day no. 14,266: baptism 5k

5,000 days ago today I was baptized at Cornerstone Church of Ames by Pastor Tom Nesbitt. I have experienced new challenges and old problems, but have seen God faithfully producing His will in me and through me. Grateful for Good News that only gets better daily.

day no. 14,265: God never sleeps

Psalm 3

The accusation is either that David is too bad to be saved OR that David's God is too weak to save anyone and either way, everywhere David looks or listens, he hears the pessimistic prophecies of those who wish him the worst. They hope he is beyond saving in particular or that His God is incapable of saving in general.

Yet David insists that God is his shield and shelter. He takes refuge in the God they all say is too holy to notice David or too impotent to rescue him. David raises his cry and aims it like an archer at the throne of heaven. He directs his pleas to the holy city where God alone makes His residence. David expects God to be there, where the holy things are AND he expects God to hear him, even there. David expects his cries to be heard and heeded by a holy and gracious God.

David is a man who can only run so far until he needs to rest. And God allows His saints to find rest in their races. He expects them to be found running and resting, sustained by His strength. Awake and watching, yet sleeping and resting. Nothing is more vulnerable than being asleep. You are protected in that dangerous place by Him. God does not protect His saints by keeping them beyond the reach of needing sleep, He allows them to rest knowing that their God never sleeps.

David fully expects God to wreck His enemies. David has so aligned himself with God that his enemies are God's enemies and vice versa. David delights in the destruction of the unrepentant wicked and the deliverance of the repentant sinner.

The saint will feast forever at the wedding supper of the Lamb while the wicked will have their teeth broken from their jaws. Saints will chew on a feast of meat while sinners will gnash on their just desserts.

If anyone can save, it's God. If anyone will be saved, it will be by God. If salvation is possible, it will be brought to pass by God. If salvation is offered, it will be a gift, a blessing, an undeserved, unmerited, merciful, gracious work of the Lord Almighty.

day no. 14,264: a land of everlasting and exhaustive joy

Genesis 45:20

Have no concern for your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.

We are called to similar pilgrimage. Where we are going has everything we could ever need. Why waste time dilly dallying with trinkets and toys when a land of everlasting and exhaustive joy awaits? Why hinder your arrival by dragging heavy, burdensome baggage? Leave your hurts, your shame, your achievement, your trophies, and anything else that would keep your feet from sprinting for a glorious home awaits those who run the race set before them.

day no. 14,263: but he knew them

Genesis 45:3-5

And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence. 4 So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life."

Joseph appeared to his brothers. He had been in their midst but they did not recognize him. But he knew them. And he chose to reveal himself to them. This revelation produced shock and sheepish back stepping to which Joseph replied, "Come near, please." 

One day another son of God would be treated shamefully in order to save his brothers. He too would walk among them, back from dead, without their knowledge until He revealed Himself to them. They didn't recognize Him, but He knew them. And even after all that had been done against Him, He chose to reveal Himself to His sinful brothers -- just like Joseph - a type and shadow of the Christ who would come.

day no. 14,262: the pot shaking its formed fists

Psalm 2

Why do nations rage and why do people push back against Heaven so violently? Because Heaven has opinions about how things are going on earth and we often see those as mean-spirited, restrictive shackles designed to keep us from self-actualizing. At its worst, it is a spirit that would dare proclaim that God is hamstringing us because He is worried that we may overtake Him if we were allowed to reach our full potential. Perhaps we would be King of the hill and He'd be out of a gig.

But vs. 4 makes it clear, that God is not shaken by these empty threats. In fact, He laughs. The ridiculousness of the pot shaking its formed fists at the Potter is more than enough to produce a chuckle. But His romp quickly transforms into rage when He opens His mouth to shout, "The earth is mine and whoever I make its King is truly King indeed!!! My Son will inherit the world and all will bow before Him, either in fearful expectation of death for treason or joyful expectation of living under His rule. He is a living safety for those who worship Him and a death sentence for those who war with Him."

day no. 14,261: under the heat of the Son

Psalm 1

The blessed man is first defined by what he doesn't do. He doesn't orient his life around worldly advice, he doesn't anchor his aspirations around his sinful inclinations, and he doesn't find rest in his ability to poke holes in whatever he is being told to do.

Rather, he is defined by his delight in the Law of the Lord. He orients his days, anchors his heart and finds security in something outside himself, something permanent, unshakable, indomitable: the Law of the living Lord and he dedicates his mind to mulling it over day and night and all the time in between. He has developed the habit of seeing and interpreting the world through the lens of the Creator's wisdom.

Now that we know what he does, the Psalmist transitions to explaining what he is like. When a man lives this way, it looks like something. In this case, a faithful, sturdy tree rooted near streams of living water that allow it to thrive and produce fruit that serves as a blessing to others. It is not shriveling up, it is maturing in sturdiness.

Just to be clear, the Psalmist wants to clarify that the man who does all of things that the man of God does not do (see vs. 1) looks like something.  In this case, it looks like chaff that the wind drives away. It has not root and it produces no fruit. It is tossed to and fro by the winds of change without any landmarks to secure its place.

In the end, the rootless will die under the heat of the Son while the faithful will survive and use His rays to produce fruit for His glory, the good of everyone else and the glorification of the tree.

day no. 14,260: the lion from the tribe of Judah

Genesis 44:33

Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the boy as a servant to my lord, and let the boy go back with his brothers.

At this point, as far as Judah knows, Benjamin actually stole the cup. And yet, he offers to take his place and substitute himself in order to set Benjamin free. Years later, the Lion from the tribe of Judah, would offer to take the place of those He knew for a fact were guilty so that they could go free.