day no. 16,465: rise up to raise up

Nehemiah 2:18

They said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for this good work.

Strong foundations are poured by strong hands and laying groundwork often strengthens hands. As we rise up to build, we are built up. We grow strong as we build strong foundations and walls upon them. We conjure up our strength to begin the good work and are strengthened along the way as we commit to seeing it through. The spent one is often replenished, the one watering is watered, and the sacrificial is resurrected. 

Let us, then, like them, rise up to raise up. Let us build and in so doing be built up.  Let us strengthen our resolve to lay foundations where none exist. Let us make our land ready with the end in mind before we begin and continue on by faith what began in faith. Our faith, along with our hands, will be strengthened by the good work God prepared beforehand for us to do. (Eph. 2:8-10)

day no. 16,464: whatever responsibility belongs to you, own it

Ezra 10:4

Arise; for this matter belongeth unto thee: we also will be with thee: be of good courage, and do it.

Whatever responsibilities belong to you, own them. Take ownership, rise up, and do what is distinctly yours. And as men begin to rise up to their responsibilities, they will find like-minded, similar-spirited men called to their side. We must do what is ours to do, but we should also expect God to stir others to throw their lots in with what He is doing through us. Conversely, He may stir us to join in another's work already in progress. We may be the aid called up as reinforcement for our brother. But whatever the call, obey it. Be of good courage, attend your post, and throw your back into whatever you're called to do there. If every man of God rose up to the responsibility God has given him, we would find even more reasons for good courage as we began to hear good reports of godly advance in surrounding quarters.

Men do not make excuses, they take responsibility; and in so doing, they often make good friends. Both in making themselves friends fit for other men and in collecting for themselves a set of reliable running mates.

day no. 16,463: whatever it is that you require, it is but a crumb to Christ

"And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table." — Matthew 15:27

“The woman thought Christ one who kept so good a table that all that she needed would only be a crumb in comparison; yet remember, what she wanted was to have the devil cast out of her daughter. It was a very great thing to her, but she had such a high esteem of Christ, that she said, ‘It is nothing to Him, it is but a crumb for Christ to give.’” — Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Morning and Evening 

Whatever it is that you require, it is but a crumb to Christ. He can meet your need without exhausting His resources. He has more than enough for whatever is too much for you. He is compassionate and capable. He cares enough to do something and He is competent enough to do anything. If He were only one or the other, we would be in dire straights, either at the mercy of an all-powerful, but indifferent Oz or in the keep of a well-meaning, but limited Lord. But since He is both, we can be bold in facing our fears and asking for His help.

1 Peter 5:7

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

Luke 1:37

With God nothing shall be impossible.

day no. 16,462: faith in Christ conquers the world

Mark 7:27-28

Jesus said unto her, "Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs." And she answered and said unto him, "Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs."

The Syrophoenician woman played the cards she had: she really cared about her situation and she really believed that Jesus could do something about it. His protest to her request was not one of ability, but one of order. Her indomitable faith in Him, however, led her to state that even the smallest morsel from His table could satisfy her every request. Christ's crumbs were her feast and she begged for them because she believed in Him.

“The woman won the victory by believing in Him. Her case is an instance of prevailing faith; and if we would conquer like her, we must imitate her tactics.“ — Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Morning and Evening

Faith conquers the world. It connects us to Christ who is the King of everything. He is a conqueror and has all dominion and authority in Heaven and on earth. Faith in Him is faith that overcomes its adversaries.

1 John 5:4-5

For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

Victory is obtained by believing the Victor. There is no other way to inherit the world to come than by believing in the Son who came.

Revelation 12:11

They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Resurrection faith overcomes, even in the face of death; and in the end, overcomes even death itself.

Revelation 21:7

He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

Those who are overcome by Christ overcome every other obstacle and in the end, inherit everything that was jettisoned in order to hold on to Him.

day no. 16,461: name calling

You call yourself a Christian, so far so good.

Would anyone else call you one? Could you be accused of being a Christian? And if you were, would there be enough evidence to convict? Would a charge of Christianity hold up against you in court? Could a prosecutor dig up enough Christian dirt to convict you of the faith once for all delivered? Are there enough resurrected skeletons in your prayer closet to accuse you of being a Confessor? Would a jury believe beyond a reasonable doubt that you are what you claim to be? Would anyone call you names akin to the Names above all other names?

Acts 11:26

It came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

It is one thing to self-identify as a Christian and quite another to be accused of being one. It is one thing to associate yourself with Him and quite another to confirm that He associates with you. In most cases, I grant it, the accusers are not, perhaps, the best judges of what constitutes a faithful testimony. But that said, is there enough evidence to suggest they see you in league with the One they saw fit to crucify? By that definition, do you inspire a similar response or anything remotely akin from the enemies of Christ?

James 2:19

Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

If you believe that there is one, true God, you do well, but it does not necessarily place you in the best of company. Demons know well the facts of the matter, yet fail to benefit much from that fact. Demons may believe in God, but they aren’t called according to their belief. Rather, they respond to what they know in such a way as to be identified entirely by their unbelief. So whatever knowing is in that regard, it doesn't amount to much more than additional evidence against you if you do not act rightly upon it.

day no. 16,460: generations, nations, domination

Psalm 145:4, 10-13

One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts... All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom. Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.

The job of the generation is to praise God before the next. This is true both in terms of order and priority. God must be praised before anything else is praised. God is to be praised above anything else. He is before and above all other things.

The best way to ruin anything is to make it a primary thing. Anything placed before God is set up for a devastating fall. God is to be praised in the presence of other people. The next generation should not only be taught the doctrines of God, but regularly be caught up in the former generation's celebration of said doctrines.

Missions must always keep generations and nations in mind. We are not sent merely to disciple foreign nations, but domestic generations. We reach the world by first reaching our home. We teach the heathen by teaching our children first. 

God wins each successive generation through faithful covenant keeping and conquers the nations by the same means. Sanctification is a process of smashmouth incrementalism. This applies to individuals, communities, churches, generations, and nations.

Generations -- Nations -- Domination

day no. 16,459: hypocrisy holds heresy's war hammer

“Whenever a man is about to stab religion, he usually professes very great reverence for it. Let me beware of the sleek-faced hypocrisy which is armour-bearer to heresy and infidelity.” — Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Morning and Evening 

If you have ever, like me, wondered why modern day Diotrephes don't just leave the church instead of sticking around and redefining it, here's why: they like to flatter what they shatter. They pay great reverence to the title of Christian. Not enough, of course, to come in by the narrow gate, but enough to jump the wall and break into the whole business. Thus, instead of acknowledging what Christianity is and what they, by contrast, are not or no longer claim to be, they continue to insist that they are Christians while gutting every and anything remotely Christian from the word. 

Hypocrisy holds heresy's war hammer. Two-facedness serves as squire to apostasy's campaigns. Posturing and pretense play sidekick to Pharisaical pageantry. You will often find men complimenting the virility of that which they plan to castrate. They extol the fecundity of those they desire to make eunuchs.

Proverbs 27:6

The kisses of an enemy are deceitful.