Psalm 104 speaks to God’s works. People work by day. Animals hunt by night.

He appointed the moon for seasons; The sun knows its going down. You make darkness, and it is night, In which all the beasts of the forest creep about. The young lions roar after their prey, And seek their food from God. When the sun rises, they gather together And lie down in their dens. Man goes out to his work And to his labor until the evening. O LORD, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all… (Psalm 104.19 – 24, NKJV)

We work, but God gives the results:

These all wait for You, That You may give them their food in due season. (Psalm 104.27, NKJV)

“These all wait for you.” Including people. We wait. We can’t sell our house, for example, until God brings a buyer.

No matter what, these verses I memorized many decades ago apply:

I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD. (Psalm 104.33, 34, KJV)

I need to post a comment about Oklahoma’s illegal “hideout tactic” against Auburn last Saturday. Full disclosure: my doctorate is from Auburn. Oklahoma’s head coach is Brent Venables, former Marine and former defensive coordinator for my alma mater, Clemson. I liked Venables…until now.

Here’s what happened as reported by ESPN and officially documented by the SEC. The story starts this way:

An SEC officiating crew failed to identify a “hideout tactic” on Oklahoma’s second-quarter touchdown in the 11th-ranked Sooners’ Week 4 win over No. 22 Auburn, the conference announced late Saturday night.

Oklahoma led 10-3 after quarterback John Mateer connected with Isaiah Sategna for a 24-yard touchdown with 10:45 remaining in the first half Saturday. Before the snap, Sategna had walked toward the Sooners’ sideline appearing to feign a substitution, but he remained on the field before streaking down the sideline through the Tigers’ secondary undetected for the scoring reception.

The Sooners went on to beat the Tigers 24-17 after Mateer’s go-ahead rushing touchdown with 4:54 left in the game.

Hours later, the SEC said in a statement that its officiating crew “did not properly interpret the action as a hideout tactic” and said the Sooners should have been assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that would have wiped out Sategna’s touchdown.

A guy pretends to go off the field for a substitution but stops just short of the sideline. The defense doesn’t pay him any attention since he’s not supposed to be on the field. He catches the touchdown pass wide open.

Very clever…and explicitly illegal. Read the whole article. What bothers me is that this play had to be conceived at the highest levels of the coaching staff: the head coach and the offensive coordinator, and it had to be taught to the entire offense.

I thought sports was a vehicle for teaching important life lessons. What’s the life lesson here? “Men, we’re going to run a play that’s illegal, but I don’t think the officials will see it. Here’s how it goes…” The lesson is clear: life is not about right and wrong, it’s about what you can get away it. Most disappointing.

For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person. – Jesus, Mark 7.21 – 23, emphasis mine

An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. (2 Timothy 2.5, ESV)

We come to one of those “favorite” psalms, and I don’t want us to miss it. If you’re following our reading program, today you read Psalm 103. Here are some highlights:

A Psalm of David

Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! (Psalm 103.introduction, verse 1)

I had a pastor who liked to quote “all that is within me…” as he blessed the food at a church supper. After all, by the time he got around to praying, a lot of folks had already begun to eat!

The psalmist continues:

Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits:

• Who forgives all your iniquities,
• Who heals all your diseases,
• Who redeems your life from destruction,
• Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
• Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. (Psalm 103.2- 5, list bulleted for clarity)

That’s a good list! And David expands on “forgives all your iniquities:”

He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, So the LORD pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. (Psalm 103.10 -1 4, NKJV)

I love it. Not only is the LORD merciful, he “pities his children.” Why? “He remembers that we are dust.”

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. (Genesis 2.7, NKJV)

We are dust, but the LORD rules over all. Therefore, we’re back to “Bless the LORD…”

The LORD has established His throne in heaven, And His kingdom rules over all.

• Bless the LORD, you His angels,
  • Who excel in strength,
  • who do His word,
  • Heeding the voice of His word.
• Bless the LORD, all you His hosts,
  • You ministers of His,
  • who do His pleasure.
• Bless the LORD, all His works, In all places of His dominion.

Bless the LORD, O my soul! (Psalm 103.19 – 22, NKJV)

In May 2024, I wrote a blog about David’s Mighty Men. It ends this way, quoting from a description of a book by Mark Batterson:

Stop running away from what scares you most and start chasing the God-ordained opportunities that cross your path. In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day is inspired by one of the most obscure yet courageous acts recorded in Scripture, a blessed and audacious act that left no regrets: “Benaiah chased a lion down into a pit. Then, despite the snow and slippery ground, he caught the lion and killed it” (2 Samuel 23:20 -21). Unleash the lion chaser within!

I wouldn’t have thought of that blog, but a couple of weeks ago, blog reader Rene, whom I don’t know, posted this:

THANK YOU. Inspired am I, through a difficult season.

I don’t know what Rene is going through right now, but when I reviewed the blog, my first thought was a reflection on “…chasing the God-ordained opportunities that cross your path.” Buying a new house the way we did with a bridge loan collateralized by the old house was a risk, but we took it. Now we’re in the middle of a pit with a live lion!

“In the middle of a pit with a live lion” is a perspective we miss. “He killed a lion in a pit on a snowy day” cuts right to the end. But there was a time when the lion was alive and there was a struggle. Therefore, I take comfort in…

Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15.57, ESV)

Yesterday I had shoulder surgery. Another risk. And here I am in a pit with a live lion! But by the grace of God, we’ll kill that lion, too. I’m home now as of 2:00p today, Tuesday, September 23. I’m told the procedure went well. Recovery, so far, has been smooth. Six weeks of physical therapy starts Friday.

Thanks for the reminder, Rene! May you come through your “difficult season” with flying colors.

Now the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; and no musicians were brought before him. Also his sleep went from him. Then the king arose very early in the morning and went in haste to the den of lions. And when he came to the den, he cried out with a lamenting voice to Daniel. The king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”

Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me…” (Daniel 6.18 – 22, ESV)

His heart is secure; he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes. (Psalm 112.8, NIV84)

I hate to bother you all with yet another surgery…two this year! We’re fixing my left shoulder today, Monday, September 22, 7:30 a.m.

I am very pleased that the steroid shot I got in mid-June has allowed me near-normal use of my left arm after a period of being incapacitated. But there are things I can’t do, and other things, that if I do them, I wince and say, “Oops. I shouldn’t have done that.” So it’s time. It’s a “Reverse total shoulder replacement,” where they put the ball on the scapula and the socket on the humerus.

Please pray for my surgeon, Dr. Ron Hollis, who has given me two new knees (2018 and 2020) and repaired my right shoulder (also, 2018). Ron expects a smooth and relatively fast recovery. May it be so. I’ll keep you posted. I’m staying in the hospital (Memorial North in Colorado Springs) overnight and plan to come home Tuesday.

Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing; heal me, O LORD, for my bones are troubled. (Psalm 6.2, ESV)

I memorized Psalm 100 as a child. Maybe everyone in my Sunday School class did – I don’t remember. We memorized Psalm 23 and then Psalm 100. I don’t know why, but it’s short, has an uplifting message, and I can still quote it. I share it below from New King James (we memorized in the old King James, of course). I’ve changed NKJV’s “shout” in verse 1 to KJV’s “noise.” We didn’t memorize the introduction “A Psalm of Thanksgiving,” but it’s part of the text.

Here it is with a few comments – unnecessary because it speaks for itself just fine.

A Psalm of Thanksgiving

• Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all you lands! [Always a great comfort to those who don’t sing very well. “Noise” will do!]
• Serve the LORD with gladness;
• Come before His presence with singing. [Maybe that’s why nearly all church services include singing.]
• Know that the LORD, He is God;
• It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; [Duh. Creation was a given when we grew up.]
• We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. [“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” – Jesus, John 10.27]
• Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. [Often seen on signs as one enters a large church’s gym!]
• Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
• For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations. (Psalm 100.introduction, 1 – 5, NKJV)

Amen.

A friend of ours is really struggling with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) lately. I’m intimately familiar with RA since my mother suffered with it the last years of her life (I don’t remember how many). Lots of medication. Lots of surgeries. Nothing worked. What concerns me is that as an active person, our friend is unable to do all the things she’s used to doing and…she’s angry about it.

My immediate thought was, “I’m pretty sure that being angry exacerbates arthritis.” To check I Googled a paraphrase of something the famous black pitcher Satchel Paige said about fried foods: “Anger riles up the blood.” Here’s what Google’s AI reported:

The phrase “anger riles up the blood” is a figure of speech that has a basis in real physiological responses to anger.

While anger doesn’t literally boil your blood, it triggers the body’s “fight or flight” response, leading to a cascade of effects that impact the cardiovascular system. 

Here is a breakdown of the physical effects:

• Increased heart rate and blood pressure: The adrenal glands release stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, causing the heart to beat faster and blood pressure to rise.
• Redirected blood flow: Blood is shunted away from the gut and toward the muscles, preparing the body for physical exertion. This can create a flushed sensation in the face and ears, contributing to the “hot-headed” feeling associated with anger.
• Blood vessel impairment: A brief episode of anger can cause blood vessels to constrict and impair their ability to dilate for up to 40 minutes. This phenomenon is not seen with other negative emotions like sadness or anxiety. Over time, repeated insults to the blood vessels from chronic anger can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.
• Inflammation: Research has found that higher levels of anger are associated with higher levels of inflammation in the body, which is a risk factor for chronic illnesses.
• Increased heart attack risk: Intense anger outbursts can trigger heart attacks in the hours following an incident. This is particularly risky for individuals who already have cardiovascular issues. 

For these reasons, chronic, uncontrolled anger can have serious long-term consequences for your health. – Google’s AI response, emphasis mine

There it is “Inflammation.” My friend would do well not to be angry. RA management techniques include stress management to reduce inflammation. Look it up.

As usual, the Bible is ahead:

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger… (Ephesians 4.17, ESV)

Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city. (Proverbs 16.32, ESV)

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the LORD and said, “O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

And the LORD said, “Do you do well to be angry? (Jonah 4.1 – 4, ESV)

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. (James 1.19, 20, ESV)

I often get words of wisdom from Seth Godin’s daily marketing blogs. A persistent theme of his is that we shouldn’t wait to be “chosen.” He wrote on September 6, 2025:

If you’re waiting to get picked by a famous college or a big company or the music industry, you might end up waiting a very long time. Of course, that’s what schooling taught you to do. The lessons run deep.

What’s the solution? Seth continues:

You can build your own system.

…There are plenty of examples of committed students who took a gap year (or two or six) and built something that mattered.

Non-profit leaders who refuse to succumb to galas or mass appeal can build projects of significance with a surprisingly small base of supporters.

…You’re probably not going to end up with a million followers by adhering to the rules of the algorithm. But that’s okay, because you don’t need a million followers to make a difference. – Seth Godin, September 6, 2025

Jesus built “projects of significance with a surprisingly small base of supporters.” He invested heavily in 12, and there were 120 in the Upper Room in Acts 1. And they started a Spirit-empowered movement that changed the world.

Indeed, “…you don’t need a million followers to make a difference.”

You don’t need to be a pastor, on church staff, or a missionary with a Christian organization, either. You do need to engage where you are. In Seth’s words, “Build your own system.”

A young man called me once and said he wanted to be a Navigator. The conversation went like this:

• Caller: “How can I become Navigator staff?”
• Bob: “What ministry are you doing now? Whom are you investing in?”
• Caller: “I’m not doing any ministry now.”
• Bob: “If you’re not doing anything now, why would that change if you became a Navigator?”

As always, we do what we can, where we are, with what we have.

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. (John 15.16, ESV)

With respect to yesterday’s post on God-given rights and the idea that those in government should recognize a mandate from God to govern justly, I read a challenging article: Is Christ the Lord of New York City? by David Mitzenmacher, published on September 9, 2025, by World Magazine. It opens:

The Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City is a devout Muslim and an avowed socialist. Zohran Kwame Mamdani, a 33-year-old state assemblyman from Queens, has never hidden his religious identity. Born in Uganda and raised in New York, he fasts publicly during Ramadan… He frames housing and labor reform not as abstract technocratic aims, but as matters of justice rooted in divine obligation. Even his socialist protest actions are carried out in the name of moral duty. His faith does not merely accompany his politics; it animates them.

To secular progressives, this may appear a triumph of pluralism. To many conservatives, it may serve as another sign of America’s political decay. But for those with theological discernment, the imagery is striking: Islam, a religion of totalizing claims, does not hesitate to govern. It enters the public square with confidence, armed with an all-encompassing worldview and an unapologetic moral vision. It rejects the myth of neutrality and understands that law is never merely procedural but is always inherently theological.

In contrast, modern evangelicalism has grown timid. What was once a public religion rooted in the lordship of Christ over all creation has been largely reduced to personal piety. Christianity, in many quarters, no longer seeks to form cultures or shape law. It contents itself with managing personal anxieties and securing individual conversions. Modern Christianity asks to be tolerated, not to be heeded.

“Modern Christianity asks to be tolerated, not to be heeded.” Ouch. He goes on:

But the gospel is not a private experience; it is a royal announcement. The Jesus we proclaim is not a lifestyle guru—He is the risen and reigning King. The New Testament declares that all authority in heaven and on earth belongs to Him (Matthew 28:18). The Church has always confessed this. The tragedy is that there are so many self-proclaimed Christians who no longer act as if they believe it.

The article goes on. I recommend it to you in its entirety. He closes with:

The question is not whether religion will influence the public square. The question is: which one? Either we recognize that Christ is Lord of New York City, or others will try to give that title to someone else. – David Mitzenmacher, September 9, 2025

Jesus is Lord. Do we live that way? And what would that look like? I confess, I don’t know the whole answer to that question. Should we be public in our faith as Vice President Pence was in 2020? Or should we be focused on making a difference where we are? I’ll have more to say about that tomorrow.

Jesus is Lord. Maybe we should ask him what he wants us to do and listen for his guidance.

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord… (Romans 10.9, ESV)

So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above…” (John 19.10, 11, ESV)

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me…” (Matthew 28.18, ESV)

While I’m meditating on God being in charge, not our governmental leaders, here’s a positively scary story about a sitting senator who explicitly denies government’s role to respect God-given rights. In his view, government creates rights. Here’s the relevant portion of an editorial by Al Mohler about a Senate committee meeting and remarks by Senator Tim Kaine, D-VA :

The session was largely uneventful until Sen. Kaine addressed one of the nominees, complaining about a quotation from Secretary of State Marco Rubio about human rights that was included in the nominee’s opening statement. Secretary Rubio had stated that “all men are created equal because our rights come from God, our creator, not from our laws, not from our governments.” Secretary Rubio’s point has immediate application to American foreign policy, because Rubio’s main point was that the human rights America would defend around the world—the very rights denied by many repressive regimes—are pre-political and universal, precisely because they are given to all men and women by the creator.

Kaine energetically denied such a basis for human rights and called the idea of rights as given by God is “what the Iranian government believes.” Kaine openly asserted that the claim that rights come from God amounts to theocracy. He went…back to say, “the notion that our rights do not come from our laws or our government should make people very, very nervous,” and he claimed that an acknowledgement of natural rights given by God demeaned both law and government. Kaine openly claimed that our rights come from laws and governments, not from God.

The senator was reminded that it was none other than Thomas Jefferson, another Virginian, who affirmed in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

This is a serious problem. Mohler continues:

The acknowledgement that natural rights are endowed by our Creator means that these natural rights are real. They exist because the Creator made them to exist. They were not just assertions and claims declared by a bunch of rebels meeting in Philadelphia. No, they existed before human beings knew to articulate them and before human governments were assigned to respect them.

Sen. Tim Kaine’s argument was stunning. I was in the room when he uttered those words. If I had not seen and heard him make this argument, I would scarcely have believed a U.S. senator could say such things. Furthermore, his intentional passion made clear that he meant what he said. Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas responded that he had nearly fallen out of his chair when he heard Sen. Kaine’s comments, because what Kaine had called radical and dangerous “is literally the founding principle upon which the United States of America was created.”

We’re back to little-g gods that I wrote about yesterday. When government says, essentially, we can pass any law we want and create any rights we want (or deny any rights we want), government is acting as a little-g god.

By contrast, when Martin Luther King in “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” talked about “just laws” and “unjust laws,” he was really appealing to the reality of God-given rights and a God-given standard. It’s beyond disappointing that we have government leaders who deny that reality.

The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord GOD: “Because your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of the gods..,’ yet you are but a man, and no god, though you make your heart like the heart of a god….” (Ezekiel 28.1, 2, ESV)

The LORD reigns; Let the earth rejoice; Let the multitude of isles be glad!…You, LORD, are most high above all the earth; You are exalted far above all gods. (Psalm 97.1, 9, NKJV)