day no. 17,040: the end of Christianity

Nero: this is the end of Christianity,

Diocletian: this is the end of Christianity,

Muhammed: this is the end of Christianity,

Voltaire: this is the end of Christianity,

Nietzsche: this is the end of Christianity,

Darwin: this is the end of Christianity,

Marx: this is the end of Christianity,

Freud: this is the end of Christianity,

Liberalism: this is the end of Christianity,

Feminism: this is the end of Christianity.

Communism: this is the end of Christianity,

Secularism: this is the end of Christianity,

“Men have spoken too soon in claiming that the world has now entered a post-Christian era and we have been fools to believe them.” — Iain Murray, The Puritan Hope

Christianity cannot end because the Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Because He is, Christianity ever will be. The gates of Hell will not prevail in keeping back the Kingdom's advance. They cant. He is alive. The future is Christian.

“Strictly speaking, there will never be a post-Christian era, because there will never be an era post-Christ.“ — Toby Sumpter

Christianity will never end and there will never be anything after Christianity. Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father patiently destroying all of His enemies save death. Once every last enemy has been rallied under His feet, He shall stand again and come to judge the quick and the dead and put an end to that last enemy when death itself is thrown into the lake of fire.

“Christianity has died many times and risen again; for it had a God who knew the way out of the grave.” — G.K. Chesterton

Resurrection rules the world. He is seated, but His seeds keep growing. As they die to themselves, falling like grains of wheat to the ground in faith, they are by grace regenerated. The Lord is landscaping and the leaven continues to conquers the lump. 

“Christendom has had a series of revolutions and in each one of them Christianity has died. Christianity has died many times and risen again; for it had a God who knew the way out of the grave.” — G.K. Chesterton, The Everlasting Man

Christendom can die, but it cannot stay dead. If it dies for its faith, it rises against because of it. You cannot kill the resurrection. You cannot end Christianity. It is the defeat of defeat and the death of death. It is the end of the end.

“The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church." — Tertullian

Faithful death is like fertilizer. The Church is antifragile. If you kill it, you multiply it. If you strike it down like the reaper, you only serve to sow it like a farmer.

day no. 17,039: edom and gomorrah

“Any nation that defends herself with women in combat is not worth defending.” — Douglas Wilson, A Christian View of War

When it has come to the point where men are insisting on being saved by women, it has come to the point of no return. The edge of the cliff in that scenario was twenty seconds ago and the next stop is the bottom and it is approaching at an alarming rate.

“A nation that sends its women to fight its wars is not worth defending.” — Pat Buchanan

You should not defend the indefensible. It is unconscionable to send women and children to die in order to save the men. That should not be and soon won't be if it is allowed to continue.

Obadiah 1:1, 12

The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord God concerning Edom; thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress.

When you rejoice over the end of men, you are either Edom or Gomorrah. You are either excited to watch men burn or you are burning after other men. Either way, it is the end of men and you are rejoicing over the ashes.

Jeremiah 51:30

The mighty men of Babylon have forborn to fight, they have remained in their holds: their might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken.

If you win the men, you win the war.  But if you send your women our into harm's way, your homes are already forfeit. If you've lost the men, you've lost the war and someone else's men are soon to be your masters.

day no. 17,038: there are no off the rack jacks

Acts 17:26

God made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place.

Our Father in Heaven picked the time and place for you to be born, including your family and father. Your Father in Heaven did not randomly say, “eenie-meenie-minie-Joe.” No, He is a good Father and He handpicked your particulars just for you. There are no off the rack Jacks. Everyone is made to order and designed to fit the place that God has assigned to them. No one is a generic knock-off.

Why did He do it like that? The next verse tells us,

Acts 17:27a

That they should seek God.

You were born to seek God from where you are: in your place, in your people, in your gender, in your family, and in your father. You could have been born anywhere at any time to anyone… but you weren’t. You were born somewhere… at sometime… to someone. So, do not forget to see God in your circumstances; for as the verse goes on to say,

Acts 17:27b

He is not far from each one of us.

day no. 17,037: paternity and Trinity

Habakkuk 2:14

For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.

Malachi 4:6

And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

Matthew 28:19

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

The scriptures teach us that the hearts of fathers will be turned back to their children and that the hearts of children will be turned back to their fathers. The scriptures also teach us that the world will be covered with the knowledge of the Lord like the water covers the seas and that the nations will be baptized in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Our cultural calendar marks today as Father’s Day and our church calendar marks today as Trinity Sunday. This is a double blessing. As sons, we honor our Father in Heaven when we honor the fathers He gave us. As fathers, we glorify God when we raise our children in the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ; the love of God, our Father; and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

So, Happy Father’s Day and Happy Trinity Sunday.

Thanks be to God for so much to celebrate.

day no. 17,036: eggs are expensive and sperm is cheap

“Eggs are expensive, sperm is cheap.” — Greg Krehbiel, Eggs Are Expensive, Sperm Is Cheap: 50 Politically Incorrect Thoughts for Men

Men may be made of dirt, but they should not be treated like dirt. That said, if there is a bump in the night, the man should rise to the occasion. He is called to provide and protect his people. Part of that reveals that it would be better for him to perish in protecting his people than for his people to perish in order to protect him. Simply put, masculine virtue is not worth protecting if it cannot protect itself. That is not masculine virtue. If you protect that, what you are curating is not masculine or virtuous. 

Masculinity was made to sacrifice itself in order to save its people. Love lays down its life for the beloved and men are made in the image of the Man of God who did just that. Femininity was made to sacrifice itself in order to produce more people. Love is hospitable and welcomes new life into its womb and spends itself nurturing that life from its own body. 

Men and women were made differently. Men produce seeds faster than eggs can be fertilized. Men make more seeds than women can make eggs. One egg a month for a limited number of decades is a scarcer resource than a lifetime supply of daily sperm. 

Women are the weaker sex and must be treasured accordingly. You do not use the fancy plates for lunch on Wednesday. You save those for special occasions and keep them stored in a safe place in the meantime. You do not display normal dishes. The delicate ones, however, sometimes are put on display, but even then, they are kept safe and sound by being stored out of reach of others. Men are not disposal paper plates, but neither are they fine china... nor should they desire to be. Men are the standard issue ceramic white plates that get food on them often, get washed, dried, and put back into service.

Eggs are expensive; sperm is cheap.

Thanks be to God.

day no. 17,035: the unity of diversity and the clarity of disparity

Genesis 1:27

God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Creation is distinction.

First and foremost, all creation is distinct from its Creator. He is distinct from what He has made. What is made cannot be separated from its Creator, but it is distinctly not its own Creator. It is with God, but it is not God, nor was it from the beginning.

Secondly, all creation contains internal distinctions. God made the night distinct from the day, the land distinct from the water, the waters above distinct from the waters below, the creatures of the air distinct from the creatures of the water, etc... It should come as no surprise then that the crown of His creation, the image bearers of God, should contain the internal distinction of male and female.

Diversity is best blessed when its distinctions are received as blessings.

God separates things in order to bring them back together better than they were before they were broken apart. The man is broken in order to make the woman. God then brings the woman back to the man in order to join them together. This is more than the man merely getting his rib back. He does get it back, but in a much better union. His new unity is better than his previous one. Man and wife is better than man before he lost his rib.

The unity of diversity is best achieved by the clarity of disparity.

If I set the sun beside the moon,

And if I set the land beside the sea,

And if I set the town beside the country,

And if I set the man beside the woman,

I suppose some fool would talk about one being better.

by G. K. Chesterton

day no. 17,034: win the men, win the war

1 Corinthians 11:3

I want you to know that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of the woman, and God is the head of Christ.

Win the man, win the war.

Christ has won.

We are Christ's.

We have won. 

Revelation 1:6

He hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Christ is our Head.

Under Him we serve.

Christ is King.

In His train we conquer.

Revelation 5:10

He hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

Win the men, win the war.

Win the man, his people will follow.

With the King comes the Kingdom.

Ephesians 4:8

When He ascended on high, He led a train of captives and gave gifts to people.

If you win the man, you win his people.

Christ has won and we are His people.