You know what amazes me? When I slow down and carefully read this psalm, I notice that Asaph is not writing with despair. He is not discouraged. He is not depressed about the spiritual formation of the next generation. He is not wondering whether God’s covenant will survive.

Instead, he makes a declaration.

“He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children.”

Even the whole team of Germany was pretty neat: Schweinsteiger, Kroos, Özil, Klose, Podolski, Müller, Boateng, and of course the goalkeeper Neuer. They were all pretty good, so I was able to pick them as my team even before the first game of the 2014 World Cup. I knew Germany would win. That was my calculated, instinctive gut-level call—pretty accurate. And I don’t know this time because I don’t know all the new players in the different teams. It may be a surprise to see who will win.

Wouldn’t we all agree that there will always be some grief, some chaos, some noise, or some situation that tries to disturb our peace? Every human being knows that the death of a loved one is perhaps the greatest disturbance we can experience. When you lose someone dear to you, your heart is shaken in a way nothing else can compare to.

We do not discover our identity apart from Christ, neither can we produce these virtues in our lives apart from the Holy Spirit. We cannot display this spiritual wardrobe in our daily contexts if we are not walking in and being continually filled with the Holy Spirit. It is impossible to faithfully live the Christian life without the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit.

I would define him as an excellent, glorious, and impactful theological leader, uniquely commissioned to enlarge the Kingdom of God for the sake of humanity and, ultimately, for the glory of God. Therefore, when a spiritual and theological giant like Paul exhorts believers to “watch out for dogs,” we must take his warning seriously. We should pay careful attention to his words.

Who, then, are these “dogs”?

We must also be open to sufferings with quietness and maturity, to digest it and not become surprised by it. It is often easy to lose the vision and passion for our calls. It often starts with a messy formation that becomes confused, hurt, or discouraged by persecution or suffering.

The Holy Spirit in you will glorify God the Father. This will open the Glorious Art of Prayers with His manifested tangible presence and great rest, with the movements of God in all spectrum of your life.

We are not waiting on any new age movements or new revelations. Yes, a revived spiritual life will always make a difference. It is about our faithful devotion. At the same time, biblical literacy and faithful biblical exegesis matter greatly.

The voice of the text is not about our preferences, opinions, emotions, or our own strategic plans being infused into the text. We need to detach our emotions from the text and devote ourselves to the text.

So Kudos to all the men who keep showing up for their families and communities. Men Matter. They’re built with strength, resilience, patience, and a capacity to carry responsibility and still keep going. So thank God for faithful fathers in every season, through tears and joy.

And even more, we should be thankful for spiritual fathers who care for the wider body of Christ. Some are pastoring thousands, others hundreds.

In this verse, “BUT” is a contrastive coordinating conjunction that introduce God’s intervention against the background of human sin and helplessness, and it also functions in an elliptical construction, where the implied action (such as “God acted” or “God intervened” is understood but not explicitly stated.

I love how Alvin Plantinga puts it:“If humans are products of unguided evolution, then our cognitive faculties aim at survival, not truth, so our trust in reason (including science) collapses.”

The first song I ever learned was You’re Beautiful by James Blunt. After that, I started learning some Christian music too. It was all so fun. We were addicted to music. Our playlist was huge, mostly bands. And I think we can all agree: Music Has Power.

I once did a crazy hike in Kananaskis in February with some friends. We made sure not to forget our microspikes and ice cleats. It was an awesome hike. But we did not see any lakes at the top because they were frozen. Yet those lakes were still there. They had not gone anywhere. And if you go again in the summer, you will see the same view over and over again. Why? Because God has spoken for that scenic view of the mountains and waters to stay there. They are not moving anywhere because God holds them together. God sustains it.