are currently.

Self-focused shame is an assault on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It convinces us that forgiveness is only merited by good behavior, and spiritual renewal is only possible through consecutive days of that good behavior.

Satan uses self-focused shame because Satan is a liar, and the person stuck in such shame is susceptible to lies.

You may be wondering. Why is he saying, “self-focused shame?”

That’s because there’s a shame that God uses to draw us near to Himself, and then there’s a shame that sends us inward and focuses the attention solely on ourselves.

We must feel our shame and guilt before a holy God if we want to realize the depths of God’s love for us. But when we feel shame and guilt and turn our eyes inward and focus on ourselves, it’s enough to trap us and keep us enslaved. When I use the word “shame” for the rest of the article, I’m talking about self-focused shame.

There’s one fundamental truth that self-focused shame won’t let us believe, but that has the power to break us free from such shame, and it’s found in 1 John.

⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say, “We have not sinned,” we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. ¹My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ the righteous one. ² He himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world.
—1 John 1:9-2:2 (CSB)

Notice what this passage says. While shame tells us that forgiveness only happens after it’s merited by our good behavior, the gospel of Jesus Christ tells us that if we confess our sins, God is faithful to forgive us. There’s no good behavior there, only total honesty and admission of our bad behavior.

And at this point, you may say, “Well, I do confess my sins, and I’m still stuck in shame. What’s wrong with me?”

The power in this verse comes when you combine both the confession of sin and what comes next.

God is not only faithful to forgive us of our sins, but he is also faithful to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. Shame and the cleansing this passage refers to are like oil and water. They simply cannot mix.

Cleansing and being cleansed by God is a receptive action. We aren’t actually doing anything; we are enjoying the grace that God richly pours out on his children. We are receiving his action and the work that he alone can do in our lives. Shame, as I stated earlier, convinces us that cleansing can only happen if we ourselves achieve some status of good behavior that merits grace.

But can grace be merited? No, it can’t. Grace is a gift freely given.

So the idea that we can earn some measure of grace that will allow us to finally be cleansed of our sins is a lie from Satan, and it’s a trap that, if not broken, will lead us to destruction. And it will lead us to the worst kind of destruction because at the same time we’re being led to the slaughter, we’re masking ourselves with righteous behavior that’s produced solely in the attempt to be loved and finally forgiven by God.

Beyond that, shame convinces us we have no advocate.

Because it’s not simply that we have no advocate—it’s that the one who is supposed to be our advocate is “done with us.”

Shame convinces us that no one cares, no one loves us, and no one wants to help. Shame convinces us that God Himself is fed up with us and wants nothing to do with us. This is a lie straight from Satan because what does this passage say?

That Jesus Christ, our advocate, is there next to the Father, advocating on our behalf when we do sin.

Shame convinces us that a promise like that isn’t for us because there’s no way we’ll ever be loved enough for that type of reality. But notice, the basis of his advocacy isn’t even rooted in his love for us; it’s rooted in Christ’s finished work.

He’s advocating for us—why? Because he’s the atoning sacrifice for us, and for the whole world. Yes, you could say that He became the sacrifice for us because He loves us, but the core argument is made that the advocacy of Christ is based on work of Christ that was already accomplished for all of eternity.

Shame convinces us that we can only receive God’s promises of love, forgiveness, and cleansing if we earn them.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ says that God’s promises of love, forgiveness, and cleansing can be received by anyone—not based on their actions—but because of Christ’s finished actions at the cross and resurrection.

Here’s the thing. You and I are far worse than our shame will even let us admit, yet we’re far more loved than we’ll ever realize by the God of all Creation. There’s nothing we can do to get ourselves out of the pit of despair and shame; only the truth of Christ and His Gospel can free us from ourselves.

Enjoy Him.

Have a great week,

Brandon Moore

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If you enjoyed it, you may also enjoy my written content at brandonmoore.substack.com. To support the ministry you can become a paid subscriber on Substack, or you can make a tax-deductible donation to More Than Words Ministries.

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Click here to purchase the same CSB Reference Bible I’m using.

Thanks for listening to the podcast today!

If you enjoyed it, you may also enjoy my written content at brandonmoore.substack.com. To support the ministry you can become a paid subscriber on Substack, or you can make a tax-deductible donation to More Than Words Ministries.

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We don’t usually do this. We’ve gone to bed at the same time nearly every night of our 12+ years of marriage. We believe it’s a crucial piece of loving one another well and being on the same page. But she went to bed tonight before our kids did, at around 8.

It’s been a whale of a year, and her health problems seem almost insurmountable at times. She’s in far better shape than she was 6 weeks ago, but each day brings new challenges and confusion.

Jeremiah says in Lamentations 3:27, “It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is still young.”

And it is.

The yoke of difficulty, burden, and suffering can break a man and make him wholly dependent on God. An old man who has never been broken often causes much brokenness himself.

A yoke is given to a man by God, with the intention of breaking that man. We need to feel the weight of our depravity, weakness, and neediness before God lest we grow into men who misunderstand our rightful place in the universe and believe we hold our lives together.

But just because a man can be broken by a yoke, a man can also be hardened by that same yoke.

After a particularly difficult season of ministry, a former pastor offered a simple statement to me. “Brandon, welcome to ministry. You’re going to get hurt a lot. Now, your responsibility is to develop a soft heart and thick skin. Not a hard heart and thin skin.”

He was encouraging me to allow for the yoke to do its proper work in my life.

Jackie and I are facing a few challenges right now.

Financial (medical bills, one income, rising costs, etc)
Physical (she is not well and I’m unhealthier than I’ve ever been)
Relational (we don’t get much time together)
Fatigue (we are raising two toddlers, and we’re tired)

We’re playing whack-a-mole with these issues daily. If it’s not one, it’s the other. And sometimes it’s multiple at a time.

It’s good for a man to bear the yoke while he’s still young.

Do you want to know how the yoke can break a man? When that man waits upon God.
Do you want to know how the yoke can harden a man? When that man takes matters into his own hands.

One problem with the internet and iPhones is the constant allure that the solution to our problems and the deliverance we need is online and not in a prayer closet. We’ve been formed into people who believe we can handle our own and do what needs to be done to deliver ourselves from our greatest problems.

But this isn’t a new phenomenon. The Bible is riddled with men who didn’t wait upon God and ruined their lives. King Saul needed to wait 30 more minutes, and he could have kept the annointing. He didn’t wait upon God; he took matters into his own hands and lost God’s power.

The reason I’m writing this article to apologize to you is that I have, again, joined the King Sauls of the world and taken matters into my own hands in search of my own deliverance.

A couple of weeks ago, I threw everything I’ve written behind a paywall.

Why would I do that?

Is it because God told me to? No.

If the Bible is accurate in saying, “…everything that is not from faith is sin.” (Romans 14:23b), then I have sinned against God.

I didn’t lock everything down from a place of faith.
I locked everything down from a place of control.

We need money. We need financial help. So what should I do? Waiting upon the Lord doesn’t seem very practical, and locking down my Substack posts makes sense—so that’s what I did.

Not faith.
Panic.

Not spirit-led.
Self-preservation.

So, I’m sorry. I hope you’ll forgive me. Everything is free again.

Here are the last two articles:

Everything is free again because I’m actually convicted by God to give away words for free. God created the universe and everything in it with words. Words shape and impact the world, and I can’t be stingy with mine.

Overall, I’ve taken the yoke. I’ve worn it. I’ve been crushed under the mighty hand of God and found that same God to be more loving than I could ever imagine.

But I have too much King Saul in me. I want to wait. I don’t want to lose the anointing. As Moses showed us, it’s far too easy to strike the rock when we’re frustrated than it is to patiently move at God’s pace. At God’s pace, God receives glory. At our pace, we destroy ourselves and lose His power.

Thanks for reading,

Brandon

Jeremiah had quite a difficult experience as a prophet and minister of God. No one listens, he’s beaten a few times, and he’s threatened with death several times. There are other “prophets” in the land misleading the people with messages that aren’t from God, and Jeremiah is continually saying the same thing: Go to Babylon, so you may not die but live. He has the hardest message to hear, and the people don’t want to hear it.

But it’s not just the people who don’t want to hear it; it’s the King, too. King Zedekiah is a major figure in the storyline and is consistently resistant to Jeremiah’s message.

So much so that when we reach Chapter 38, Jeremiah assumes death is coming soon when Zedekiah wants to talk with him. However, there’s a twist coming that no one saw coming that I think helps us to understand the devastating effect fear can have on us and the people around us.

Here’s the verse:

But King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am worried about the Judeans who have defected to the Chaldeans. They may hand me over to the Judeans to abuse me.”
—Jeremiah 38:19 (CSB)

Zedekiah had made the decision any King would make when given the information that a foreign nation was coming to invade and take over. “Well, let’s fight!” That’s a completely understandable response.

But at what point did he realize that his fight-back response wasn’t good? At what point did he realize, “Oh no, I made a bad decision. I need to listen to the Prophet Jeremiah?” At some point, he did, in fact, realize that. God gave the King understanding, and the King realized he should submit to the prophecy and, effectively, go live in Babylon.

But he wouldn’t admit it.

Why wouldn’t he admit it? Fear.

All Obedience & Disobedience is Rooted in Fear

There’s a famous Proverb about fear.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline.
—Proverbs 1:7 (CSB)

Let’s flip the first half of the verse backwards.

The fear of people is the beginning of stupidity.
—Proverbs 1:7a (backwards)

No one has ever made a stupid decision while being obedient to God, and no one has ever made a wise decision while being obedient to people.

King Zedekiah had a clear fear in his life: people. He said it plainly, “I am worried about the Judeans and what they will do to me.”

His fear of what people would do/say to him made it impossible for him to obey God. In fact, he does not obey God, and what ends up happening? A few chapters later, he and his men are engaged in battle with the Babylonians, but decide to run. Zedekiah gets arrested, but his entire family is killed.

His family suffered because he was fearful of what some Judeans would think about his leadership style and decision-making.

I think many of us can find ourselves there.

Zedekiah’s disobedience was rooted in fear (of people).
Zedekiah’s obedience would have been rooted in fear (of God).

Fear is always present. We’re fragile people. People who say that we need to overcome our fear and live confidently don’t understand how fragile we are. They think we can overcome our weaknesses and live in strength. Baloney. We are more fragile than a speck of dust, and we feel that deep in our bones. So we fear.

We’re going to fear what we think is the greatest threat to us in our fragility. When we feel weak and fearful, we fear what will make things more difficult for us.

This is why, when we’re not confident at work, we become workaholics to ensure we “go above and beyond” to try and prove that we know what we’re doing.

Or when we have decisions to make, we think about which family member might get the most upset and cause the most havoc in the group text.

And it’s also why, when we’re the King of a nation that’s supposed to worship Yahweh alone, we do nothing about it when our people worship idols.

I wonder if Zedekiah knew he should do something about the idol worship, but he was nervous about what the people would do to him if he tore down the idols. After all, it was his dad, Josiah, who repaired the temple, found the Law, and renewed the covenant.

The reality is, this verse may explain the entire book of Jeremiah.

It was the King who set the spiritual temperature in the kingdom. King Zedekiah led with fear of people, not fear of God. He allowed the idol-worshipping people to set the culture, and he did nothing about it. Why? Because he was scared.

The entire book of Jeremiah is about God’s people rebelling against God and the consequences of their rebellion.

How would it have been different if they had a King who feared God more than the people? Would they have repented when the King told them to? Would they have followed in King Josiah’s footsteps by turning their hearts toward God and the Mosaic Law?

We’ll never know, but we do need to know this: decisions are always made out of some kind of fear.

Fear is going to drive our decisions.

The question is, who do we fear? Jesus tells us plainly.

Therefore, don’t be afraid of them, since there is nothing covered that won’t be uncovered and nothing hidden that won’t be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the light. What you hear in a whisper, proclaim on the housetops. Don’t fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s consent. But even the hairs of your head have all been counted. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
—Matthew 10:26-31 (CSB)

God is the greatest threat to our fragility.

But He’s also the greatest comforter for our fragility.

The lie of satan when we’re afraid of what people might do to us is that we’re worth nothing more than the speck of dust we feel like. The truth of God is that we’re worth more than many sparrows and we don’t need to be afraid because we’re taken care of by God.

What we fear is revealed the moment something goes wrong. Where do we turn? To our own planning and strategy? To Facebook and social media? Or to Yahweh? Where do our eyes go?

Zedekiah was scared of people and turned to self-preservation, which led to disobedience and brokenness for his family.

Jesus teaches us that when we’re scared of people, to turn to our Father in heaven, be willing to lose ourselves in Him, and therefore gain life in the most true and full way.

Enjoy that life today.

Brandon Moore

And currently, I’m reading Jeremiah.

Jeremiah had an interesting ministry, and he’s known as the “weeping prophet” because no one really listened to him. He would say what God wanted him to say, but the people disagreed and outright wanted him put in jail or killed at times.

Reading through it, though, I can understand the pushback the people were giving him. In fact, I’m confident I would have given him the same pushback and had the same frustrations with him.

Why?

Because the Lord has been telling me the same thing Jeremiah was telling God’s people then, and I’ve not been listening.

If I could summarize much of Jeremiah’s message, here it is:

God’s going to send you to Babylon, and it will be good for you. Repent, walk with Him, and He will eventually bring you back to Jerusalem later on for a time of flourishing.

Here’s the exact passage:

⁸ “As for the nation or kingdom that does not serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and does not place its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation I will punish by sword, famine, and plague—this is the Lord’s declaration—until through him I have destroyed it. ⁹ So you should not listen to your prophets, diviners, dreamers, fortune-tellers, or sorcerers who say to you, ‘Don’t serve the king of Babylon!’ ¹⁰ They are prophesying a lie to you so that you will be removed from your land. I will banish you, and you will perish. ¹¹ But as for the nation that will put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave it in its own land, and that nation will cultivate it and reside in it. This is the Lord’s declaration.”
—Jeremiah 27:8–11 (CSB)

God’s people had made a mockery of God in Jerusalem. Their lives were riddled with sin, and they worshipped false gods in every way possible. Even when their Kings did well to try to reform society back to God’s Law, they left the idolatrous places standing. Idolatry was embedded deeply in the culture.

God was sending His people to Babylon to purify Jerusalem. It was going to go through “a fire,” and the land would be restored after 70 years.

This was confusing on two fronts for people. First, God’s people were supposed to live in the promised land, not under foreign rule in a foreign land. How could God be commanding them to go to Babylon? This seemed out of His character. Secondly, going to Babylon for 70 years meant many of the people who were told to leave Jerusalem would never see it again. As a result, no one wanted to go. They were mad at Jeremiah for suggesting they should.

In their anger towards Jeremiah, and probably God, they failed to realize just how much God hated their sin and idolatry. They wanted to “have their cake and eat it too.”1 They wanted the promised land without the purified relationship with God.

And I can see myself here for a few reasons.

I want the fullness of blessing from God, but I don’t want the fullness of relational purification.

I have gotten rid of all the “major sins,” but I don’t fully realize the depths of the sin and idolatry in my heart.

I have often treated Yahweh like He’s some sort of idol—something that can be invoked by my sacrifice to Him.

I have often been frustrated with God (and my wife) for telling me that I can’t experience all that He has for me while casually maintaining idols.

I have also been frustrated with God for telling me that whatever peace and prosperity He might have for me is in the future, not now.

I could probably keep going, but you get the gist.

I’ve been in a season of overwhelming realization of my sinfulness.

We had a front porch flower garden type area at one of our old homes that was often infested with weeds. It seemed like every couple of months, I was pulling up weeds from the flower bed.

Frequently, when I pulled up the weeds, what looked like millions of ants would scatter. It was easy to get rid of the weeds, but much harder to get rid of those ants.

There have been a few areas in my life that have played out this way lately.

I pulled up the weed, but a deeper problem—or should I say “problemS”—presented itself. The big sin was easy to get rid of, but the underlying layer upon layer of idolatry and lies I’ve believed run much deeper.

This has also coincided with a season of deep suffering.

There are two or three categories of life that are really, really difficult right now. Last night, God showed me this verse that helps connect the dots for me:

Therefore, since Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same understanding—because the one who suffers in the flesh is finished with sin—in order to live the remaining time in the flesh no longer for human desires, but for God’s will.
—1 Peter 4:1-2 (CSB)

It’s like God is pressing His thumb down on us in this season because He wants me to be finished with sin.

God was pressing His thumb down on His people in Jeremiah’s day because He wanted them to be finished with sin.

The question on the table for me today is the same question on the table for God’s people back then…

Will I submit to God?

If yes, God has more than I can imagine waiting for me.

If no, I will die in the land I’ve cultivated.

Even as I type this, I’m aware of two realities. 1) This is an obvious decision. 2) This is easier said than done. My heart is deceitful, my abilities are fragile, and my will is stained with sin.

It’s embarrassing to admit I need to go to Bablyon. That I need to submit to this season of suffering and let God do a great work in me. It’s embarrassing because if that’s true about me, I’m not the type of person I thought I was. I thought I was holy, walking with God, and faithful.

But God is showing me how unholy I am, how far off I am from walking with Him, and how unfaithful I have been to Him.

The problem with God’s people then, and me today, is that I see this conundrum and I think about all the ways I can scheme and fix the problem myself.

It’s impossible, though. If I’m the problem, I cannot also be the solution.

I need to submit to God, go to Babylon, and let Him purify me. If you found yourself in this at all, I would encourage you to go to Bablyon as well.

Thanks for reading,

Brandon Moore

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I’m concerned because I think many of us are approaching God’s word like we might approach a book that was written a couple of thousand years ago by an author we’ve never met.

This whole thing doesn’t really make any sense.

It’s actually most logical to read the Bible the way I just described. Jesus lived 2000 years ago, the letters were completed before the end of the first century, and the Old Testament was written long before that. We’re not going to find any references to modern society. The Roman world was vastly different than ours, and the Ancient Near East is unimaginable. On top of that, the Hebrews/God’s people were even more different than the contemporary culture of their day.

When we read the Bible, we’re entering into a world that is not ours. Far too often, though, we leave it at that. We read it, we don’t understand it, really, unless it tells us to be patient or kind, and then we put it down, and it mostly has no bearing on our current reality. In our minds, we’re reading a book written by someone long dead with content that’s centuries outdated.

The Way We Read The Bible Needs To Change

But here’s the thing…when we approach the Bible, even though we are entering into a world that is not ours, through it, God wants to enter into our world.

Most of our Bible reading methods are very formulaic.

Observe
Interpret
Apply

Context
Observation
Meaning
Application

Scripture
Observation
Application
Prayer

These methods have dominated our modern culture in recent years, and I’m afraid they’ve produced in us a very shallow understanding of how God enters into our world and wants to dictate the happenings in our world.

You may think, “Well, all three of these methods involve application. Isn’t that God entering our world?”

No, it’s us dictating how we think we should be better people as a result of what we’ve read. Think about it like this:

Psalm 62 says, “I am at rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I will never be shaken.”

Context - The psalmist is praying
Scripture - “Salvation comes from God”
Observe - God gives rest to people when he saves them.
Interpret - Salvation is important and God’s desire for people.
Apply - There’s not much to apply here, but I’m glad I’m saved!
Prayer - God, thank you for saving me.

None of what I’ve typed out above is bad. It’s not ungodly. But is it God entering our world? I just wrote an entire post on how Psalm 62:1-2 has upended my world and continues to expose all of my heart-level issues. But how is it doing that?

It’s not because I treated Psalm 62 as a passage to be dissected and studied, it’s because I treated my heart, mind, and soul as something that needed to be dissected by Psalm 62. That’s the framework of contemplative exegesis. The idea of contemplative exegesis comes from Eugene Peterson’s book, Working The Angles.1 You should pick it up and devour it!

What is God saying?

There is a difference in these two questions:

What does this passage say and mean?

What is God saying here?

One of the questions leads us into an intellectual approach, the other opens the door for God to speak into our world and the world around us. I won’t go into it again with Psalm 62 because I’ve already done that, but let’s look at a different passage.

I’ll flip open my Bible to a random passage in Isaiah. Isaiah 45:20-25

²⁰ “Come, gather together,
and approach, you fugitives of the nations.
Those who carry their wooden idols
and pray to a god who cannot save
have no knowledge.
²¹ Speak up and present your case—
yes, let them consult each other.
Who predicted this long ago?
Who announced it from ancient times?
Was it not I, the Lord?
There is no other God but me,
a righteous God and Savior;
there is no one except me.
²² Turn to me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth.
For I am God,
and there is no other.
²³ By myself I have sworn;
truth has gone from my mouth,
a word that will not be revoked:
Every knee will bow to me,
every tongue will swear allegiance.
²⁴ It will be said about me, ‘Righteousness and strength
are found only in the Lord.’”
All who are enraged against him
will come to him and be put to shame.
²⁵ All the descendants of Israel
will be justified and boast in the Lord.
—Isaiah 45:20-25 (CSB)

Before I even start reading the passage, I need to flip all the acronyms and methods upside down. Faithful Bible reading cannot start with me. God’s ways are higher than my ways, and His thoughts are higher than my thoughts. I don’t want to just have a few good insights about random passages. I want God’s thoughts. So we need to start with prayer:

God, teach me to think the way you think. I want to see the world the way you see it, and I want to understand the passage the way you intend. What were you saying to God’s people then, and what are you saying to me now? Let your Word do it's intended work in my heart, mind, and soul.

As I start reading, I notice that this section is addressing the false gods that promise salvation but can’t bring it. It’s comparing the Lord our God to wooden idols. There’s a call to repentance for those who have trusted in wooden idols.

Under a methodological approach to reading scripture, I would read that, gather the information, and conclude by being thankful that I’m not among those non-believers anymore. I’m a Christian, I don’t worship false gods, and I’m justified by God because of Christ. I might end with a prayer for people in other nations or around the world that don’t know Jesus.

But under a contemplative biblical exegetical approach to scripture, I need to pause. I need to leave space for God to speak. I need to ask a question:

God, do I have anything in my life functioning like a wooden idol? God, what is even the role of an idol? Am I doing this without knowing it?

I’m actually doing this right now and, real time, tears came to my eyes.

I believe God gave me a picture of someone worshipping a wooden idol. Someone bowing down to a statue, trying to invoke their god to work in their life.

How many times have I thought, “Okay, if I do this, God will like it.” or “Okay, I need to make sure I’m doing this so that I’ll be on God’s good side and maybe he’ll answer my prayers.”

What is that? That’s my using my behavior to invoke God’s action in my life. While God does very much care about our behavior—the heart behind that is that I’m using some sort of behavior modification of mine to try and manipulate God into some sort of action that will benefit me. That sounds an awful lot like an idol.

And as I’m processing and allowing the Lord to minister to me, more insight is coming to mind. This is why I feel at such a deficit before God and unconfident in His presence. Because I’m not confident in Christ. I’m placing confidence in myself. I’m reminded of Hebrews 4 & 10.

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens—Jesus the Son of God—let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.
—Hebrews 4:14-16 (CSB)

Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus—he has inaugurated for us a new and living way through the curtain (that is, through his flesh)—and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith…”
—Hebrews 10:19-22a (CSB)

I don’t go to God with boldness because I go to Him propping up myself (my idol) and hoping I’m enough to invoke His action or mercy or grace. But what is it that allows us to enter the sanctuary? The blood of Jesus. Whose work allows me mercy and grace? The Great High Priest, Jesus. Not me. Not my actions. Not my behavior modification. I have an idol, and it must be repented of. I am my hope—I’m functioning as my own god. It must stop. Holy Spirit, cleanse me of all unrighteousness.

I could keep going, but I’ll stop there.

As you could see, in real time, God blew up my world. He entered my world, and because I asked Him to speak, He spoke. He exposed my idols and the wickedness of my own heart. He drew me into repentance and drew me closer to Christ and dependence on the blood of Christ.

The formula would have missed all of that.

See, when we read the Bible for the sole purpose of dissecting, analyzing, and studying the text, we are completely missing the point.

We are entering God’s world, and we need Him to enter ours.

But doesn’t this make us self-centered readers of the Bible?

Not at all. Two things:

1. The short experiment I did landed on Jesus, not me. His blood, my repentance. And because I’ve repented of my self-centeredness, I want more of God.

2. The next set of questions I want to ask God in this passage is, “God, who are you speaking to in the passage? Who are you calling to repentance? What happened before, what happened after?”

Those questions will lead me deeper into the text and God’s world. It doesn’t give me quick answers that satisfy my craving for a formulaic approach.

Ultimately, all contemplative biblical exegesis has three questions in mind.

God, what were you doing then? And what are you doing now—like right now, in my world, with my people, with me? How do I interact with you moving forward?

With contemplative biblical exegesis, we want to hear God’s perspective about what He’s said in the text. With our formulaic approach, we want to have a nice, systematic way of explaining what we’ve read and understood. In doing so, we often miss God.

My heart longs to say more, but I will end here.

Have a great week,

Brandon Moore

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But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord.
At an acceptable time, O God,
in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness.

—Psalm 69:13

JG Wentworth gave us one of the most memorable commercials ever. For at least 30 seconds, random people yelled out their apartment windows, “It’s my money, and I need it now!” People would pop out of nowhere and declare before everyone in the streets that they were demanding their money be given to them immediately.

It’s easy to treat God this way.

“God, I’m praying for this, and I need it now!”

But God doesn’t work like we work.

God can do things far quicker and far more effectively than we can imagine. But He also does things far slower and far less efficient than we desire.

Somehow, both can happen at the same time.

This could cause issues for us internally, but the mind that is set on Him is kept in perfect peace. (Isaiah 26:3) When we put God in a box as if to say, “He must act this one way” or, “I need Him to act this way right now!” then we will struggle.

The prayer in Psalm 69 is a prayer of submission. Notice how it works—

1. My prayer is to You, O God.

2. In the abundance of your steadfast love and saving faithfulness…

   1. Answer me at an acceptable time

The “at an acceptable time” prayer is a releasing prayer. It’s a prayer of, “Not my will, but yours be done.” It’s the prayer of Jesus:

Your Kingdom come

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

When we demand a timely answer from God, we’re prone to despair. God moves at His pace, not ours. But, take heart, His pace is the pace of steadfast love and saving faithfulness.

Reflection/Discussion Questions

1. Take inventory of your most recent prayers. Do your prayers sound more like the JG Wentworth commercial or Psalm 69:13?

2. Why do you think it is easy to believe the lie that God doesn’t care when He doesn’t answer our prayers immediately?

3. Take time to write out a prayer of submission to God. Take all your recent prayer requests and filter them through the prayer pattern of Psalm 69:13

—Brandon

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For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.

—Psalm 62:1

I read those words as I was listening to Christian Hip Hop in my headphones. By the end of the week I am quite exhausted and it’s hard for me to wake up in the morning. I’m often looking for any sort of stimulus to keep me awake and that stimulus typically comes in the form of coffee, Christian Hip Hop, and checking social media.

As I read Psalm 62:1, the Spirit ambushed me.

The first sentence gives us the idea that silence is something we ought to linger with in order to wait for God and ultimately see our salvation. Salvation comes in three waves.

1. A salvation moment—what we typically refer to as justification or getting saved.

2. Ongoing salvation—what we typically refer to as sanctification or spiritual growth.

3. Final salvation—what we typically refer to as glorification or when we finally arrive in heaven.

I think the Psalmist is referring to the second kind of salvation.

The type of salvation that comes from sitting there—lingering with silence and the emotions, feelings, and grossness that comes out of us in silence.

Because it’s in the silence that God meets our mess with truth that leads us to life.

I’m an expert at covering up silence with social media, music, and “just checking my email real quick.” But if Psalm 62:1 is true, the more I do that, the less I’ll see my salvation. I don’t want that. What about you?

Reflection/Discussion Questions

1. What’s your go-to when you get a moment of silence or stillness? Do you sit with the silence? Or do you try to cover it up with something else?

2. Why do you think God often meets us at a soul level in the middle of silence? Why is this significant?

3. We live in one of the “loudest” times in history with a 24/7 news cycle and internet in our pockets. How can you be intentional about creating times of silence this week?

—Brandon

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