Ecclesiastes 5:10
He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.
The miser's wealth leads him to want more wealth. This is the way our hearts operate and it's actually a good thing. Hear me out. The reason it often goes so terribly wrong is that we direct our hearts at inferior treasures. The principle takes over and we find ourselves wanting more and more of the things we hoard. It's not the principle that destroys, but the things at which we aim it. Those things, those people, that identity has an expiration date. They rust, decay, grow old, get exhausted, wear out, dry up, evaporate, dwindle, or numb. They cannot bear the weight of the principle. Our growing want eclipses their wherewithal. BUT, this same principle when applied to the inexhaustible God works for our good. The more of Him we hoard in our hearts, the more of Him we desire. But in His case, there is always more to be had. We can never wring out all there is of Him. He never dries up. He never tires. His treasures are inexhaustible. He cannot go bankrupt. He is forever full regardless of how much of Him we withdraw. He is an everlasting treasure and our hearts follow what we value. If we treasure Him, we will have Him and we will never be dissatisfied. The principle when applied to Him works in the opposite direction of what see in Ecclesiastes 5:10. We are satisfied and our lives are eternal and meaningful for the breadth of our horizons to the height of the heavens to the depths of our souls.
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
Monday, August 13, 2018
day no. 14,539: without the Law
Romans 5:12-14
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.
In talking with Paige this morning this verse came to mind. We were discussing Leviticus and life before the Law. We were talking about how sin was in the world before the Law was written down. There were sacrifices (Abel, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, etc...) of various kinds and types being offered at various times for various reasons. There was continuity in seeing that blood was connected to sin and death was needed to atone for the transgression of the living. But what had never occurred to me before was that grace and favor were also present during that time WITHOUT THE LAW. People were dying without the Law and this makes sense because sin was present. But people were being blessed and pursued by God without the Law because grace was present. Anyone who found favor with God before the Law was found by God by His prerogative. They were not found because they had been doing works of the Law. They were blessed by the free gift of God. And just as the weight of sin and death came to be visible through the written Law, so too the weight of grace and life came to be visible through the Word made flesh and put to death.
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.
In talking with Paige this morning this verse came to mind. We were discussing Leviticus and life before the Law. We were talking about how sin was in the world before the Law was written down. There were sacrifices (Abel, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, etc...) of various kinds and types being offered at various times for various reasons. There was continuity in seeing that blood was connected to sin and death was needed to atone for the transgression of the living. But what had never occurred to me before was that grace and favor were also present during that time WITHOUT THE LAW. People were dying without the Law and this makes sense because sin was present. But people were being blessed and pursued by God without the Law because grace was present. Anyone who found favor with God before the Law was found by God by His prerogative. They were not found because they had been doing works of the Law. They were blessed by the free gift of God. And just as the weight of sin and death came to be visible through the written Law, so too the weight of grace and life came to be visible through the Word made flesh and put to death.
Sunday, August 12, 2018
day no. 14,538: the sin of acquiescence
Numbers 14
The people put their faith in the report of the 10 rather than the hope of the 2. The command was to take the land, but the people fixed their eyes only on the giant hurdles and fortified cities before them. They put their faith in their fears and chose to disobey God's command and disinherit themselves from His will. When God responds by affirming their disinheritance and confirming that they will die according to their own prophecies -- penniless in the desert -- they mourn. They acquiesce to the original command to take the land, but Moses warns, "Don't go! You are going against God's commands and indomitable giants." But wait, if the giants were too much for them, why did God tell them to go up against them in the first place? Because, they were not going up against fortresses and monsters on their own, they were going with God and nothing is impossible with Him. But these things are impossible with man, so when the people finally decide to attack the land, they are doing so without God, the one thing that made all the difference. And so, many of them die in their attempt to retroactively obey God. When He said, "Go!" they were all brakes. When He said, "Stop!" they were all accelerator. They were guided by their desires and fears and not by faith in God, which is why they were disinherited from father Abraham's family tree.
The people put their faith in the report of the 10 rather than the hope of the 2. The command was to take the land, but the people fixed their eyes only on the giant hurdles and fortified cities before them. They put their faith in their fears and chose to disobey God's command and disinherit themselves from His will. When God responds by affirming their disinheritance and confirming that they will die according to their own prophecies -- penniless in the desert -- they mourn. They acquiesce to the original command to take the land, but Moses warns, "Don't go! You are going against God's commands and indomitable giants." But wait, if the giants were too much for them, why did God tell them to go up against them in the first place? Because, they were not going up against fortresses and monsters on their own, they were going with God and nothing is impossible with Him. But these things are impossible with man, so when the people finally decide to attack the land, they are doing so without God, the one thing that made all the difference. And so, many of them die in their attempt to retroactively obey God. When He said, "Go!" they were all brakes. When He said, "Stop!" they were all accelerator. They were guided by their desires and fears and not by faith in God, which is why they were disinherited from father Abraham's family tree.
Saturday, August 11, 2018
day no. 14,537: all the work, all the credit
Psalm 98
God has used His strength to accomplish and declare salvation. And He has done it all for His own glory. The telos of all existence is doxological, not soteriological. That means the end goal of our salvation is not about us, it is about Him. It is about bringing Him more glory. God saves His elect with an outstretched arm so that He may be given thanks for it. He does all the work so that He can get all of the credit and He wants everyone to know all about it. God does everything for His own glory and we, His children by grace through faith in His Son, are benefactors. We are caught up in the train of His kingly procession that leads us to a place where His glory reigns forever.
Friday, August 10, 2018
day no. 14,536: testing either/or
Numbers 13
Moses gathers 12 men from the 12 tribes and assigns them the covert task of spying out the promised land. Moses gives these men specific tasks concerning the law of non-contradiction -- is it good or bad, filled with trees or not filled with trees, filled with strong people or filled with weak people, are their cities fortified or are they vulnerable, etc... This men's retreat was meant to tackle these questions and concerns.
With this commission, they set out for 40 days. As we've seen, 40 is a number of testing and here the land is tested and their resolve is tested. The land proves itself faithful -- it flows with milk and honey and grape clusters that require two men to carry them. The spies report the facts faithfully, but 10 out of 12 do not approach those facts with faith. They report the good, but the only see the difficult. The same standard of either/or that was meant to be applied to the land is also applied to them: facing the facts by faith or fleeing from them by fear? 2 of 12 see the difficult facts by faith. 10 of 12 out of fear see the difficulties and then promptly forget that the land was promised to them by God.
Moses gathers 12 men from the 12 tribes and assigns them the covert task of spying out the promised land. Moses gives these men specific tasks concerning the law of non-contradiction -- is it good or bad, filled with trees or not filled with trees, filled with strong people or filled with weak people, are their cities fortified or are they vulnerable, etc... This men's retreat was meant to tackle these questions and concerns.
With this commission, they set out for 40 days. As we've seen, 40 is a number of testing and here the land is tested and their resolve is tested. The land proves itself faithful -- it flows with milk and honey and grape clusters that require two men to carry them. The spies report the facts faithfully, but 10 out of 12 do not approach those facts with faith. They report the good, but the only see the difficult. The same standard of either/or that was meant to be applied to the land is also applied to them: facing the facts by faith or fleeing from them by fear? 2 of 12 see the difficult facts by faith. 10 of 12 out of fear see the difficulties and then promptly forget that the land was promised to them by God.
Thursday, August 9, 2018
day no. 14,535: in the world
Ephesians 2:12
Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
The one time the word atheist is used in the New Testament is here in this verse. It is translated here as "without God," and it is from the greek word "atheoi." An interesting thing about this verse is how Paul couples it with hopelessness. And not eternal hopelessness, but earthly hopelessness. You would think the connection would be: those without God have no hope in death. They have nothing but darkness awaiting them by their own admission. But Paul here says that they are without hope in the world. Their lives and livelihoods are hopeless. This is who all of us who are now Christians once were. We were without promise, without hope and without God in this world.
Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
The one time the word atheist is used in the New Testament is here in this verse. It is translated here as "without God," and it is from the greek word "atheoi." An interesting thing about this verse is how Paul couples it with hopelessness. And not eternal hopelessness, but earthly hopelessness. You would think the connection would be: those without God have no hope in death. They have nothing but darkness awaiting them by their own admission. But Paul here says that they are without hope in the world. Their lives and livelihoods are hopeless. This is who all of us who are now Christians once were. We were without promise, without hope and without God in this world.
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
day no. 14,534: not whether, but which
"it's not whether, but which" - Doug Wilson, citing Rushdoony's inescapable concept (discussed in Plodcast episode 13)
It's not a question of whether morality will be imposed upon someone, but which morality will be imposed upon someone. Here's how this works. Let's say a Christian wants to end human abortion now. Another may quickly say, "Ah, ah, ah friendo. It's not fair for you to impose your morality upon my body." We've been there before and felt trapped. But the inescapable concept comes to our aid. It is not a question of WHETHER our morality is imposed upon others, in this example the morality of forbidding the murder of innocent human beings, but WHICH morality will be imposed. The argument is aimed at making the Christian seem arrogant, narrow-minded, and selfish. But in reality, all laws are an imposed morality. It is not a question of WHETHER morality will be imposed, but WHICH morality will be imposed.
It's not a question of whether morality will be imposed upon someone, but which morality will be imposed upon someone. Here's how this works. Let's say a Christian wants to end human abortion now. Another may quickly say, "Ah, ah, ah friendo. It's not fair for you to impose your morality upon my body." We've been there before and felt trapped. But the inescapable concept comes to our aid. It is not a question of WHETHER our morality is imposed upon others, in this example the morality of forbidding the murder of innocent human beings, but WHICH morality will be imposed. The argument is aimed at making the Christian seem arrogant, narrow-minded, and selfish. But in reality, all laws are an imposed morality. It is not a question of WHETHER morality will be imposed, but WHICH morality will be imposed.
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