We are often encouraged by some to "live the Gospel." What this means, in its most generous interpretation, is to live in light of the Gospel you claim to believe. So far, so good inasmuch as we ought not to blatantly walk in open hypocrisy.
But what is often implied by this "live the Gospel" mantra is also often a "you may be the only Jesus someone may ever meet," or a "show them the Gospel by how you live," which often is an evangelistic methodology divorced from the actual evangel.
After all, how can you have Good News, without sharing it? Imagine watching the evening news on the television, but with the "mute" button on. You would see them live on the scene with b-roll, live footage and scrolling graphics, but you would also see a lot of flapping lips - muted, moving mouths. The news simply does not communicate without words.
Furthermore, Jesus modeled for us that words are necessary.
Matthew 5:1-2
Seeing the crowds, He went up on the mountain, and when He sat down, His disciples came to Him.2 And He opened His mouth and taught them
If anyone's life could preach, it would have been Jesus'. If anyone could have let their actions speak louder than their words, it would have been Jesus.
You may have heard it said,
“Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary, use words.” - attributed to St. Francis of Assisi
But Jesus did not subscribe to this idea. He opened His mouth and taught. If there ever existed anyone in the history of all space and time who could have let their body of work speak for itself, it would have been Him, and yet we see Him sitting down, opening His mouth and teaching them with words. He used His voice and gave instruction, correction, hope, encouragement, etc... But He most definitely used words.
Sunday, June 30, 2019
Saturday, June 29, 2019
day no. 14,859: blood on three, part 2
We worship a God who has infused enmity and warfare into His creation.
Genesis 3:15
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her Offspring;
He shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise His heel.
Enmity is not by accident or a by-product or side effect of something else God is attempting to do the way sawdust is made when cutting boards to their proper length. Enmity is part of the plan. It is to the glory of God and the good of man that enmity is infused into the story. To allow evil to exist without fighting it is to concede to evil. Evil is by nature an assault on goodness. Since evil exists as only a negation, it cannot continue without attempting to corrupt or overtake goodness. Without it being at war with goodness, it would cease to be anything since on its own it has no essence to sustain itself without reference to good.
God ordains enmity in order to demonstrate His justice.
Exodus 15:3
The LORD is a man of war;
the LORD is His name.
And God does not take His corner of the ring for granted. He is ready to throw down. In fact, the entire reason He left Heaven and took the form of a man was to destroy the stronghold of the devil.
1 John 3:8
The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
Hebrews 2:14-15
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
Jesus was sent on a seek and destroy mission from the git go. He is a destroyer. He did not fear the darkness, the darkness feared Him.
Mark 3:27
But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.
Luke 11:21-22
When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; 22 but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil.
Jesus entered the strong man's house, bound him up and then plundered his house. Satan's grip on the earth was undone by the coming of Jesus. He broke into Satan's playground and pinned the bully to the ground and extricated His elect prisoners on His way out.
Colossians 2:15
He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in Him.
When Jesus completed His perfect life and laid that spotless sacrifice on the cross. In doing so, He rendered death defenseless. It's sword and sting fell flat to the ground. He dealt death its final blow by taking upon Himself the death we deserved... the death that could not bind Him or hold Him because it had no claim upon Him.
Acts 2:24
God raised Him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it.
Going forward, He is building an earthly embassy where His saints gather to huddle up and then break to go out and do damage to the works of the world, the flesh and the devil.
Matthew 16:18
I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
And God outfits His soldiers with Heavenly armor and weapons in order to draw blood and inflict damage upon the surrounding darkness.
2 Corinthians 10:4-6
For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.
In doing this, we walk in the same way that Jesus walked and warred against the darkness.
God is good and His goodness overcomes evil. Evil cannot overcome Him.
When we walk in the light, we too, conquer darkness underfoot.
And in the end, we are called to be conquerors. Just as He conquered Satan, sin and death, we too, trample Satan underfoot by the Gospel of peace.
Romans 16:20
The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
Ephesians 6:14-15
Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
And the final rally cry is one to conquer. To hear His Spirit and respond by conqueroring wherever He may call us.
Genesis 3:15
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her Offspring;
He shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise His heel.
Enmity is not by accident or a by-product or side effect of something else God is attempting to do the way sawdust is made when cutting boards to their proper length. Enmity is part of the plan. It is to the glory of God and the good of man that enmity is infused into the story. To allow evil to exist without fighting it is to concede to evil. Evil is by nature an assault on goodness. Since evil exists as only a negation, it cannot continue without attempting to corrupt or overtake goodness. Without it being at war with goodness, it would cease to be anything since on its own it has no essence to sustain itself without reference to good.
God ordains enmity in order to demonstrate His justice.
Exodus 15:3
The LORD is a man of war;
the LORD is His name.
And God does not take His corner of the ring for granted. He is ready to throw down. In fact, the entire reason He left Heaven and took the form of a man was to destroy the stronghold of the devil.
1 John 3:8
The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
Hebrews 2:14-15
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
Jesus was sent on a seek and destroy mission from the git go. He is a destroyer. He did not fear the darkness, the darkness feared Him.
Mark 3:27
But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.
Luke 11:21-22
When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; 22 but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil.
Jesus entered the strong man's house, bound him up and then plundered his house. Satan's grip on the earth was undone by the coming of Jesus. He broke into Satan's playground and pinned the bully to the ground and extricated His elect prisoners on His way out.
Colossians 2:15
He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in Him.
When Jesus completed His perfect life and laid that spotless sacrifice on the cross. In doing so, He rendered death defenseless. It's sword and sting fell flat to the ground. He dealt death its final blow by taking upon Himself the death we deserved... the death that could not bind Him or hold Him because it had no claim upon Him.
Acts 2:24
God raised Him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it.
Going forward, He is building an earthly embassy where His saints gather to huddle up and then break to go out and do damage to the works of the world, the flesh and the devil.
Matthew 16:18
I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
And God outfits His soldiers with Heavenly armor and weapons in order to draw blood and inflict damage upon the surrounding darkness.
2 Corinthians 10:4-6
For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.
In doing this, we walk in the same way that Jesus walked and warred against the darkness.
1 Corinthians 1:19
For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart."
Romans 12:21
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
God is good and His goodness overcomes evil. Evil cannot overcome Him.
John 1:5
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
When we walk in the light, we too, conquer darkness underfoot.
Romans 8:37
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Hebrews 11:33
Who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.
And in the end, we are called to be conquerors. Just as He conquered Satan, sin and death, we too, trample Satan underfoot by the Gospel of peace.
Romans 16:20
The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
Ephesians 6:14-15
Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
And the final rally cry is one to conquer. To hear His Spirit and respond by conqueroring wherever He may call us.
Revelation 2:7
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
Revelation 2:11
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.
Revelation 2:17
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.
Revelation 2:26-29
The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, 27 and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. 28 And I will give him the morning star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Revelation 3:5-6
The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.
6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Revelation 3:12-13
The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. 13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.' -
Revelation 3:21-22
The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Revelation 5:5
And one of the elders said to me, "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.
Revelation 12:11-12
And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. 12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!
Revelation 15:2
And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire-and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands.
Revelation 17:14
They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.
Revelation 21:7-8
The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.
To deny our heritage is to be cowards. To refuse to fight before the fight is finished is to allow darkness and cowardice to dominate. The more the light increases, the greater the circumference of the darkness and more soldiers are required to hold the ever increasing line, but by the grace of God in faith and faithfulness we will see the darkness pushed back and damage done to its cause daily as we devote ourselves to Christ alone.
Leviticus 26:7-9
You shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. 8 Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand, and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. 9 I will turn to you and make you fruitful and multiply you and will confirm my covenant with you.
Jeremiah 48:10
Cursed is he who does the work of the LORD with slackness, and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from bloodshed.
To deny our heritage is to be cowards. To refuse to fight before the fight is finished is to allow darkness and cowardice to dominate. The more the light increases, the greater the circumference of the darkness and more soldiers are required to hold the ever increasing line, but by the grace of God in faith and faithfulness we will see the darkness pushed back and damage done to its cause daily as we devote ourselves to Christ alone.
Leviticus 26:7-9
You shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. 8 Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand, and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. 9 I will turn to you and make you fruitful and multiply you and will confirm my covenant with you.
Jeremiah 48:10
Cursed is he who does the work of the LORD with slackness, and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from bloodshed.
Friday, June 28, 2019
day no. 14,858: every plan must account for being punched in the mouth
Proverbs 24:10
If you faint in the day of adversity,
your strength is small.
Your plan of attack cannot simply be hoping that the enemy never fires back. You must plan on attacking and being attacked in return. If your plans do not have any contingency for what happens in the event that things do not go according to plan or any acknowledgement of the kind of problems inherent to the kind of plans you have, you are planning to fail.
Everything has problems, so everything requires a plan. And part of that includes planning on getting punched in the mouth.
Proverbs 24:6
By wise guidance you can wage your war,
and in abundance of counselors there is victory.
Proverbs 24:16
The righteous falls seven times and rises again,
but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.
"Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." - Mike Tyson
If you faint in the day of adversity,
your strength is small.
Your plan of attack cannot simply be hoping that the enemy never fires back. You must plan on attacking and being attacked in return. If your plans do not have any contingency for what happens in the event that things do not go according to plan or any acknowledgement of the kind of problems inherent to the kind of plans you have, you are planning to fail.
Everything has problems, so everything requires a plan. And part of that includes planning on getting punched in the mouth.
Proverbs 24:6
By wise guidance you can wage your war,
and in abundance of counselors there is victory.
Proverbs 24:16
The righteous falls seven times and rises again,
but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.
"Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." - Mike Tyson
Thursday, June 27, 2019
day no. 14,857: Jesus cries, "Mine!" over every square inch
Romans 11:36
From Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen.
"There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!" - Abraham Kuyper
Every atom of every credenda and agenda belongs to Jesus. He is the aim of every single thing and the means by which every single thing accomplishes its intended end.
***P.S. On a side note, Doug Wilson describes Abraham Kuyper as a tornado in boots, and that -- to me -- is about as delightful a eulogy for which one could hope.
From Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen.
"There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!" - Abraham Kuyper
Every atom of every credenda and agenda belongs to Jesus. He is the aim of every single thing and the means by which every single thing accomplishes its intended end.
***P.S. On a side note, Doug Wilson describes Abraham Kuyper as a tornado in boots, and that -- to me -- is about as delightful a eulogy for which one could hope.
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
day no. 14,856 continued... reasons and seasons
"He that is not handsome at 20, nor strong at 30, nor rich at 40, nor wise at 50, will never be handsome, strong, rich or wise."- George Herbert
Proverbs 10:5
He who gathers in summer is a prudent son,
but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame.
God provides certain opportunities during certain seasons. If you fail to plant certain seeds during certain season, the likelihood of seeing any fruit decreases significantly if planted outside of the typical growing season. It isn't to say that God can't allow growth to take place in the form of unseasonably warm or precipitous weather, but to say that the growing season is still the preferred window for anyone paying attention. Different things grow better during different seasons.
Proverbs 10:5
He who gathers in summer is a prudent son,
but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame.
God provides certain opportunities during certain seasons. If you fail to plant certain seeds during certain season, the likelihood of seeing any fruit decreases significantly if planted outside of the typical growing season. It isn't to say that God can't allow growth to take place in the form of unseasonably warm or precipitous weather, but to say that the growing season is still the preferred window for anyone paying attention. Different things grow better during different seasons.
day no. 14,856: Callista is two!!
Today, Callista Janelle turns two years old. You are such a sweet little girl. I am really enjoying this season of seeing you grow and mature and getting to know the person you are. While I was home on paternity leave with Juniper, I really enjoyed getting to spend more time than usual with you: waking you up from naps, changing your diapers, putting you down for naps, etc... I had a lot more face time and hands on opportunities to serve you and get to know you while mom was recovering from birthing Juniper. When you needed comfort, my arms were the open ones that held you since the usual arms were busy nursing a newborn. You are such a sweet little lady and I'm so glad that I had that time to get to know you specifically and see the woman you are becoming.
You love participating in whatever anyone else is doing. You love coloring, which is great, but you love coloring best in books, which is not great. You love carrying your mom's phone around. You would carry mine, but you often can't reach it. That, by the by, is not by accident :) I love listening to you say, "visit many good books, but live in the Bible," after I hold up our dinner time picture and ask, "what did Spurgeon say?" Although you say it more like, "nin nin ninna... Bible!" At night after I sing "Be Thou My Vision" and begin praying with you, you often put your tiny little hands together in the form of a prayer and stare at me with those big, beautiful, blue eyes. When someone is crying, you rush to their side and pat their back. You love well and are well loved.
Happy 2nd Birthday, Callista! I have always loved you. Before you knew me, I knew you and before you even knew who I was, I already loved you. I always have and I always will. No matter what. Forever and ever. Amen.
Love,
Daddy
You love participating in whatever anyone else is doing. You love coloring, which is great, but you love coloring best in books, which is not great. You love carrying your mom's phone around. You would carry mine, but you often can't reach it. That, by the by, is not by accident :) I love listening to you say, "visit many good books, but live in the Bible," after I hold up our dinner time picture and ask, "what did Spurgeon say?" Although you say it more like, "nin nin ninna... Bible!" At night after I sing "Be Thou My Vision" and begin praying with you, you often put your tiny little hands together in the form of a prayer and stare at me with those big, beautiful, blue eyes. When someone is crying, you rush to their side and pat their back. You love well and are well loved.
Happy 2nd Birthday, Callista! I have always loved you. Before you knew me, I knew you and before you even knew who I was, I already loved you. I always have and I always will. No matter what. Forever and ever. Amen.
Love,
Daddy
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
day no. 14,855: education is indoctrination
"If you believe that education is fundamentally about preparing your child to get a job, you are believing the lie that's at the center of why the church loses all her children."
- Ben Merkle
The chief aim of education is not vocation, but indoctrination. That sounds harsh since we've been trained to associate indoctrination with unfair, one-sided propaganda peddling. We've also been trained to assume that only religious wingnuts do this sort of thing and that the public school system is the last bastion of neutrality, simply teaching the facts and letting the hearer decide. But there is no such thing as morally, intellectually neutral education. All education seeks to raise up certain doctrines and strike down others. Education is intellectual warfare. And one of the best maneuvers the public schoolmasters have accomplished is convincing most people that what they are doing is void of doctrine and that indoctrinating anyone is a cardinal sin.
The word "education" has its etymology in the the words ex (out) + ducere (to lead). In other words, "education" means to lead out. It therefore assumes that the student's greatest need is to be moved from where they began to where the teacher believes they ought to be. There is no education without indoctrination. It is not a question of will the students be indoctrinated, but rather into which doctrine they will be led.
So education is meant to lead someone out of somewhere by some means in order to get them to some other place.
Education is leading its students somewhere, and sooner or later they're going to get there. But from where are they being led out and by what means? And to where are you trying to lead them? However you answer those questions is your doctrine of education.
Christians are not called to sit idly by living their faith out in the corners of their homes hoping that their children catch a whiff of it at some point. They are called to teach their children the faith, to raise them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, or in other words, to teach them the doctrines of God in the hope of them making their way into their heads, hearts and out of their fingertips -- or what the old-fashioneds would merely have called, "indoctrination."
For more on the matter, read HERE.
- Ben Merkle
The chief aim of education is not vocation, but indoctrination. That sounds harsh since we've been trained to associate indoctrination with unfair, one-sided propaganda peddling. We've also been trained to assume that only religious wingnuts do this sort of thing and that the public school system is the last bastion of neutrality, simply teaching the facts and letting the hearer decide. But there is no such thing as morally, intellectually neutral education. All education seeks to raise up certain doctrines and strike down others. Education is intellectual warfare. And one of the best maneuvers the public schoolmasters have accomplished is convincing most people that what they are doing is void of doctrine and that indoctrinating anyone is a cardinal sin.
The word "education" has its etymology in the the words ex (out) + ducere (to lead). In other words, "education" means to lead out. It therefore assumes that the student's greatest need is to be moved from where they began to where the teacher believes they ought to be. There is no education without indoctrination. It is not a question of will the students be indoctrinated, but rather into which doctrine they will be led.
So education is meant to lead someone out of somewhere by some means in order to get them to some other place.
Education is leading its students somewhere, and sooner or later they're going to get there. But from where are they being led out and by what means? And to where are you trying to lead them? However you answer those questions is your doctrine of education.
Christians are not called to sit idly by living their faith out in the corners of their homes hoping that their children catch a whiff of it at some point. They are called to teach their children the faith, to raise them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, or in other words, to teach them the doctrines of God in the hope of them making their way into their heads, hearts and out of their fingertips -- or what the old-fashioneds would merely have called, "indoctrination."
For more on the matter, read HERE.
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