"Sin is man's refusal to submit to God. The Gospel is a message of Jesus'' submission in order to redeem us from our lack of it." - Bryan Winchester
Jesus was not made inferior by His submission, He was elevated in light of it. In this, He shows that God keeps His promises to raise up those who lower themselves.
1 Peter 5:5b-6
God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you.
Jesus humbled Himself by being lifted up on a cross.
He was exalted by being lifted up from the grave.
Friday, February 7, 2020
Thursday, February 6, 2020
day no. 15,081: do unto others as you've had done unto you
CHRISTIAN MEN ARE A CONQUERED PEOPLE
Jesus has conquered us, claimed us as His own and is cultivating us into His image. Jesus looks out over each and every man and says, in fact, "Mine! The earth and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein." And we are better off for being His. Because He has conquered us, He has cultivated us to our benefit.
Matthew 28:18-20
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
WE ARE THEN CALLED TO DO IN THE WORLD WHAT HE HAS DONE IN US
Jesus conquered us and cultivated us and then commands us to conquer the world and cultivate it for His glory, our neighbor's good and our personal growth.
Jesus has conquered us, claimed us as His own and is cultivating us into His image. Jesus looks out over each and every man and says, in fact, "Mine! The earth and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein." And we are better off for being His. Because He has conquered us, He has cultivated us to our benefit.
Matthew 28:18-20
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
WE ARE THEN CALLED TO DO IN THE WORLD WHAT HE HAS DONE IN US
Jesus conquered us and cultivated us and then commands us to conquer the world and cultivate it for His glory, our neighbor's good and our personal growth.
Wednesday, February 5, 2020
day no. 15,080: I want to be more like you
1 Corinthians 11:1
Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
For a man, a higher compliment can hardly be imagined than another man saying, "I want to be more like you."
It requires a man to acknowledge his lack and another man's plenty. It forces a man to admit his weakness and acknowledge another's strength.
This begins, for the Christian, with God. In order to be a Christian, a man must look up and say, "I want to be like you," implying, "Who I am is not going to cut it."
The man looks up and confesses his lack in light of God's plenty and admits his weakness in view of God's strength.
That man then looks around to other men who are also looking up to God, men who are further up and further in, men more mature and more like Jesus than them. He then says to them, "I want to be more like you, because you also want to be more like Jesus and you are more like Him than I am."
Faith and following, dedication and discipleship take place in the context of looking ahead of you and confessing, "I want to be like you."
Ephesians 5:1-2
Be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
"God exhibits His glory to us for our imitation and expects the sight of the beauty of holiness in Him to beget in us an inextinguishable longing to be like Him." - B.B. Warfield
There is no greater currency a man can deal in than respect. Respect is communicated in imitation. Every man begins by wanting to be his own man, but if he is to be a Christian man, he must be reborn as a man who wants to be like the men who are more like the Man, Christ Jesus, than himself.
Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
For a man, a higher compliment can hardly be imagined than another man saying, "I want to be more like you."
It requires a man to acknowledge his lack and another man's plenty. It forces a man to admit his weakness and acknowledge another's strength.
This begins, for the Christian, with God. In order to be a Christian, a man must look up and say, "I want to be like you," implying, "Who I am is not going to cut it."
The man looks up and confesses his lack in light of God's plenty and admits his weakness in view of God's strength.
That man then looks around to other men who are also looking up to God, men who are further up and further in, men more mature and more like Jesus than them. He then says to them, "I want to be more like you, because you also want to be more like Jesus and you are more like Him than I am."
Faith and following, dedication and discipleship take place in the context of looking ahead of you and confessing, "I want to be like you."
Ephesians 5:1-2
Be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
"God exhibits His glory to us for our imitation and expects the sight of the beauty of holiness in Him to beget in us an inextinguishable longing to be like Him." - B.B. Warfield
There is no greater currency a man can deal in than respect. Respect is communicated in imitation. Every man begins by wanting to be his own man, but if he is to be a Christian man, he must be reborn as a man who wants to be like the men who are more like the Man, Christ Jesus, than himself.
Tuesday, February 4, 2020
day no. 15,079: private, personal and public
Luke 2:52
Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.
God has called men to grow and increase privately in wisdom, personally in stature and publicly in favor with God and other people.
Wisdom concerns the inner person.
Stature concerns the outer person.
Favor concerns the interpersonal.
Wisdom looks inside the body.
Stature looks to the body.
Favor looks outside to everybody else.
Wisdom is private.
Stature is personal.
Favor is public.
Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.
God has called men to grow and increase privately in wisdom, personally in stature and publicly in favor with God and other people.
Wisdom concerns the inner person.
Stature concerns the outer person.
Favor concerns the interpersonal.
Wisdom looks inside the body.
Stature looks to the body.
Favor looks outside to everybody else.
Wisdom is private.
Stature is personal.
Favor is public.
Monday, February 3, 2020
day no. 15,078: accrue coulds, pursue shoulds
The man of God lacks no opportunity. The more manly and Godly he is, the more opportunity presents itself.
Men should accrue opportunities.
But the man of God should not say, "yes," to more than he is able to bless. Which means he must know what he is trying to do and what helps him do that and what doesn't.
Men should pursue priorities.
The more manly and godly a man is, the more opportunities he will need to say, "No," to.
The more opportunities he accrues, the more priorities must be pursued.
Accrue opportunity
Pursue priority
Accrue coulds,
Pursue shoulds.
Men should accrue opportunities.
But the man of God should not say, "yes," to more than he is able to bless. Which means he must know what he is trying to do and what helps him do that and what doesn't.
Men should pursue priorities.
The more manly and godly a man is, the more opportunities he will need to say, "No," to.
The more opportunities he accrues, the more priorities must be pursued.
Accrue opportunity
Pursue priority
Accrue coulds,
Pursue shoulds.
Sunday, February 2, 2020
day no. 15,077: belief speaks
2 Corinthians 4:13
Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak
Belief opens its mouth.
The Psalmist believed... and so he spoke.
Those who believe now have the same spirit that believed then and it ends in the same way with mouths opened.
Belief speaks.
Always has... always will.
Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak
Belief opens its mouth.
The Psalmist believed... and so he spoke.
Those who believe now have the same spirit that believed then and it ends in the same way with mouths opened.
Belief speaks.
Always has... always will.
Saturday, February 1, 2020
day no. 15,076: an entire world set before us by God to be dominated
Initiative is the essence of masculinity.
There is an entire world out there set before us by God to be dominated You with me? Some of the first words of God recorded for us say it this way...
Genesis 1:26-28
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Some of the last words of Jesus recorded for us...
Matthew 28:18-20
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Initiative is the essence of masculinity.
There is an entire world out there set before us by God to be dominated Again, I ask, are you with me?
There is an entire world out there set before us by God to be dominated You with me? Some of the first words of God recorded for us say it this way...
Genesis 1:26-28
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Some of the last words of Jesus recorded for us...
Matthew 28:18-20
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Initiative is the essence of masculinity.
There is an entire world out there set before us by God to be dominated Again, I ask, are you with me?
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