day no. 14,648: a faithless retreat to the familiar

Galatians 4:21-31
Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. 23 But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. 24 Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written, 

"Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; 
break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! 
For the children of the desolate one will be more 
than those of the one who has a husband."

28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29 But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. 30 But what does the Scripture say? "Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman." 31 So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.

Abraham and Sarah returned to what they knew and tried to have a son the old fashioned way by turning to Hagar. The son that was born, Ishmael, was born by works of the flesh. Faithless retreat to the familiar. God rejected Abraham's plan. Abraham was called by grace through faith and he was now returning to old ways of doing things - the tried and true way of doing things without God. But Isaac was the son of promise. He was conceived by God's grace and born by God's work. He is the son the Spirit produced. God kept His promise to Abraham even though he was tempted to return to the bondage of trying to make a go of it without God. We who have faith in Jesus are adopted into the family of God (as per Galatians 3:27-4:7) and are welcomed in by promise. And we stay in by clinging to the Promiser. Safety is not a place, it's a Person. Safety is not a circumstance, it is the Son of God who never changes

Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever

day no. 14,647: head count

Romans 14:12
So then each of us will give an account of himself to God

Some of us will have to give an account for others, but none of us will be excused from accounting for ourselves

day no. 14,646: love endures all things

Proverbs 20:6-7
Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love,
but a faithful man who can find?
The righteous who walks in his integrity— 
blessed are his children after him!

More men have professed their love at the end of an aisle than have stayed faithful to the end of their lives. Love is not in the strength of the profession, but in the durability of the procession. No one can promise to feel loving feelings forever and promises made upon emotion are destined to dissolve. Those who keep their covenants because they said they would bless their offspring with a living picture of the love of God for His elect.

day no. 14,645: why not?

Proverbs 29:18
Where there is no vision the people cast off restraint

Where there is no “Why?” you will always find “Why not?” because all paths are equally good if anywhere is where you want to end up. But if your vision includes a particular somewhere, certain paths will not suffice.

day no. 14,644: nothing beyond, nothing exempt

Isaiah 45:2
I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight.

Nothing is so broken that God cannot fix it or crooked beyond His ability to straighten it out and nothing is not broken or crooked.

Everything is a little wrong, yet nothing is beyond God's ability to make it all right.
Glory be to God!!!

day no. 14,643: men of inaction

“I like my way of doing it better than your way of not doing it.” - D.L. Moody

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt

“Desperate times call for faithful men, and not for careful men. The careful men come later and write the biographies of the faithful men, lauding them for their courage.” - Doug Wilson

The critics often carefully consider every course of action without taking any of them. So when the courageous return from battle, they are met with criticism from those too contemplative to act.

day no. 14,642: right and wrong; life and death

Proverbs 14:12, 16:25
There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.

People do not go to hell because they think they are wrong, they go to hell because they're convinced that they are right.

day no. 14,641: the best you have

"Be careful what you do with the best you have." - Oswald Chambers

What you do with what you value reveals who you worship.

day no. 14,640: two for two

Proverbs 28:4
They that forsake the law praise the wicked:
but such as keep the law contend with them. 

Two different responses to God's Word with two different responses to the wicked.

If you slander God's Word, you will flatter His enemies.
If you follow God Word, you will fight them.

day no. 14,639: all great heresies begin with a little gray

"It is constantly assured that when the lion lies down with the lamb, the lion becomes lamb-like. But that is brutal annexation and imperialism on the part of the lamb. That is simply the lamb absorbing the lion instead of the lion eating the lamb. The real problem is -- Can the lion lie down with the lamb and still retain his royal ferocity? That is the problem the Church attempted; that is the miracle she achieved." - G.K. Chesterton, "Orthodoxy"

Jesus is the Lion of the tribe of Judah and the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He is not a tame lion and He is not a bully of a lamb. He is both, simultaneously without robbing from the other. Just as He is 100% man and 100% God, He is 100% ferocity and 100% humility. He is not a compromise. He is not gray. He is not a compromised lion or lamb. All great heresies begin with a little gray. All rob Him of something that is fully His.

day no. 14,638: principles provide pasture

"The chief aim of order is to give room for good things to run wild." – G.K. Chesterton, "Orthodoxy"

Fences provide freedom and principles provide pasture. Order is best expressed by freedom. 

"Boundaries are the most beautiful things in the world. To love anything is to love its boundaries; thus children will always play on the edge of anything. They build castles on the edge of the sea, and can only be restrained by public proclamation and private violence from walking on the edge of the grass. For when we have come to the end of a thing we have come to the beginning of it."

-- G.K. Chesterton, Tremendous Trifles (1909)

Where there is no order, there is no freedom. Chaos is not free. It can only be chaotic. It cannot choose anything. It insists that all options are optional and thus removes all weight from any choice. It gains nothing by refusing everything just as it gains nothing by refusing nothing.

JOHN 10:9
I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.

day no. 14,637: courage according to Chesterton

"Courage is a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die... A courageous man must seek his life in a spirit of furious indifference to it; he must desire life like water and yet drink death like wine." - G.K. Chesterton, "Orthodoxy"

Christian courage is peculiar. It is a paradox. It is a living sacrifice that recognizes each as of utmost value - life and sacrifice combined.

day no. 14,636: same

Malachi 3:6
For I the Lord do not change.

It would be nonsense to wake up, look up to the sky and say, "God, how are You this morning?" His response every day would be, "Same."

Praise God He does not change. Malachi 3:6 goes on to say that our only hope in surviving the consuming fire that is our God is the fact that He does not change. His immutability is our stability. We are not consumed because He does not change.

He does not change. He doesn't have a bad night's sleep and wake up grouchy. He doesn't get hungry and find Himself in a mood. He doesn't lose patience because circumstances overwhelmed Him. He stays the same. He is ever immutable and it is the foundation of our hope.

Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

day no. 14,635: mighty deeds and might

Psalm 150

God deserves praise for all that He has done and for all that He is, His mighty deeds and His might. He is good and what He does is good. He has been good because He is good. We can sing of all that He has done and look ahead in confidence for all He has yet to do. Because He is good, we can expect good things. Today's goodness of God will tomorrow's songs of all that He has done. 

day no. 14,634: songs and swords

Psalm 149:6

Let the high praises of God be in their throats

and the two-edged swords in their hands

The godly are called to have songs in their mouths and swords in their hands, words of praise on their tongues and weapons of warfare at the ready. The two go hand in hand. High praise for God should manifest in high enrollment in His army. A desire to see Him glorified should produce willing soldiers ready to die for Him and striving to live for Him, to fight for His acclaim and against that which diminishes His claim.

day no. 14,633: being and continuing to be

Psalm 148

The world and everything in it owes its existence to God. He created everything. He sustains everything. There is nothing that does not owe its life, breath and everything else to Him. All living things are alive because He lives. All inanimate things are the product of His imagination. Mountains, valleys, beavers, trees, sun, stars, wind, water, women and children all owe their allegiance and appreciation to Him for their being and for continuing to be.

day no. 14,632: God's indomitable Word

Psalm 147

Hearing God's Word is a blessing. It convicts and it heals. It turns the proud into humble servants and confronts the unrepentant proud in power. Having God's statutes and instruction at hand is a great gift. It helps us know our God and it informs our response to Him. For those who love God, His Word is our treasure. 

day no. 14,631: rain on beach day

Psalm 146

You will never be more disappointed in something or someone as when you insist on it satisfying you. Do not put your trust in princes or armies or wives or children or promotions or dream vacations. They may be enjoyed, but they cannot satisfy without exception. Princes die, armies fail, wives get headaches, children cause headaches, promotions cause more stress, and vacations cost money. Sometimes it rains on beach day, the musician cancels the night you had front row seats, and the athlete gets injured for the season the year you scored season tickets. Put your trust in God who never falls short or asleep.

day no. 14,630: in humble estate is an eternal inheritance

Psalm 145

"The LORD upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down... The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth."

The dynamic between God and man is described in the Bible repeatedly by this formula: God gives grace to the humble, but opposes the proud. Those that are falling have a friend in Jesus. Those laid prostrate find a merciful King. Those who cry out, "Lord, save me!" find a God nearby. To call on Him in truth is to call from a mouth muffled by the ground at His feet. 

In humble estate is an eternal inheritance.

day no. 14,629: the battle, broad shoulders and beauty

Psalm 144

"Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle."

Our God is a drill sergeant. He trains His followers for battle. He trains them through discipline and instruction down to the finger. The body benefits from every member being blessed for battle.

"May our sons in their youth be like plants full grown, 

our daughters like corner pillars cut for the structure of a palace."

Fruitful sons and faithful daughters are the prayerful progeny of the pugilists. Those braving the battle do so with the hope that the next generation will see and believe and grow up to enter the ring alongside them. 

May our sons be men at tender ages, joyfully taking sacrificial responsibility for others by serving, providing and protecting them. We pray their broad shoulders would look for loads to carry.

May our daughters be ladies from day one -- beautiful, stately, secure and elegant. May their presence be constantly in the presence of the King at His palace, faithfully holding down the fort and inspiring others to enter into His glory.

day no. 14,628: unless and until

Psalm 143

"Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground."

God is good. He may pronounce something good because He possesses goodness. If anything is to be good, it must be made or declared good by God. Nothing can be good unless God makes or declares it. God cannot be accused of wrong. He is the measure of goodness. Anything He is or does is good. If our definition of good enables us to accuse or suspect Him of wrong, it is our definition that is off, not Him.

In order to walk in step with this good God we need His help. Not only His help to do it better than if we didn't have His help, but His help to do it at all. We aren't doing it poorly and need His help to do it more professionally. We aren't doing it at all unless and until He helps us. The future is uneven and unpredictable without God, but by His Spirit it is level. It is a firm foundation on which to build, live, play, dance, jump, run and sleep. Life led by Him is level ground though the earth itself be crumbling.

day no. 14,627: our accusers are not without their points

Psalm 142

Our persecutors are more powerful than us and our accusers have the advantage. We cannot defend ourselves because we are defenseless. Our accusers are not without their points - the worst part of Satan's accusations is that they are true. We deserve to be visited by devastation. As long as our hope is in overcoming our accusations, we will fall short and fail every time. Our only hope is being delivered by the God of truth from the truth of our accusations. We need the God of justice to save us from the justice we deserve.

day no. 14,626: three ways words have sway

Psalm 141

There are at least three ways in which words must be considered. The first is our prayers. We must be often before God in prayer. Next we must guard our mouths and watch what we say. This will mean leaving many things unsaid. Lastly, we must hear the words of others, particularly those words which are hard to receive - correction and rebuke. In these three ways words have powerful influence on our life and livelihoods before God and men. 

day no. 14,625: the problem of Zelophehad's daughters

Numbers 36
The solution to the problem of Zelophehad's daughters had created its own problem. This again reinforces the maxim that "everything has problems." Here, if you have only daughters, you have the kind of problems a man without sons has - no heir. If you give the inheritance to the daughters, you have the kind of problems a daughter with an inheritance has - once you marry, your inheritance becomes part of your husband's tribe. So if the original rule was put in place to keep the inheritance in the family, the solution made it possible for the inheritance to leave the family as well if all the daughter's married outside of their tribe. So the solution is simply to say, if you are a daughter who receives a portion of the inheritance because you did not have any brothers, you can carry on your father's legacy by marrying within the tribe or you can forfeit your share of the inheritance and throw your lot in with a man from a different tribe, thus leaving your portion to your sisters so that they can marry within the tribe and maintain their father's legacy.

The solution offered by feminism is never considered: why not just allow the daughter's to carry on the family name regardless of who she marries? Why can't she just hyphenate her last name or why can't she find a nice stay-at-home dad who would be willing to take her name? Those options were not options. Everything has it's problems, no doubt, but the Bible is clear about which types of problems we ought to have.

day no. 14,624: the intersection of highest and lowest

Numbers 35
The holiest people were given the responsibility of dealing with the worst situations. The cities that they were given were frequented by people with blood on their hands. Some were guilty attempting to look innocent. Some were guilty only by accident. But the blood of others was on their hands and they were instructed to the cities of refuge if they wanted a just hearing of their case. A lesson here is that people who aspire to the higher levels of vocational ministry should also expect to be surrounded by the lowest people – people who've done some stuff, people racked with guilt from within or from without. Not to mention the difficulty of also being responsible to deal with the avenger of blood, the one assigned to seek vengeance on behalf of their lost loved one. The minister, in other words, is always dealing with somebody who is having the worst day of their lives. 

All that to say, the life of a minister is a life surrounded by facts and feelings and the intersection of counseling people to and through both.

day no. 14,623: the man who shaved his beard for a woman deserved neither

"You cannot grow a beard in a moment of passion" - G.K. Chesterton

This is one of my favorite things anyone has ever said. Partly because I love Chesterton (or Chesty as he is affectionately referred to round my home) and partly because it is about beards and MOSTLY because it is Chesterton speaking favorably of beards. 

A good beard requires commitment and you cannot just drum one up in a moment. If you want one, you must commit to having one. You cannot suddenly decide to have one. It must be deliberate. It cannot sneak up on you. It happens slowly and surely. 

“Growing a beard is a habit most natural, Scriptural, manly and beneficial.” - C.H. Spurgeon

Beards are grown. They are not produced in a moment of fleeting passion or secured by petulant impatience. They are a product of perseverent habit.

day no. 14,622: rocketsauce in 3...2...1... !!!!

Rocketman is 3 today!!! I love you little brother. You are such a great addition to our family. I love thinking about your name, Rocco Henry Warfield. I am so excited to see you become that man. A man secure in his identity and competency in Christ, joyfully embracing the sacrificial responsibility of being a glory-bearer of God, and demolishing strongholds that raise themselves up against the knowledge of Christ. I wanna thump my chest and follow that man into battle.

You are a little stud. You love making us all laugh. You have an amazing attention span. You play well with others and love being around the action. You have thick hands. I love your little mitts. They are like little man hands. You are such a handsome young man as well. God has blessed you and I am excited about all He will do for you and through you.

Happy birthday, Rocketsauce. I love being your dad. I have great pleasure in you. You are an awesome son and I would choose you every time to be mine.

day no. 14,621: for people and their fences

Numbers 34
The story of God takes place in geographical space. It is not metaphysical abstractness, it is dirt and rivers and mud. The Christian religion takes place on the stage of earth. It has implications for people and their fences. It has application on Tuesday. No other religions require actual events of history and actual places of geography. All can be cashed out in theory. Christianity must be cashed out in actuality. It isn't a feeling, it is a forest – dark, dense with beams of light breaking through, life and livelihood meeting lumber.

day no. 14,620: factual faith

Numbers 33
The faith once for all delivered to the saint is based on historical events. It isn't merely a metaphysical happening detached from time and place. It is earthier than mental exercise. There is real solid sweat and dirt involved. People actually traveled from certain places to other places and God was actively leading them to actual destinations. It isn't all allegorical non-sense, it is physical, literal history. The Christian faith depends on actual events. If certain events did not actually take place our faith is lame. It cannot stand. It is worthless, helpless and hapless. Christian faith is not blind assumption, but certain confidence that particular historical events have specific spiritual significance. If the events did not take place, the faith falls apart. If they took place, but are rendered insignificant, the faith similarly crumbles.

day no. 14,619: the serpentine pattern

Numbers 32:23
But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out.

You cannot win a game of hide and seek with sin. It always wins. It finds you every time. Whether you find one great hiding place or bounce from temporary hideout to hideout, you cannot outmaneuver sin. It is more skilled at the serpentine pattern than you are. It may at times appear to dawdle, but it never demurs. And the worst part is not people finding out your sin, but your sin finding you out - not that others now know, but that sin knows you.