Solid Joys: Justice Will Be Done

Monday, October 5, 2026

October 5. Justice will be done. Beloved. Never avenge yourselves.

But leave it to the wrath of God for it is written. Vengeance is mine? I will repay says the Lord Romans 12:19 All of you have been wronged at one time or another. Most of you probably.

Have been wronged seriously by someone who has never apologized or done anything, sufficient to make it right. And one of the deep hindrances to your letting go of that hurt. And bitterness. Is the conviction, the Justified conviction that Justice should be done.

And that the moral fabric of the universe will unravel, if people can just get away with horrible wrongs and deceive everyone, That’s one of the hindrance is. To forgiveness and letting grudges go. Is that the only one we have our own sin to deal with? But it is a real one.

We feel that just to let it go would be to admit that Justice simply won’t be done. …

Read the full text and listen at Desiring God: Justice Will Be Done

Sources & attribution

This excerpt was transcribed automatically from the audio and may contain small errors.

Grace Church Sermon – Sunday 2026-10-04

“Founder of Salvation” — Hebrews 2:5-13 Sermon Recap

Speaker: Pastor Troy

Opening Context and Aim

Pastor Troy reminded the church that Hebrews is on a mission to clarify who Jesus Christ is, specifically that Jesus is not an angel but God himself, worshiped by angels, not identified with them.
The passage builds on that foundation to show what humanity was created for, how sin derailed it, and how Jesus restores it.

Scripture and Narrative Overview

Not Angels, But Humanity (and Ultimately Christ)

Passage: Hebrews 2:5
“It was not to angels that God subjected the world to come.” God did not put angels in charge of salvation or of the world to come.

God’s Original Design for Humanity

Passage: Hebrews 2:6-8, quoting Psalm 8
“What is man that you are mindful of him, or the son of man that you care for him?”
“You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor… putting everything in subjection under his feet.”
Humanity was designed as God’s image-bearing ruler over creation, under the lordship of Christ.

The Honest Gap: Not Yet as It Should Be

Passage: Hebrews 2:8b
“At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.”
Sin has broken humanity’s rule over creation; life is marked by frustration, grief, and disappointment.

But We See Jesus

Passage: Hebrews 2:9
“We see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”
What humanity failed to become, Jesus became perfectly in the incarnation: suffering, dying, and only then being crowned with glory.

The Founder of Salvation

Passage: Hebrews 2:10
“It was fitting that he… in bringing many sons and daughters to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.”
Christ’s suffering was always the plan, not a backup plan. “Perfect through suffering” means Jesus completed his God-appointed mission, not that he lacked moral perfection.
Jesus is the trailblazer/pioneer who enters the danger zone first to secure the way for everyone who follows.

Christ Our Sanctifier and Brother

Passage: Hebrews 2:11
“He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers.”
Christ makes us holy and makes us family.
Passage: Hebrews 2:12, quoting Psalm 22
“I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.”
Jesus is not only Savior but Brother, leading the family of believers in worship of the Father.
Passage: Hebrews 2:13, quoting Isaiah 8:17-18
“I will put my trust in him” and “Behold, I and the children God has given me.”
Jesus models full trust in God through suffering and proudly presents redeemed humanity to the Father as family.

Key Theological Themes and Applications

1) Humanity Was Created for Glory

God’s original design: dominion, honor, and rule over creation (Hebrews 2:7-8, Psalm 8).

2) Humanity Fell Short Through Sin

Sin explains the gap between God’s purpose for us and our present experience (Hebrews 2:8b).

3) Jesus Reclaimed Humanity’s Destiny

Through the incarnation, suffering, death, and being crowned with glory, Jesus accomplished what humanity could not (Hebrews 2:9-10).

4) Jesus Brings Us Into His Family

He doesn’t merely save us; he sanctifies us and calls us brothers and sisters, proud to present us to the Father (Hebrews 2:11-13).

Who God Is

God is mindful of humanity, caring and purposeful, not distant or indifferent (Psalm 8).
Jesus is the Founder and Pioneer of salvation, the trailblazer who entered human suffering and death first to open the way for others.
Jesus is the Sanctifier, who makes believers holy and unites them into his family.

Who You Are in Christ

Created in the image of God for glory, honor, and purpose, not a biological accident.
Sanctified and made holy through Christ’s finished work.
Adopted into God’s family: Jesus is not ashamed to call believers brothers and sisters.
Identity is no longer defined by the worst thing you’ve done, but by what Christ has done for you and says about you.

Examples and Illustrations from Pastor Troy

Addressing Jehovah’s Witnesses directly: Jesus is not Michael the angel; Gabriel and Michael worship Jesus as God.
The general analogy: Jesus wasn’t a commander safely directing from the rear of the battle; he was first into the fray, taking the blows himself.
The personal illustration of gently holding his young grandson’s face to say “look at me”: a picture of how Hebrews calls believers back from drifting to fix their eyes on Jesus.
The honest observation that most of us wouldn’t be eager to introduce certain family members to others, yet Christ has no “black sheep” and is proud to call us family.

Practical Calls to Action

When frustration arises from life not matching God’s promises: look to Jesus. Anchor confidence in what is already true of Christ, not in present circumstances.
When shame clouds your identity: look to Jesus. He is not ashamed of your past, your failures, or your brokenness; your identity is found in what he has done and said about you.
When suffering makes you question God’s purposes: look to Jesus. The cross and the grave looked like defeat but became the means of victory; suffering does not stop God’s purposes.
Discipline yourself to keep looking to Jesus amid both the good distractions and the hard trials of life.

Closing Thought

Jesus is the Founder and Pioneer of our salvation: he did not stay safely removed from the battle but entered it himself, lived the life we could not live, died the death we deserved, and opened a way where there was none. He is not ashamed to call us family. Our deepest identity is not the worst thing we’ve done, but what Christ has accomplished and declared over us. Keep looking to Jesus.

Selected Scripture References Highlighted

Hebrews 2:5-13
Psalm 8
Psalm 22
Isaiah 8:17-18

Sources & attribution

Sermon outline from Morning Selah.

Based on the sermon “Founder of Salvation”, Hebrews 2:5-13, preached at Grace Church by Pastor Troy on October 4, 2026. Watch the sermon.

Daily Devotional: Philippians 4:19 (ESV)

Monday, October 5, 2026

Philippians 4:19 (ESV)

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Reflection

There is a particular kind of fear that visits all of us: the quiet, nagging sense that we will not have enough. Not enough strength, not enough wisdom, not enough patience, not enough resources to meet the demands of the day ahead. If you are honest, you probably felt some version of that fear this morning before your feet even hit the floor.

Here is where Philippians 4:19 meets you, not with a vague wish but with a settled promise. Paul doesn’t say God might help if there’s anything left over after meeting everyone else’s needs. He says God will supply, and he grounds that promise not in your performance but in God’s own riches in glory in Christ Jesus. The supply line to your soul runs directly through the cross and empty tomb. Because Jesus was poor for you, you now have access to unsearchable riches. Because Jesus lacked nothing in his perfect obedience, you can lack nothing in your deepest need.

This doesn’t mean every want will be granted. It means every true need, the grace to forgive, the courage to confess, the strength to endure, the hope to keep going, has already been purchased and is yours in Christ. You are not left to scrape together your own sufficiency today. You get to live out of his abundance instead.

So when you feel the familiar ache of not having enough, let it drive you back to the riches that are already yours in Jesus.

Lord, when I feel empty today, remind me that in Christ, I already have everything I need.

Sources & attribution

Devotional from Morning Selah.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Attributes of God — Pure

Monday, October 5, 2026

Definition

God’s purity means He is absolutely free from all moral defilement, sin, or evil, existing in perfect holiness and righteousness. His nature is untainted and unmixed with any darkness or imperfection.

Old Testament Support

Habakkuk 1:13 — “You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?”
Psalm 12:6 — “The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.”

New Testament Support

1 John 1:5 — “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”
James 1:17 — “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.”

Theological Implications

God’s absolute purity establishes the standard for all holiness and righteousness. His eyes are too pure to approve evil, and He cannot be tempted by sin nor does He Himself tempt anyone. This divine purity radiates through all His attributes, ensuring that His love, justice, and mercy flow from an untainted source.

Because God is pure, believers are called to pursue holiness and moral purity in their own lives, knowing they serve a God who cannot tolerate sin. His purity assures us that every promise He makes is trustworthy and that His judgments are always righteous. Through Christ’s atoning work, we are purified and made acceptable to approach this pure and holy God.

Prayer

Holy Father, I come before You in awe of Your perfect purity. You are light, and in You there is no darkness at all. Your eyes are too pure to look upon evil, and nothing false or tainted can exist within You. I stand amazed that such a God, utterly untouched by sin, would turn His face toward me at all.

Lord, Your words are pure words, like silver refined seven times in the fire. I don’t have to wonder if You are honest with me or if Your promises carry some hidden flaw. Everything You speak comes from a heart of flawless holiness. I can rest in that. I can build my whole life on that.

I praise You that Your purity is not cold or distant, but the very source from which Your love, Your mercy, and Your justice flow. Because You are pure, Your compassion toward me is never mixed with selfish motive. Because You are pure, Your discipline is never cruel. Every good and perfect gift comes down from You, Father of lights, with whom there is no shifting shadow. You never change, never waver, never darken.

Searching my own heart, Lord, I see how far I fall short of this purity. Sin clings to me in ways I don’t even recognize. Yet You did not leave me outside Your presence. Through Christ’s blood, You have washed me and made me clean enough to approach the God who cannot tolerate sin. I worship You for that grace, undeserved and astonishing.

So purify my heart, Lord. Let Your holiness unsettle every compromise in me and draw me toward the light You are. I adore You, pure and spotless God, perfect in every way, and I thank You that in Christ I am welcomed near. Amen.

Daily Devotional: Psalm 30:5 (ESV)

Sunday, October 4, 2026

Psalm 30:5 (ESV)

For his anger is but for a moment,
and his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.

Reflection

You woke up today carrying something heavy. Maybe it settled into your heart last night and never really left. Maybe it’s been there for months, a grief that doesn’t seem to have an expiration date. If that’s you this morning, the psalmist has something for you to hold onto before your feet even hit the floor.

Notice the proportions in this verse. God’s anger, when it comes, is momentary. His favor is forever. The weeping is for a night, but the joy is for a morning that is sure to come. This isn’t a formula promising that your particular sorrow will lift by sunrise. It’s something better: a declaration about the character of God and the shape of his redemptive story. Night doesn’t get the final word. Morning does.

Here’s the gospel underneath this promise. The anger we actually deserved, the full weight of it, fell on Jesus in the darkness of the cross. He endured a night of abandonment so that our nights would always, eventually, give way to his dawn. Your weeping is real. Your weariness is real. But it is not your permanent address. If you belong to him, you are living under everlasting favor, even when the evidence feels thin.

So let your tears fall today, but don’t let them tell you the whole story. Morning is coming, because the Son has already risen.

Lord, in my weeping, remind me that your favor outlasts my night. Help me trust your timing and rest in your unfailing love until joy comes. Amen.

Sources & attribution

Devotional from Morning Selah.

Attributes of God — Perfect

Sunday, October 4, 2026

Definition

God’s perfection means He is complete, lacking nothing, and absolutely flawless in all His attributes, works, and ways. He is the standard of excellence and moral purity, with no defect or deficiency in His being or character.

Old Testament Support

Deuteronomy 32:4 — “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.”
Psalm 18:30 — “This God—his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.”

New Testament Support

Matthew 5:48 — “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
James 1:17 — “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.”

Theological Implications

God’s perfection undergirds all His other attributes and guarantees the reliability of His character and promises. Because He is perfect, His love is perfect love, His justice is perfect justice, and His wisdom is perfect wisdom. This completeness means God needs nothing outside Himself and cannot be improved upon or diminished.

The perfection of God provides believers with absolute confidence in His plans and purposes for their lives. We can trust that His timing is perfect, His discipline is perfect, and His provision is perfect, even when circumstances seem unclear. This attribute also calls us to pursue holiness and Christlikeness, reflecting His perfect character in our imperfect lives through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer

Father, You are the Rock whose work is perfect, and all Your ways are justice. I come before You in awe, for You lack nothing, You need nothing, and there is no flaw in all Your being. Every attribute You possess shines without blemish: Your love is perfect love, Your justice is perfect justice, Your wisdom is perfect wisdom. I worship You as the standard of all excellence, the measure against which nothing else compares.

Lord, Your way is perfect and Your word proves true. I don’t have to wonder if You will keep Your promises, because there is no variation or shadow of turning in You. You are not fickle like me. You are not inconsistent like the world around me. You are the same faithful God yesterday, today, and forever, and that unchanging perfection is my shield and my refuge.

I thank You, Father of lights, that every good and perfect gift comes down from You. When I look at my life and see Your provision, Your timing, even Your discipline, I know none of it is careless or random. It all flows from a heart and character that cannot err. Even when my circumstances feel confusing, I rest in knowing that You are not confused, and Your plans for me are complete and good.

Holy Spirit, work in me. I am far from perfect, but You call me to reflect the perfect character of my Father. Shape me, sanctify me, strip away what doesn’t look like Christ. I cannot perfect myself, but I trust the One who began this good work in me to carry it on.

Father, You are complete, flawless, and whole. I adore You for who You are, not only for what You give. You alone are worthy of my worship, my trust, and my life. Amen.

Truth For Life: Devoted to the Word of God

Saturday, October 3, 2026

“We will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” And what they said pleased the whole gathering. (Acts 6:4–5)

While the Spirit-filled events of Pentecost and the resulting ministry were extraordinary, the apostles and their followers did not begin saying afterward, Well, now the Spirit of God teaches me; therefore, I don’t need to listen to anybody else. Instead, when filled with the Holy Spirit, they were all ears for the authoritative preaching and teaching of God’s word. This teaches us an important lesson: the Spirit of God always leads the people of God to devote themselves to the word of God.

This is why the book of Acts is full of the centrality of preaching. The apostles recognized that God’s supreme instrument for renewing His people in the image of His Son was and is through His word, as His Spirit works through it. Here in Acts 6 we see an example of the priority and protection the apostles gave to those called and equipped to teach. …

Read the full text and listen at Truth For Life: Devoted to the Word of God

Sources & attribution

Daily Devotional: Psalm 27:4 (ESV)

Saturday, October 3, 2026

Psalm 27:4 (ESV)

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

Reflection

Think for a moment about your list of wants. If you’re honest, it’s probably long—security, approval, comfort, success, relief from this particular struggle. We are wanting creatures, built to desire, and that’s not sin in itself. But David, in the middle of real danger with real enemies surrounding him, boils his desire down to one thing. Not vindication. Not escape. Not even safety. He wants to dwell with God, to gaze on his beauty, to seek him in his temple.

This should arrest us. David had plenty of legitimate things he could have asked for. Yet he understood something we’re prone to forget: nearness to God is not a means to getting what we really want—it is the thing we really want, once grace has done its work in us. Our hearts are scattered across a thousand lesser desires, and only the Holy Spirit can gather them back into this one, simple, satisfying pursuit.

Here’s the good news: you don’t produce this desire by gritting your teeth and trying harder to want God more. Jesus, who perfectly delighted in his Father’s presence, died so that your wandering heart could be welcomed into that same presence—now, by faith, and forever, by sight. He is the temple where God’s beauty dwells in full. Look to him today, and let your many wants be quieted by the One who is enough.

Lord, gather my scattered heart. Let Christ be enough for me today.

Sources & attribution

Devotional from Morning Selah.

Attributes of God — Beautiful

Saturday, October 3, 2026

Definition

God’s beauty is the perfect harmony of all His attributes in their infinite excellence, making Him supremely desirable and worthy of worship. His beauty is both transcendent in majesty and immanent in the goodness of His creation and redemptive work.

Old Testament Support

Psalm 27:4 — “One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.”
Psalm 96:6 — “Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.”

New Testament Support

Philippians 4:8 — “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
Revelation 4:3 — “And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.”

Theological Implications

God’s beauty is not merely aesthetic but moral and spiritual, reflecting the perfect unity of His holiness, love, justice, and mercy. The psalmist’s deepest longing was to behold this divine beauty, recognizing that God Himself is the ultimate source of all that is good, true, and lovely. In Christ, we see God’s beauty most clearly displayed—grace and truth perfectly harmonized in the incarnate Word.

Beholding God’s beauty transforms our desires and reorders our loves, drawing us into deeper worship and devotion. As we meditate on His excellencies, we are changed from one degree of glory to another, reflecting His beauty to a watching world. The Christian life is fundamentally about treasuring God above all things, finding in Him a satisfaction that surpasses all earthly pleasures.

Prayer

Lord, You are beautiful. Not with a beauty that fades or a splendor borrowed from another, but with the beauty of perfect harmony—holiness and love, justice and mercy, all woven together in Your very being without seam or contradiction. One thing I ask, one thing I seek: to dwell in Your presence, to gaze upon this beauty, to let my eyes rest on You all the days of my life. Nothing else answers the deepest ache of my heart the way You do.

I confess that my eyes grow dim, distracted by lesser lights, dazzled by cheap imitations that promise beauty but deliver only emptiness. Forgive me for the times I have sought loveliness in things that cannot satisfy, when You, the fountain of all that is true and lovely and good, have been near all along. Splendor and majesty are before You; strength and beauty fill Your sanctuary—and still my heart wanders. Draw it back. Fix my gaze on You.

I praise You that Your beauty is not only transcendent, high above my understanding, but also near—revealed in Jesus, where grace and truth met and kissed, where mercy and justice were not traded one for the other but perfectly fulfilled at the cross. In Christ I see You most clearly, and what I see undoes me: a beauty strong enough to bear my sin and tender enough to call me beloved.

Change me, Lord, as I behold You. Reorder my loves. Let whatever is true, honorable, pure, and lovely take root in my mind until my affections bend toward You above every rival joy. Let my life, however small, reflect some faint trace of Your glory to those who are watching.

You alone are worthy of praise. You alone are the beauty my soul was made to find. I will seek You, I will gaze on You, and I will not be ashamed of this longing, for You are altogether lovely, now and forever. Amen.

Daily Devotional: Psalm 19:1 (ESV)

Friday, October 2, 2026

Psalm 19:1 (ESV)

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

Reflection

You wake up this morning and the world is already preaching. Before you’ve said a word, before you’ve read a verse, the sky above you has been shouting a sermon all night long. The heavens declare the glory of God. They don’t whisper it tentatively, hoping you’ll notice. They declare it, boldly, continually, without a single day off.

Here’s what’s remarkable: you don’t need to manufacture evidence of God’s glory. You don’t need to work up some experience to convince yourself he’s real and he’s good. He has already filled the sky with proof. The stars you can’t even count, the sunrise you slept through, the vast expanse stretched out over your head—it’s all handiwork, his handiwork, fingerprints of glory smeared across the canvas of creation.

But isn’t it telling that we so often miss the sermon? We walk under glory every single day and rarely stop to listen. Our hearts are prone to functional blindness, consumed with our schedules and our worries, forgetting to look up. This is our weakness—not that the evidence is lacking, but that our hearts are dull.

And yet grace meets us even here. The God who spoke galaxies into existence is the same God who sent his Son to open blind eyes, to give us hearts that actually see and treasure his glory. Christ is sufficient not only to forgive our sin but to awaken our worship.

Lord, open my eyes today to see your glory everywhere, and let it lead me to worship, not just observation.

Sources & attribution

Devotional from Morning Selah.