day no. 17,307: second rate women and fifth rate men

“Ten thousand women marched through the streets shouting, ‘We will not be dictated to,’ and went off and became stenographers.” — G.K. Chesterton

Feminism is second rate woman wanting to be a first rate man. A first rate women does not want to be a man and a second rate woman cannot be one. She cannot even be a first rate woman. At best, she ends up a fifth rate man. So, she forfeits what she has to get a worse version of what she can never have. She forsakes who she is in order to fall short of what someone else is.

"Feminism is mixed up with a muddled idea that women are free when they serve their employers, but slaves when they help their husbands." — G.K. Chesterton

Women were made to help, not to lead. If they do not follow their husbands, they will follow their employers. Like the rest of us, girl bosses get their paychecks signed by the man in charge.

day no. 17,306: true israel is all the peoples and all the places where Christ is honored as Lord and Savior

Ephesians 6:1-4

Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

A true education is founded on the fact that true Israel is the Christian church. 

Galatians 6:14-16

God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.

The promises of God apply to gentile children in Ephesus and the land of Canaan is now the entire earth. The Israel of God is the Christian church and includes all the nations, their peoples and their places.

Galatians 3:27-28

For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

Ephesian fathers are to bring their children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord because the promises of God now apply directly to them and all their neighbors.

"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

Because of Christ, true Israel is no longer genetically or geographically limited.

Psalm 24:1

The earth is the LORD's, and the fulness thereof; 

the world, and they that dwell therein

day no. 17,305: the march of the calvinists

"I would rather meet ten thousand well-generalled and well-provisioned men than one Calvinist who thought he was doing the will of God.” — Napoleon Bonaparte

A man who believes in the sovereignty of God is not afraid to die. He knows that he will die right on time and that nothing the enemy can do will lead to him dying a second earlier than God's will permits and nothing that his friends can do will lead to him living a second longer than God's will desires. He is untouchable because only God can touch him. He does not fear the empty threats of tinpot dictators. The worst they can do is kill his body. He fears the One who can kill the body and throw it into Hell. He is undaunted. He will not compromise. He will not shrink back. He cannot be threatened or flattered. He will do what the Lord says and nothing less, nor nothing more. The man who is generalled by Christ is better provisioned and equipped for battle than any army in the world.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

A man with God will always outgun his enemies. He has superior firepower. A man with God is always in the majority. Even when he is outnumbered on the ground, he has his enemies are outnumbered.

day no. 17,304: one conditional love

John 14:6

Jesus saith unto him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

The election of the saints is unconditional with respect to any condition that could be found within the saint. It is, however, conditioned entirely upon the life, death, resurrection, ascension, rule, and reign of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. He is the sine qua non. If not for Him, there could be no salvation. Under any other condition, it could not be achieved. So, while the saints are elected unconditionally concerning themselves, they are also elected on the one condition of Christ.

So, let it be said God loves us unconditionally, but let it also be said that He loves us one conditionally. In Christ, we are Israel, that is to say, loved. Outside of Christ, we are Esau, which is to say, hated.

No Christ, no love; know Christ know love.

day no. 17,303: politicians are bribery pirates

Here richly, with ridiculous display, 

The Politician's corpse was laid away. 

While all of his acquaintance sneered and slanged 

I wept: for I had longed to see him hanged.

— Hilaire Belloc, Epitaph on the Politician Himself 

The adulterer deserves death. Divorce is permitted by God in the instance of adultery because the guilty party ought to be executed thus freeing the innocent party from their vows. 'Til death do us part need not be a matter of waiting for nature to run its course when one of the two partners is guilty of a capital offense against the law of Christ. 

It is the same with public office and those elected to represent their people. They are selected and accepted by their people, but if they betray their people, they should not simply lose their bid for reelection, they should, in certain circumstances not merely be terminated like an employee, but terminated like a criminal.

“It is terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hanged.” — G.K. Chesterton

The seriousness of the office is not reinforced by allowing the one who wields the sword to wield it wildly and lawlessly with no greater consequence than having the sword taken away from him. The consequences of brandishing the sword of justice as an instrument of tyranny should be more severe than being forced to sheathe it. The one who wields that sword without the fear of God should be forced to fear the people. It is not enough for a fear-monger to be fired. He must fired at and finished so that future representatives take heed that masters have a Master and rulers have a Ruler.

This, the last ornament among the peers, 

Bribed, bullied, swindled and blackmailed for years: 

But Death's what even Politicians fail 

To bribe or swindle, bully or blackmail.

— Hilaire Belloc, Another on the Same

You can buy off your enemies and bribe your benefactors, but you cannot blackmail Christ. Politicians who make a living depriving others of their lives and livelihoods will end up facing a Judge who cannot be bought. That Judge isn't worried about being reelected. He doesn't have dirt you can use to steer Him. He is perfect and righteous and the bribery pirates will find their tactics utterly useless in His courts.

day no. 17,302: if the poor in spirit won't beg, who will?

“We poor sinners need to come back from our wanderings to seek pardon through the all-sufficient merits of our Redeemer. And we need to pray earnestly for the power of the Holy Spirit to give us a precious revival in our hearts and among the unconverted.” ― Robert E. Lee, Recollections and Letters of General Robert E. Lee

If the poor in spirit won't beg, who will? If the humble in heart won't ask, who else would?

If we want the world to repent, we have to show them how.  If we won't go first, who will?  And if we can't, won't, or don't know how, then who does? If we don't believe our own Gospel, why should they?

Romans 10:13-16

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel.

If we who have been sent out by Christ won't go, who can be reached? If we who have been called to speak won't preach, who can believe? If we who know the Lord don't call upon His name, how can anyone else?

day no. 17,301: finneas is fourteen

Happy Birthday, Finneas!

By this time next year, you will likely be taller than me. So, enjoy this chance to look up to me while you still can. You have grown a lot in the past year. You have gained inches in height and pounds of weight. You have gained muscle by lifting weights in the basement and you have grown in knowledge by reading and studying at school. You have changed a lot, but you are still very Finneas.

You still possess your eleven and know how to dominate, but you are beginning to see what is worth dominating and what is not worth your time. You listened through your first Men's Beer n Books study, Joe Rigney's Emotional Sabotage, and even attended your first Friday Beer n Books last month. You have begun sitting with the men on Sunday afternoons outside around the fire instead of staying inside to watch something with the other kids. You have taken an interest in being a man and you have your sights set on it. Like anything else you set your mind to, I fully expect you to dominate this new adventure as well.

You know what you believe and why you believe it and you aren't afraid of what other people think. This sometimes leads you to do or say things you shouldn't, but it's better to be brave and teachable than it is to be coward who thinks he knows it all. So, you are learning how to look to the interests of others, not merely to your own, but you don't have to learn as much in the way of being brave in the face of opposition as most others do.

You are a good son. You help your mom and look for ways to serve her. You are a good brother. You play games with your siblings and you enjoy contributing your gifts to the group. You are a good friend. You have fun with your band of bros at church. You are learning more and more what it means to be a churchman and often help set up tables for fellowship meal and tear them back down and clean up the mess when it's over. You are paying attention to the sermons and learning the songs. You are growing in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and men, just like Jesus did when He was your age.

I'm proud of you. I love you, and I like you. I like being your dad and I am glad that God made you to be my son.

So, here's the Finneas!

Happy Birthday, son.

Love,

Dad