day no. 14,526: signals crossed

Numbers 10
The sound of a trumpet signals something. Depending on length or number, it communicates different information, but nevertheless everyone hears the trumpets. It may be a blast the signals that your chiefs are being summoned. You hear the sound, but no immediate action from you is required. It may be mean that everyone's presence is being requested. It may mean that it is time to march, it may mean that it is time to party. Either way, no one can ignore the sound of the trumpet. Everyone hears it, although not everyone is commanded at that moment to respond to it. So too the end of days will be announced by a trumpet blast. A sound will go out and everyone will hear. And in similar fashion, different people will respond in different ways. For some it will signal a time of war while for others it will announce a time of dining and dancing.

day no. 14,525: vigilantism

Psalm 94

We are called to be Christ-like (Romans 8:29) imitators of God (Ephesians 5:1). But there is one, very particular, way in which we are NOT to imitate Him or be like Him: vengeance. Vengeance belongs to Him (Romans 12:19). He maintains proprietary rights and allows no infringement or artistic license. It is His. When the Bible commands us to forgo vengeance, it does so by telling us why: because vengeance belongs to God and He will repay. So the reason we are to withhold our retribution is because God's retribution is coming and we must place our faith and trust in it. We must believe in His promise. Believing here means we do not take revenge AND that we trust that we will see His vengeance perfectly meted out. Someone has to die. Either God will save our enemies by placing their sin on to Jesus' cross OR He will punish them with unquenchable fire and indomitable worm for all eternity. We trust God by acknowledging that vengeance is necessary AND by allowing Him to administer it on our behalf.

day no. 14,524: belief is a busy thing

"Oh, it is a living, busy, active, mighty thing, this faith" - Martin Luther

Paul and James are not reaching contradictory conclusions. They are asking different questions. Paul's question is, "What saves?" which he answers by saying, "grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone." James' question is, "What is faith?" which he answers by saying, "living faith is active in good works." Paul and James are not in disagreement. James' letter was written first and sought to qualify what this "faith" that saves actually is. Paul pens his letter to the Galatians reaffirming Habakkuk's declaration that "the righteous will live by faith." Not just that their livelihoods would be shaped by faith, but that their lives would be saved by faith alone. The council in Jerusalem in Acts 15 is called to address the controversy that erupts in response. James is present at the head of the proceedings that result in the validation of Paul's message, the one true Gospel. James was not won over by Paul's argument, James already held the same position. The council was not James against Paul, it was James and Paul against those who would add to Christ's perfectly completed work of dying for our sins and living for our righteousness. Thus, over a thousand years later, Luther says that belief is a busy thing. Faith looks like something. It works. Both in the sense that it employs itself for God's glory in obeying God's commands and in the sense that it effectually accomplishes its intended aim, it hits its target every time. Faith works. It is sufficient to save. It is busy in its belief.

day no. 14,523: no proxy

“Every man must do two things alone; he must do his own believing and his own dying.” - Martin Luther

No man can believe or die for you. No man can make his belief your belief so as to excuse your lack of belief and no man can die your death so as to provide a way of escape from death for you. 

Hebrews 9:27-28
And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him.

No man except the God-man, Jesus Christ, that is. He lived the life we should have lived and died the death we should have died so that those who are drawn to Him can escape death and enter life everlasting. No man can do this for you. No parent or relative or pastor. Only Jesus.

day no. 14,522: the weight of weakness

I came across this quote from Spurgeon the other day...

God doesn’t need your strength; He has more than enough of power of His own. He asks your weakness; He has none of that Himself." - Charles Haddon Spurgeon

It reminded me of these verses...

2 Corinthians 12:9-10
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

The orientation of all existence is doxology. In other words, the chief end of all things is to bring glory to God. If our strengths stand in the way of His glory, they are our weaknesses. If our weaknesses bring God glory, they are our strengths. If our chief end is in line with His chief end for us, we accept and receive whatever His hand provides or withholds as our greatest good since our aim is His greatest glory. He is not lacking glory that He needs our adoration, rather we are lacking in giving that His glory may become our chief end.

day no. 14,521: a grace positioning system

Numbers 9:22
Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time, that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, abiding there, the people of Israel remained in camp and did not set out, but when it lifted they set out.

Wherever God lingers, there I want to camp. 
Wherever God goes, there I want to roam. 
Whenever God moves, I want to be moved. 
Whenever He stops, I want to be anchored.

day no. 14,520: establishment

Psalm 93
No one can cast down what God has established and no one can sustain what God has destined for destruction. Vain glory and pride will exalt themselves and the proverb will come to pass: "the bigger they are, the harder they fall." The lowly will be lifted up and the self-congratulatory will be cast down. No one can usurp this principle. No self exertion or will power or consensus of voices can overhaul what God has established. The meek will inherit the earth. It is theirs by rebirthright. No one can take it from them because it is the Lord's to have and to hold and He has established the heirs.

day no. 14,519: heavenly holiness and earthly manliness

Numbers 8
Priests must be set apart. In order to serve as mediators between God and man, they must be apart from men in general and apart for God in particular. They must be a hybrid of heavenly holiness and earthly manliness. The must be every man and no man at the same time. They must represent all people and be a different kind of person simultaneously. To carry the weight of all men, they must carry the weight of being a different kind of man. And so it was that Jesus, the perfect Mediator, was a hybrid of every man and no man, of earth and sky, of holiness and humility. He was God and man, the God-man, who was and is and will always be our great High Priest. Tempted as every man and able to relate to His brothers, yet without sin and able to to save His brothers.

day no. 14,518: the weeds and the woods

Psalm 92

The wicked are like weeds that spring up quickly, spread contagiously, appear to be taking over everything and then vanish suddenly. The righteous are like trees anchored deeply in the soil who endure wind and weather and season. The righteous are fed from deep roots while the wicked spread along the surface. The righteous will endure because the One who feeds them endures forever. The wicked flourish for now on the surface, but have no staying power. 

day no. 14,517: first among equals

Numbers 7
Every tribe brought the same sacrifices, but the tribe of Judah, again went first. Judah was the first among equals. Their sin was no less than their brothers. Equal portions of measures of offerings were brought by them, but their responsibility was to lead the way. Being the head does not mean that you're more valuable, it means you do what everyone must do first.

day no. 14,516: plague and promise

Psalm 91

There is real safety in the shelter of God's shadow. But God's people often endure difficulties. Satan knows this song well and used it's lyrics in his temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. But Jesus knew that the cross comes before the crown and humility comes before honor. The cross was not a sign of Jesus' failure, it was a symbol of His victory. Christians to this day sing of and wear signs of the cross. This song sings of faith in God to protect us as we risk our lives for His glory. If our hope is anchored in Him, our hope can never be taken away from us.

day no. 14,515: writing your own vows

Numbers 6:24-26
24 The Lord bless you and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

This familiar blessing follows a chapter devoted to the Nazarite vow. While Levites were required to serve God, lay people could devote themselves to serving God by taking the Nazarite vow. This vow was typically temporary and provided the person an opportunity to demonstrably serve God. It cost them a great deal of freedom through self-denial, but granted them the privilege of serving their God in a tangible way they would otherwise not have access. The costs were evident. One could not fulfill the Nazarite vow without feeling it and one could not fulfill it without everyone else seeing it. This produced accountability for the devotee and encouragement to the observer.

It is good for us to seasonally fast and to always be ready to deny ourselves. It is good for us and it is good for those who are watching us. It is encouraging to watch someone love Jesus and consecrate their life and livelihood for His glory above all other things. It often inspires those who love God to do the same.

day no. 14,514: death rattle

Psalm 90

The life of man before God is like a sigh. It is an exaggerated breath that ends. It is a vapor that vanishes, a warm breath on a cold morning. Wisdom is found in considering this fact often. Foolishness is devoting oneself to forgetting. Vanity chases the wind of younger days and ignorance plods ahead building bigger barns for someone else to inherit. 

day no. 14,513: cuckold

Numbers 5
There are few insults more insulting than being thought of as a cuckold - a man whose wife is stepping on him. The thought of it is a violent concoction of humiliation and hurt. The essence of masculinity is assaulted in discovering one's own wife could not find you man enough. It is so offensive that even the suspicion of it unravels a man. So here we see a safeguard against a man who insists on being suspicious or a man who is being cucked over. The elixir itself is here prescribed, but the potency of its side effects depend entirely on the Spirit of truth. If a woman swears an oath and comes out the other side unscathed, the man must accept it. If a woman swears an oath and yet still suffers, her plea must be dismissed.

day no. 14,512: our champion

Psalm 89

The heart of a people is with their champion. As he goes, they go. So when Goliath was bested by David, the Philistines fled for fear since their champion lay headless on the battlefield. When you have David as your shepherd, you have hope and confidence. The man who destroyed bears and lions with his bare hands and decapitated the giant is on your side and for you. What could possibly go wrong? We have the son of David, the better giant slayer on our side. What shall we fear? Will He be bested? Will He grow old or tired and fail us? No, He is a living God who sits enthroned with sin, Satan and death as His footstool, of what or whom shall we fear? As Jesus goes, we go and He goes on forever in life and joy.

day no. 14,511: an age of ministry

Numbers 4
In order to serve as a priest, one must be at least 30 years old and cannot be older than 50. In Luke 3:23 we discover that Jesus also waited until he was 30 before He began a public ministry. While Jesus certainly spent the 30 years previous diligently keeping the law by doing what God had commanded and avoiding what God had forbid, He did not step into a public, more priestly role until He was 30. These data points are more descriptive than prescriptive given that the priesthood has been fulfilled in Jesus, but they do give some credence to the practice of waiting for men to turn 30 before they are considered for the office of elder in a local church.

day no. 14,510: capturing the moment

Psalm 88

This is what happens when you write the song while you're in the mood. This is raw. This is unfiltered. This is what pain and suffering and being tested actually sounds like. Many wait until the moment passes and then in reflection write about what it was like, but this captures the essence of affliction as it is happening. This is the depths of a soul crying out to God certain He's there, hoping He cares.

day no. 14,509: throwing shade at the light

Jeremiah 23:33
“When one of this people, or a prophet or a priest asks you, ‘What is the burden of the Lord?’ you shall say to them, ‘You are the burden, and I will cast you off, declares the Lord.’"

I love this! I love everything about it. The backstory is that God has given Jeremiah some pretty dire predictions of the future to proclaim to His fellow people. So much so that the people have come to expect it like 20-somethings renting a home near the railroad tracks come to expect the intermittent horn blast and floor rumble routine that comes with the territory.

So God here gives Jeremiah some back up. He packs Jeremiah's lunchbox with some sass to serve back to his dissenters. God has got His prophet's back. 

The next time Jeremiah goes out and the people see him and mockingly inquire "What's the bad news today?" his response is to be, "You are!"

That is such a great comeback. You can't throw shade at the Light.

day no. 14,508: we are beggars! this is true.

Martin Luther's last words, written on a scrap piece of paper read, 

"We are beggars! This is true."

This calls to mind Jesus' first words from His most famous sermon, 

MATTHEW 5:3
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs if the kingdom of heaven."

No one comes to God save by Christ and no one receives Christ save by beggary.

day no. 14,507: the golden circle:"why" before "what"

Stan Hayek sent ( this link ) to a TED talk by Simon Sinek entitled, "How Great Leaders Inspire Action," out to CG leaders and asked us to watch. 

I really appreciated the golden circle diagram emphasizing that your "Why" should be driving your "How" and your "What." Why inspires, what solicits. You can get 10% of people to get behind what you solicit, but you can change the world by gripping the hearts of 84% of people if you inspire them. Some people will always hold out no matter "what" you do and some will be on board based on the "what" alone; but inspiration, that comes from leading with your "why," will rally the troops to insist on sweating and bleeding if only for the opportunity to be part of "why" you're doing.

day no. 14,506: in our stead

Numbers 3:44-45
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the Lord. 

When it comes to matter of priesthood it seems that God prefers substitution. He institutes imputation and substitution. All the firstborn of all the people of Israel were to be substituted for the Levites. The Levites would serve as a consecrated people on behalf of their brothers. They would approach God on behalf of the entire nation. They were set apart for this particular responsibility. 

Thousands of years later, Jesus would become our great High Priest. He was not from the tribe of Levi, He was from God. He brought the sacrifice of His life into the most holy place and split the dividing veil forever. Jesus is our Priest and our sacrifice and most importantly, in every way, our substitute. He took our sin and gave us His righteousness. Salvation itself stands firmly on the solid ground of substitution.

day no. 14,505: this one was born there

Psalm 87

The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. God prefers corporate worship to private. He loves the gathering of His people to praise Him more than their private meditative moments. God not only loves the gates of Zion more than any one dwelling place of Jacob, He loves it more than all of the collective dwelling places of Jacob combined. This is not to say that He does not love or even like private worship and prayerful meditation and study. It is, however, to stress that the whole is more important than the individual in God's economy. The church is greater than the member, the body more beloved than its cells. 

Everyone is born somewhere, but only those reborn and registered by God as citizens of Zion are counted righteous. There is no title higher that could be given than, "this one was born there."

day no. 14,504: marching orders

Numbers 2
The twelve tribes of Israel are here divided into 5 groups, 1 to lead, 1 accompanying the tent of meeting, 1 on each flank and 1 guarding the rear.  Judah was chosen to head up the lead, the Levites were chosen to accompany the tent of meeting, Reuben and Ephraim were on the right and left and Dan headed the caboose. It is fitting that Judah would lead the group that leads the way. From his lineage a Lion would be born who would one day lead the children of God to their final resting place, the greater and more permanent promised land, Heaven itself.

day no. 14,503: under one zip code

Psalm 86 
Unite my heart to fear Your Name. This prayer request points to the fact that our hearts are often divided. There is part of us that desires to know God, love Him and follow Him in each and every moment and there is part of us that desires to be left alone to do what we want. Our hearts often contain gated communities tucked away safely outside of our inner town squares. The prayer here acknowledges these places and also a certain powerlessness of our own ability to unify our heart under one zip code. If our hearts are to be united for God alone, He will have to invade the abandoned buildings of our inner ghettos as well as the towering skyscrapers of our inner industry. He must conquer every district and plant an unflagging devotion to Him alone.

day no. 14,502: every man able

Numbers 1
Twelve times over we see here the phrase, "every man able to go to war." This implies first of all that women and children were not to go to war. It was the responsibility of the men older than twenty. But they were also able-bodied men. Just like every able-bodied man should have a job providing for himself and for any others for whom he extends his responsibility, so too, every able-bodied man should be ready to go to war to fight for his brothers, his sons, his daughters, his wife and his home (Nehemiah 4:14) The burden and privilege of fighting falls on masculine shoulders and if God has made you able to fight, He has also made it that you must.

day no. 14,501: the divine dance where justice leads and mercy follows

Psalm 85

Nowhere does righteousness and peace kiss more passionately than on the cross of Christ. A spotless, blameless life diligently lived to serve God and sidestep sin was placed on a sinner's cross. The peace of the Son met the wrath of the Father. All we deserve was avenged on Him. All that He earned was bequeathed to us. His will clearly stated that all His possessions were to be given away on the condition that all of our junk be forfeited to Him. All we have is junk. All He has is treasure and He insists on the trade. The only thing God requires a person to possess in order to be saved is... nothing. And sadly, it is the one thing most people do not have.

day no. 14,500: every tenth

Leviticus 27:32-33 
And every tithe of herds and flocks, every tenth animal of all that pass under the herdsman's staff, shall be holy to the Lord. 33 One shall not differentiate between good or bad, neither shall he make a substitute for it; and if he does substitute for it, then both it and the substitute shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed. 

Tithing animals was a matter of setting aside every tenth animal. One was not to judge it "good" or "bad." It was simply to be set apart because it was the tenth one to pass by. If one judged it "good" and as a result tried to substitute for it in order to try to avoid giving up a good one, the good one was still to be given as well as the substitute. Trying to rig the system in order to come out ahead ended in having less than if you had simply obeyed. Sin always takes you further than you want to go, faster than you want to get there, costs more than you were willing to pay, and keeps you longer than you wanted to stay.

day no. 14,499: better

Psalm 84

It is better to walk through the valley of the shadow of death with God than to walk through the golden streets of comfort and ease without Him. It is not just better to be going to Heaven... someday, it is better to be with God now. God will not only be a better choice in eternity, He is a better choice now in daily life. The restless find their rest in Him. The worthless find their worth in Him. The one who has God and nothing else has more than the one who has everything but God.

day no. 14,498: contrarian

Leviticus 26:27-28
But if in spite of this you will not listen to me, but walk contrary to me, 28 then I will walk contrary to you in fury, and I myself will discipline you sevenfold for your sins.

God loves His children too much to watch them walk in darkness. He also loves them too much to not intercede with discipline. He loves them too much to simply walk away or let go of the leash. He turns some over to their own interests, but not His children. He turns the temperature of discipline up as His fury grows. But it is discipline, not punishment. It is meant to teach, to instruct, to guide and to change. The goal is that His kids would again listen to Him and He does not grow weary of getting our attention.

day no. 14,497: the end of all God's enemies

Psalm 83

God's enemies have no hope. They have no hope of defeating Him in battle and they have no hope of surviving His presence after they die on the battlefield. But God saves some of His enemies by changing the way they see things. Instead of hatred and aggression toward the things of God, they are translated into those who feel guilt and shame. Their loathing is turned from outward to inward. They begin to grieve their opposition to God and that is the place from where God also destroys His enemies: by turning them into His friends. All God's enemies will be vanquished. Some will hold out and launch arrows right up until their final defeat while others will be destroyed by being reborn into the family of God as His friends who launch out on mission for Him right up until their final victory in consummation.

day no. 14,496 continued... alphabetical areas of interest list

AW Tozer (began reading The Pursuit of God)

Am I Called? by Harvey (just finished reading)

American Ninja Warrior

Arrested Development (watching again)

APEST (learning about 5Q leadership)

Battles (PS 84: Lord of Hosts = God of armies)

Beowulf (started reading Doug Wilson's rendering again)

Ben Sasse (senator and author, "Vanishing American Adult")

Babylon Bee (so funny, follow on Twitter)

Books of the Bible (song with kids)

Catechism (little book of Q&As w/ kids)

Chemex coffee maker (Father's Day gift)

Cold Showers (injecting hardship into life)

Doug Wilson (Blog & Mablog, Plodcast)

Dude Perfect (Youtube videos)

Eldering (executing office and raising up new)
Fail Army (Youtube videos)

Family Force Five (Fire on the Highway)
Good Mythical Morning (at night w/ kids)
Grace Agenda 2018 (podcasts)

Great British Baking Show (w/ family)

Grilled Cheese (all the heart eyes)

High Protein Diet (no carbs til dinner)
IPAs (such good beer)
Jesus Storybook Bible (reading w/ kids)
Kreeft (excited to read "3 Philosophies of Life" again)
Legacy (just preached from Ps 127)

Literal 6 day Creation (Challies article)
Men's ministry (leading men to lead men)
"November Rain" cover by Steve N Seagulls
Oikos Triple Zero every day for breakfast
People Are Awesome (Youtube videos)
Psalm singing (what does it look like?)

Proverb of the Day (w/ kids)

Queen = "Somebody to Love" (covers)
Rhett and Link (Youtube vides)
Sermon prep (prepping PS 84 and PS 16)
Steve N Seagulls (Finnish folk covers of rock music)

Tomato-staking parenting

Triperspectivalism (Prophet/Priest/King)
Underwriting (possible career move soon?)
Vacation (excited for trip to Custer in Sep)

Vlogging w/ Paige (ask a big family dad spots)
Wedding prep (officiating 1st wedding 8/4/18)
(X)cellent worship, Sunday morning
"Yes!" (creating culture of Yes instead of No)
Zero, as in Coke Zero

day no. 14,496: the meek, not the moguls, inherit the earth

Leviticus 25:10

And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his clan.

All land is God's land, we're just tenants. Much like my children's toys are all my toys. Yes, they keep them in their rooms, but they do so in my house. And the moment a toy is abused or used inappropriately it can be taken away or suspended without prior notice. Why? Because my children's toys are all my toys. It's my house; they're all just living in it. So it is with God. This is His world; we're all just living in it. So when God says, "Ok, you've had that land long enough. Time to give it back." You obey because it's His land. And the year of Jubilee, the Super-Sabbath, is the time when He commands His tenants to part with and repossess particular lands. Obedience to this law assumes God's ownership of all land and those who inhabit them. No one has squatter's rights in God's world. We don't take over by plopping down. You can resist and hoard and hold on to, but the land itself will vomit you out eventually. Why? It's God's land and the harder you hold on to it, the more it slips like sand through your fingers. The meek will inherit the earth, not the moguls.