Luke 10:2
Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
C.H. Spurgeon in explaining the mission and vision of The Pastors' College said, "As we are commanded to pray for laborers in the Lord's harvest, so are we bound to prove the honesty of our prayers by our actions."
2 Timothy 2:2
The things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
May our practices not flag behind our prayers and our prayers not fail to lead with zeal.
Tuesday, December 7, 2021
Monday, December 6, 2021
day no. 15,750: a well-ordered house is the end of the world
Proverbs 24:27
Prepare thy work without,
and make it fit for thyself in the field;
and afterwards build thine house.
"So fight the good fight. Go home, build a house, and if you do it in the right way, you will give the world a glimpse of things to come. There is nothing more terrifying to the principalities than this. Because in the end, the principalities will bow and confess the Lordship of Christ, and if your house is ordered well, it is a reminder of that glorious day" -- C.R. Wiley, The Household and the War for the Cosmos
We begin by fighting for our children, we transition to fighting along side them, and in the end, when we are gone, we continue to fight through them.
A well-ordered house is a harbinger of the end of the world.
"Conjugal marriage is the end of the world. It connects this world to the next, it unites Heaven and earth, and it is a sign that reads, 'This is the way the world will end, not with a bang, not with a whimper, but with wedding bells.'" -- C.R. Wiley, The Household and the War for the Cosmos
So, build your house.
Join the good fight.
Joshua 24:15
As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
Prepare thy work without,
and make it fit for thyself in the field;
and afterwards build thine house.
"So fight the good fight. Go home, build a house, and if you do it in the right way, you will give the world a glimpse of things to come. There is nothing more terrifying to the principalities than this. Because in the end, the principalities will bow and confess the Lordship of Christ, and if your house is ordered well, it is a reminder of that glorious day" -- C.R. Wiley, The Household and the War for the Cosmos
We begin by fighting for our children, we transition to fighting along side them, and in the end, when we are gone, we continue to fight through them.
A well-ordered house is a harbinger of the end of the world.
"Conjugal marriage is the end of the world. It connects this world to the next, it unites Heaven and earth, and it is a sign that reads, 'This is the way the world will end, not with a bang, not with a whimper, but with wedding bells.'" -- C.R. Wiley, The Household and the War for the Cosmos
So, build your house.
Join the good fight.
Joshua 24:15
As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
Saturday, December 4, 2021
day no. 15,749: atticus jacob rhyne van voorst... teenager
Atticus,
You are officially a teenager, and that, my friend, does NOT scare the snot out of me. Let me tell you why. You're not just any teenager. Sure, if we're talking your average, run-of-the-mill, teen on the street, I'm with MCR, God have mercy. But when I look at you, I don't worry. You're the right kind of dangerous. You are not the kind of teen good people need to be afraid of, but the kind of teen evildoers need to steer clear of. You are a good kid and a good man, a good Christian, a good son, a good friend, a good brother, a good graphic novelist, a good builder, a good breaker, and a good many other things. I love you and am proud of you. I like being your dad and like having you as my son. I love having you as a brother in Christ and look forward to watching God bless you with all that He has given me: a good wife, good kids and a good life.
You are a great graphic novelist. You capture action really well. You always have. From an early age, you could communicate movement through your drawings. You understand how things move and what it should look like. You can make an inanimate picture on the page move in the mind. You apply that same skill to engineering all kinds of lego inventions. You can see how it should look and reverse engineer it back into its parts. You bring things together. You build it in your mind and are able to then build it with materials. You have the clear, creative spark of one made in the image of His Creator.
In keeping with this, you enjoy watching Lego and plastic army men stop motion videos on YouTube. These take an existing area of interest, war, and combine it with the engineering spirit I was just mentioning. You like to watch the stop motion videos and think about how they were made. You enjoy the final product and thinking through the process of what it took to produce it.
You love justice and you hate injustice. You hate seeing someone get away with a crime and love watching those attempting to get away with something get caught in their attempts. You love watching Instant Karma Police videos on YouTube as well as watching Car Crashes Time.
You like eating. And when you're not eating, you're thinking about eating. And when you're not thinking about eating, you're sleeping. You are growing taller and stronger everyday. All that food is fueling your brains and your body as they both grow in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and everyone who knows you. You love spicy food. You put hot sauce on just about everything and you recently discovered that the hottest wings B-dubs offers is no match for you. I can't wait to find your heat ceiling, if you have one. It is fun watching you delight in it. You genuinely enjoy eating spicy food and it is a joy to watch someone you love enjoying themselves so much.
You are a great big brother. Your younger siblings all adore you. Juniper loves spending time with you and you are a great role model for her. You are going to be a great dad. You are already a great brother.
You are a HUGE help around the house. As you grow, your responsibilities have grown. You now know how to mow the lawn on your own. You can be trusted to go out and get it done without any help and it always looks great. It's fun watching you enjoy that. You like being outside and mowing and sweating and showering when done. You feel accomplished and you should. You're doing awesome and it is an enormous help to us. You love helping out at the Amish and load up the milk at Ora and Marie's without complaint. You enjoy having loads placed on your shoulders and responsibilities put onto your plate… along with more food!
You read your Bible every night before bed and copy down the Proverb-of-the-day picture I do in your notebook. You often incorporate your nightly reading into your prayer before bed and it is a joy to watch you learning from and growing in the same Word that I love. As we both read and believe and apply it, we will only grow closer as we grow in Him together.
You like sitting in the front seat of the van and make sure to take advantage of every opportunity you have to do so. You sit quietly and watch out the window. You are a quiet kid. You like to look and think. But you are learning how to share your thoughts and how to let people in to that inner life that you spend so much time cultivating.
I love who you are and who you are becoming. I am so proud of you.
Happy 13th Birthday, Atticus. I love you so much. I always have... and I always will. No matter what. Forever and ever. Amen!
day no. 15,748: reading and re-reading old books
"None of us can fully escape this blindness, but we shall certainly increase it, and weaken our guard against it, if we read only modern books. Where they are true they will give us truths which we half knew already. Where they are false they will aggravate the error with which we are already dangerously ill. The only palliative is to keep the clean sea breeze of the centuries blowing through our minds, and this can be done only by reading old books.” ― C.S. Lewis, On the Incarnation
Chronological snobbery can be avoided, but it requires spending time with those from previous epochs. One of the most profitable habits I have developed is that of reading and re-reading old books. Not to the exclusion of contemporary writings, but in addition to. Do not be too quick to remove the ancient landmarks of good books by focusing merely on a diet of modern thought. As John F. Kennedy once fairly summarized Chesterton in saying, "Don’t ever take a fence down until you know the reason why it was put up." In other words, don't merely move on from old books unless you can explain why they were written and read in the first place.
There are few habits I more highly commend to you than that of reading and re-reading good, old books.
"Most of all, perhaps we need intimate knowledge of the past. Not that the past has any magic about it, but because we cannot study the future, and yet need something to set against the present, to remind us that periods and that much which seems certain to the uneducated is merely temporary fashion. A man who has lived in many place is not likely to be deceived by the local errors of his native village: the scholar has lived in many times and is therefore in some degree immune form the great cataract of nonsense that pours from the press and the microphone of his own age." -- C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, Learning in War-Time
For Chesterton's actual words, see below:
"In the matter of reforming things, as distinct from deforming them, there is one plain and simple principle; a principle which will probably be called a paradox. There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say, for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected across a road. The more modern type of reformer goes gaily up to it and says,''I don’t see the use of this; let us clear it away.' To which the more intelligent type of reformer will do well to answer: 'If you don’t see the use of it, I certainly won’t let you clear it away. Go away and think. Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I may allow you to destroy it.'" -- G.K. Chesterton, The Thing; The Drift from Domesticity
Chronological snobbery can be avoided, but it requires spending time with those from previous epochs. One of the most profitable habits I have developed is that of reading and re-reading old books. Not to the exclusion of contemporary writings, but in addition to. Do not be too quick to remove the ancient landmarks of good books by focusing merely on a diet of modern thought. As John F. Kennedy once fairly summarized Chesterton in saying, "Don’t ever take a fence down until you know the reason why it was put up." In other words, don't merely move on from old books unless you can explain why they were written and read in the first place.
There are few habits I more highly commend to you than that of reading and re-reading good, old books.
"Most of all, perhaps we need intimate knowledge of the past. Not that the past has any magic about it, but because we cannot study the future, and yet need something to set against the present, to remind us that periods and that much which seems certain to the uneducated is merely temporary fashion. A man who has lived in many place is not likely to be deceived by the local errors of his native village: the scholar has lived in many times and is therefore in some degree immune form the great cataract of nonsense that pours from the press and the microphone of his own age." -- C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, Learning in War-Time
For Chesterton's actual words, see below:
"In the matter of reforming things, as distinct from deforming them, there is one plain and simple principle; a principle which will probably be called a paradox. There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say, for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected across a road. The more modern type of reformer goes gaily up to it and says,''I don’t see the use of this; let us clear it away.' To which the more intelligent type of reformer will do well to answer: 'If you don’t see the use of it, I certainly won’t let you clear it away. Go away and think. Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I may allow you to destroy it.'" -- G.K. Chesterton, The Thing; The Drift from Domesticity
Friday, December 3, 2021
day no. 15,747: restore to us strong rods
Ezekiel 19:10-12
Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood, planted by the waters:
Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood, planted by the waters:
she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters.
And she had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bare rule,
and her stature was exalted among the thick branches,
and she appeared in her height with the multitude of her branches.
"Such rulers are eminently the ministers of God to his people for good. They are great gifts of the Most High to a people, blessed tokens of his favor, and vehicles of his goodness to them; and therein are images of his own Son, the grand medium of all God’s goodness to fallen mankind. Therefore, all of them are called, sons of the Most High. All civil rulers, if they are as they ought to be, such strong rods as have been described, will be like the Son of the Most High, vehicles of good to mankind." -- Jonathan Edwards, God's Awful Judgment in the Breaking and Withering of the Strong Rods of a Community
But she was plucked up in fury,
she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit:
her strong rods were broken and withered;
the fire consumed them.
"What is meant by her strong rods, viz. her wise, able, and well qualified magistrates or rulers. That the rulers or magistrates are intended is manifest by verse 11, 'And she had strong rods for the scepters of them that bear rule.' And by rods that were strong, must be meant such rulers as were well qualified for magistracy, such as had great abilities and other qualifications fitting them for the business of rule. They were wont to choose a rod or staff of the strongest and hardest sort of wood that could be found, for the mace or scepter of a prince; such a one only being counted fit for that use; and this generally was overlaid with gold.
It is very remarkable that such a strong rod should grow out of a weak vine. But so it had been in Israel, through God’s extraordinary blessing, in times past. Though the nation is spoken of here, and frequently elsewhere, as weak and helpless in itself, and entirely dependent as a vine, the weakest of all trees, that cannot support itself by its own strength, and never stands but as it leans on or hangs by something else that is stronger than itself; yet God has caused many of her sons to be strong rods fit for scepters; he has raised up in Israel many able and excellent princes and magistrates, who had done worthily in their day.
When God by death removes from a people those in place of public authority and rule that have been as strong rods, ’tis an awful judgment of God on that people, and worthy of great lamentation." -- Jonathan Edwards, God's Awful Judgment in the Breaking and Withering of the Strong Rods of a Community
Oh that God would make for us strong rods from our weak vines and raise up for us reliable scepters by which to rule and reign favor in His Name for His sake and our good.
1 Timothy 2:1-6
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
"What is meant by her strong rods, viz. her wise, able, and well qualified magistrates or rulers. That the rulers or magistrates are intended is manifest by verse 11, 'And she had strong rods for the scepters of them that bear rule.' And by rods that were strong, must be meant such rulers as were well qualified for magistracy, such as had great abilities and other qualifications fitting them for the business of rule. They were wont to choose a rod or staff of the strongest and hardest sort of wood that could be found, for the mace or scepter of a prince; such a one only being counted fit for that use; and this generally was overlaid with gold.
It is very remarkable that such a strong rod should grow out of a weak vine. But so it had been in Israel, through God’s extraordinary blessing, in times past. Though the nation is spoken of here, and frequently elsewhere, as weak and helpless in itself, and entirely dependent as a vine, the weakest of all trees, that cannot support itself by its own strength, and never stands but as it leans on or hangs by something else that is stronger than itself; yet God has caused many of her sons to be strong rods fit for scepters; he has raised up in Israel many able and excellent princes and magistrates, who had done worthily in their day.
When God by death removes from a people those in place of public authority and rule that have been as strong rods, ’tis an awful judgment of God on that people, and worthy of great lamentation." -- Jonathan Edwards, God's Awful Judgment in the Breaking and Withering of the Strong Rods of a Community
Oh that God would make for us strong rods from our weak vines and raise up for us reliable scepters by which to rule and reign favor in His Name for His sake and our good.
1 Timothy 2:1-6
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
"Such rulers are eminently the ministers of God to his people for good. They are great gifts of the Most High to a people, blessed tokens of his favor, and vehicles of his goodness to them; and therein are images of his own Son, the grand medium of all God’s goodness to fallen mankind. Therefore, all of them are called, sons of the Most High. All civil rulers, if they are as they ought to be, such strong rods as have been described, will be like the Son of the Most High, vehicles of good to mankind." -- Jonathan Edwards, God's Awful Judgment in the Breaking and Withering of the Strong Rods of a Community
Thursday, December 2, 2021
day no. 15,746: the grace of gravitas
“Angels can fly because they can take themselves lightly.” — G.K. Chesterton
When God is your center of gravity, you’re free to fly around without crashing back to the surface or drifting away into the outer darkness
When God is your center of gravity, you’re free to fly around without crashing back to the surface or drifting away into the outer darkness
Wednesday, December 1, 2021
day no. 15,745: the doctrine of but rather
I want to discuss the doctrine of but rather. We see this in many places stated verbatim and even more mentioned by implication. Here is the basic set up. When you see, "but rather" you should understand that whatever follows is the antidote to whatever preceded it. Additionally, if the imperative that follows is not obeyed, it will produce the predicament warned against prior to the "but rather." Once you get the gist, it is simple to apply and profound to ponder. God is giving us insight into how we work and what drives what. Let me give you some examples:
Matthew 10:28
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
If you do not fear God who is able to destroy your soul and body in hell, you will fall into the temptation of fearing men who can only kill the body. The imperative is to fear God because the predicament of disobedience in this manner is to be afraid of and maneuvered by men.
Luke 10:20
Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
If you do not rejoice primarily in the grace shown to you in being adopted and inked into Heaven's guestbook, you will fall into the temptation of rejoicing that you are gaining mastership over spiritual things on earth. If you are not anchored in upward gratitude, you will be carried away by downward attitude. You will fall into the temptation of being excited over your mastery of the things that matter to you rather than humbled by being mastered by things that matter to God.
Romans 12:19
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath
If you do not give room for God's wrath, you will give way to the temptation to take vengeance yourself. You will attempt to execute justice and you will fall short and gain wrath for yourself for your trouble.
Ephesians 4:28
Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
If you do not work hard with your own hands, you will be tempted to take and steal things from other people's hands. If you only see your needs, you will be tempted to ignore other's needs by taking things from them.
Ephesians 5:11
And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
If you do not reprove the works of darkness, you will have friendship with them. If you don't actively break ties with them, you will passively break bread with them. If you don't actively hate and despise evil, you will be tempted to be attracted to them. If you don't resist them, you will find yourself drifting into them.
Ephesians 5:4
Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
If you do not give thanks, you will be tempted to make light work of weighty matters. If you are not actively giving gratitude, you will be passively giving attitude. When you refuse to appreciate the weight of grace, you apply levity to serious things and speak and think in filthy ways about the world around you. When you don't appreciate it, you depreciate it.
1 Timothy 6:2
And they that have believing masters, let them not despise them, because they are brethren; but rather do them service,
If you do not serve where you are, you will be tempted to despise those who serve above you. If you do not seek to serve your local church, you will fall into criticizing those who serve you by leading. The less you seek to be of service, the more you feel compelled to critique the service of leadership you're receiving.
Matthew 10:28
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
If you do not fear God who is able to destroy your soul and body in hell, you will fall into the temptation of fearing men who can only kill the body. The imperative is to fear God because the predicament of disobedience in this manner is to be afraid of and maneuvered by men.
Luke 10:20
Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
If you do not rejoice primarily in the grace shown to you in being adopted and inked into Heaven's guestbook, you will fall into the temptation of rejoicing that you are gaining mastership over spiritual things on earth. If you are not anchored in upward gratitude, you will be carried away by downward attitude. You will fall into the temptation of being excited over your mastery of the things that matter to you rather than humbled by being mastered by things that matter to God.
Romans 12:19
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath
If you do not give room for God's wrath, you will give way to the temptation to take vengeance yourself. You will attempt to execute justice and you will fall short and gain wrath for yourself for your trouble.
Ephesians 4:28
Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
If you do not work hard with your own hands, you will be tempted to take and steal things from other people's hands. If you only see your needs, you will be tempted to ignore other's needs by taking things from them.
Ephesians 5:11
And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
If you do not reprove the works of darkness, you will have friendship with them. If you don't actively break ties with them, you will passively break bread with them. If you don't actively hate and despise evil, you will be tempted to be attracted to them. If you don't resist them, you will find yourself drifting into them.
Ephesians 5:4
Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
If you do not give thanks, you will be tempted to make light work of weighty matters. If you are not actively giving gratitude, you will be passively giving attitude. When you refuse to appreciate the weight of grace, you apply levity to serious things and speak and think in filthy ways about the world around you. When you don't appreciate it, you depreciate it.
1 Timothy 6:2
And they that have believing masters, let them not despise them, because they are brethren; but rather do them service,
If you do not serve where you are, you will be tempted to despise those who serve above you. If you do not seek to serve your local church, you will fall into criticizing those who serve you by leading. The less you seek to be of service, the more you feel compelled to critique the service of leadership you're receiving.
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