day no. 14,710 continued... congratulations on 12k, Mrs. VV

You did it, Paige. 
Congratulations!

12,000 sunrises, 12,000 sunsets, 
12,000 moons, 12,000 afternoons.

Nailed it! Here's to the next 12,000.

day no. 14,710: but only afterward

John 14:33
Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, "Where I am going you cannot come."

When Jesus spoke these words to His disciples, there was no way for them to get to where He was going. He was the way, but the road hadn't been completely paved yet or more accurately, the bridge hadn't covered the gap yet.

John 14:36
Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.”

By the time Jesus completed His triumphant march up to the throne and out of the grave, a way would be paved and completed that bridged entirely the gap between God and fallen man.

These two facts combined are in essence a foundational part of the Christian faith: there is no way for fallen man to reach God. We cannot be where He is. But by grace through faith in what Jesus alone accomplished once for all, we can follow Him to where He is now! A world without a cross cannot get across the chasm between it and God. Anyone on the cross can find themselves safely where God alone is. 

Psalm 24:3
Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place?

Only Jesus… and anyone who follows after Him.

day no. 14,709: modern war fair

Isaiah 3:12

My people—infants are their oppressors,

    and women rule over them.
O my people, your guides mislead you
    and they have swallowed up the course of your paths.

If you win the men, you win the war.

If you aim at raising up godly men, you will get godly women. 

Men are the ceiling, and you cannot be taller than your head.

Jeremiah 51:30

The warriors of Babylon have ceased fighting; they remain in their strongholds; their strength has failed; they have become women

day no. 14,708: grit and gratitude

Deuteronomy 8:17-18
Beware lest you say in your heart, "My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth." 18 You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth.

It is sometimes difficult to remember how you got somewhere once you have arrived. I have pulled into my driveway on more than one occasion with the thought, "I know I got home, but I don't remember making any of the turns required to get here." Success and satisfaction always come pre-packaged with the temptation to forget how the success and satisfaction were acquired. It is easy to pray to God for help and even easier to forget to thank God after the prayers have been answered.

1 Corinthians 4:7
What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?

day no. 14,707: divine discipline

Deuteronomy 8:5
Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the LORD your God disciplines you.

A father disciplines his son in order to teach him, train him and show him a better way. Discipline assumes that children don't know what's best because all men have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. This come pre-loaded, not in post-production. It also requires the father to be disciplined, organized and committed. Discipline administered intermittently is not discipline, but haphazard punishment masquerading as discipline.

God is disciplined and He disciplines those He loves by training, teaching and showing them a better way than they would choose for themselves. God is a better father than earthly fathers, but He is not less of a father than they are. Know this in your heart, remind yourself of this: God disciplines because He loves.

Only a deadbeat dad would fail to be there for his kids.

day no. 14,706: mundane miracles

Deuteronomy 8:4
Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years.

The deliverance of Israel from Egypt may have been punctuated with extraordinary miracles like the Passover and the parting of the Red Sea, but it also included many ordinary, everyday miracles like clothes that did not wear out and feet that did not get too swollen to continue walking. This means that in those moments where the people of God were crying out for miraculous intervention in the form of fast food or water from rocks, they were, in those very moments, already being ministered to by the daily miracle of clothes that were holding out against the daily grind and feet that bearing up under the weight of walking mile after mile. Some miracles are more mundane than others without being any less miraculous.

day no. 14,705: feasting on forever

Deuteronomy 8:3
Man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

Man most definitely needs bread – without it, he will die. But he needs more than bread if he is to live. If he only eats bread, he will only hold death off for so long, but everyone who eats bread still dies. But only those who feast on the Word of God will live forever. We become like what we worship and we are what we eat. Bread gets moldy and rots overtime – so does man. But the Word of God will live forever and so will the man who feeds on it.

1 Peter 1:24-25
All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls, 
but the Word of the Lord remains forever.

day no. 14,704: and not a moment before

Deuteronomy 7:21-22
You shall not be in dread of them, for the LORD your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God. 22 The LORD your God will clear away these nations before you little by little. You may not make an end of them at once, lest the wild beasts grow too numerous for you.

God systematically removes obstacles before us, but not any sooner than we need them removed. No problem is so bad that it cannot be made worse. Whatever obstacles that lie before us, it would be worse for them to be removed before we need them gone. Some problems we see coming over the horizon are best left where they are until it is time for them to be uprooted and thrown into the ocean. Tomorrow's anxieties will be there waiting for us and trying to squeeze them into today's schedule does not make them any smaller. They will be there until God deals with them and many times He will deal with them tomorrow, right on time, right when you needed them addressed, but not before.

Matthew 6:34
Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

day no. 14,703: repay him to his face

Deuteronomy 7:9-10
Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, 10 and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face.

There is only one God. And He is a covenant keeping God. He promises to love those who love Him. And He also promises to destroy those who hate Him. He will not do this in ways that could be misconstrued. He will love those who love Him face to face in intimate fellowship. Likewise, He opposes the proud to their face. He doesn't slander them behind their backs, He faces them and destroys them for their slandering of Him.

day no. 14,702: for us there is no other righteousness

Deuteronomy 6:25
And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us.

For those who follow God there can be no other righteousness than that which comes from doing what He says and getting it from where He declares it is present. For us, no other righteousness can be counted, pursued, acknowledged or tolerated. This will require careful thought and practice since our default is to desire alternate sources of righteousness or justification. We are vulnerable to justifying ourselves or desiring righteousness that comes from buying the right kind of coffee, clothes or car, etc... We look to virtue signal and hope that those around us can read the signs. But for us, there can be no other righteousness than that which comes from God, has its source in Him and is provided to us by Him.

day no. 14,701: built, filled, founded and fruitful beforehand

Deuteronomy 6:10-12
And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, 11 and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, 12 then take care lest you forget the Lord

The Christian life is one of receiving a kingdom. One that you did not build, did not fill, did not lay the foundation for, and did not produce the fruit that is on the plant.

Luke 12:32
Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

And all of this is gift: generous, joy-filled, good pleasure laden gift. The Father likes doing this sort of thing. He likes securing the land, the borders, the buildings, the trees, the fruit, the fullness and then handing it over to those who contributed nothing to it but their empty hands to place it into.

day no. 14,700: extraordinary news for ordinary days

Deuteronomy 6:4-9
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

The extraordinary news of God should have its place in the ordinary dealings of daily life. This tells us that it takes all the power of God to do the most regular things and that nothing is so regular that it is beneath being used to point to God. And all of this begins, first and foremost, at home. Not just in scheduled shifts, but also in unplanned happenings. Quality time is a product of quantity time. So begin by spending lots of time with your children and then determine to talk about Jesus whatever you happen to be doing. This will include regular family devotionals as well as irregular one off situations. Either way, always be prepared to provide a defense for the hope that you have. Not just to strangers, but to those who know you best.

day no. 14,699: a heart such as this

Deuteronomy 5:29
Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever!

One of the greatest tragedies of the human heart is that it cannot stay put. It wanders everywhere and lives nowhere. This tendency highlights the need for a new heart. If the old heart could simply settle down and clean up its act, a new heart would not be necessary. But if our old heart cannot ever kick the bad habits and sober up, a new heart is a necessity. If we are going to dwell with God, He first has to give us a new heart that can dwell anywhere.

day no. 14,698: there was only a voice

Deuteronomy 4:12
You heard the sound of words, but saw no form; there was only a voice.

We, too, hear God's Words without seeing His face which can often leave us scrambling to fill in the gap. We desire to see the lips move instead of merely feeling the breath move us. So we resort to idolatry. We fashion something in order to account for the wind. Moses addresses this tendency here by putting up a caution sign: 

"Tread lightly and with attention to detail, it is slippery ground on which you are about to walk."

Hearing from God is life-giving. Inventing a face to account for the voice almost always leads to a distortion of the Speaker. This ought to instruct us - the best representation of God is His Word.  Any attempt to round out the rest of the picture robs from His image or adds to it accouterments not fitting His Person.

day no. 14,697: heirloom seeds

Deuteronomy 4:9, 10, 25-26, 40
Make them known to your children and your children's children… the Lord said to me, "Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so…." When you father children and children's children, I call heaven and earth to witness against you... Therefore you shall keep his statutes and his commandments, which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you.

One of the most neglected areas of discipleship is also one of the most obvious: the home. God places a high value on making disciples from scratch. The commission to be fruitful and multiply assumes a lot of seeds followed by a lot of saplings.

One of the best and most helpful things any person can do for the advancement of the glory of God, is to love those closest to home. If more parents took seriously the charge to disciple (i.e. discipline and instruct) their children, the church would be less burdened by urgent cases of need. There would be less broken individuals and the ones that did break would already have a built in system to turn to for wisdom, help, grace, faith and instruction – leaving cases of actual need: those without anyone else to disciple them, to the church.

day no. 14,696: take care, keep and watch carefully

Deuteronomy 4:9, 15
Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life… 15 Therefore watch yourselves very carefully.

The default of the human heart is drift

Hebrews 2:1
Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.

If we don't pay attention, we go broke.
If we don't take care, we deteriorate.
If we don't keep our soul diligently, we fall into disrepair invariably.
If we don't work hard to remember, we find it easy to forget.
If we don't watch, we miss the most important things every time.

Forgetfulness and thoughtlessness are not excusable personality quirks or characteristics, they are spiritual states of unbelief for which we are held accountable. Unbelief is the default disposition of the natural human soul and those who do not take proactive measures to keep belief aflame will find themselves tending to a bunch of smoldering sticks that used to give heat and light.

The only thing you have to do in order to drift away from God is nothing.

day no. 14,695: wise by whose standard?

Deuteronomy 4:5-8
See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 6 Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people." 7 For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? 8 And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?

We tend to provide a less glowing review of the Old Testament law. If someone lobs an accusation against the old-timey, backwards ways of early Israel, we tend to grant the ground readily. We immediately take the position of apologizing for it and assuring the detractor that objects in the rearview mirror may appear closer than they are, but that they actually aren't. We love putting distance between us and God's revealed Words, especially when the verdict of those onlooking is guilty.

But Moses assumed that a people committed to God's Word would attract onlookers and create a buzz that elevated God's reputation among those they lived - no caveat required. Seems like perhaps the Apostle Paul would have agreed with Moses (fancy that).

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 Aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.

day no. 14,694: more or less?

Deuteronomy 4:2

You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.

When dealing with the Word of God, there are always two temptations close at hand:

1) to say more than He has said

2) to say less than He has said

It is one thing to elaborate or explain what has been said, it is another thing to expand on what has been said. There is a difference between describing the path in more detail and paving new lanes to make the road wider.

It is another matter to excuse or expunge what has been said. It is not permissible to be silent where God has spoken. Again, the end result is often a path that is wider than it would be if certain road signs were present and enforced.

day no. 14,693: appetite guide

While watching "The Riot and the Dance" tonight, I was struck by a comment the narrator, Dr. Gordon Wilson, made regarding appetites. During a clip showing gecko lizards eating flying termites by a lonely lamp lit in the jungle, he made a comment about how much geckos love eating flying termites. He supplemented this by pointing out how tragic it would be if they craved eggs and bacon and only ever had flying termites to eat. Their appetites match what they are provided. Their God gave them both a desire to eat termites and termites in abundance on which to feast. They get what they were designed to want.

In similar fashion, man was made for God and in Christ He has provided all of Himself to us. How tragic that so many crave sex, drugs, fame, money, power, pride, and comfort when infinite joy is offered to us? How sad that we desire what God is offering and search for it in mud pies in the slum?

We may take pity on the gecko for being relegated to a life of eating flying termites, but the gecko takes pity on us for gorging ourselves on vending machine snacks when a feast is on the table.

day no. 14,692: complementarianism and counter-punching

All this talk of complementarianism and chauvinism got me to thinking…. 

If the pejorative term for being Biblical through and through is "chauvinist," the pejorative term for wanting to be thought of as Biblical while feeling the freedom to promote unbiblical ideas with respect to complementarianism should be called, "Masochism."

Let me explain. What would you call the paying and promotion of a woman to the position of being your master, applauding her for their handling of the whip and congratulating yourself for your humility? Read that job description back as many times as you like, but there's no way around it sounding like a world drenched in leather and domination. If you don't think that's masochism, then you need masochism lessons.... which i DO NOT recommend: the previous lashes do not seem to have left an impression. The only difference here is that masochism typically, like cockroaches, thrives in the dark, but this new play is being run out in broad daylight. Most masochists at least recognize that this kind of behavior is best left tot the shadows, while these new, enlightened whipsters have the audacity to do this sort of thing for everyone else to see (Eph 5:12) turning a private shame into a public debacle. And all the while expecting to be greeted by fanfare and a tickertape parade (Rom 1:32).

You might say, "that sounds over the top and intentionally hyperbolic in order to make a point," to which I may respond, "compromising positions often do not sound less compromising when described by those who have the benefit of not currently being bent over. It looks different from a standing position than it does from a kneel."

day no. 14,691: complementarianism and compliments

The Biblical, complementarian position on gender roles and distinctions is often accused of being chauvinistic. It receives these 40 lashes from those without who see the whole thing as a toxic masculinity cesspool as well as from those within who see a gradation between old guard, patriarchy and new guard, progress with the former being out of the touch the latter being up n' coming and enlightened. I understand why those without cast the first stone, complementarianism undermines everything they hold dear by insisting that meaningful distinction and design undergird everything we encounter. I do not understand, however, the backlash that is often received from those who claim Christ, but consider those still reading their Bibles to be ass backwards – for nothing is less progressive than going backwards and flipping the pages back to Genesis 2 and 3.

There is a brand of Christian that holds complementarianism in derision and another that holds it blushingly and apologetically as though they were only holding it for now... for someone else... until they get back, but not a moment longer. Instead of providing an apology for the Bible's position, they provide apologies for the Bible's positions by the way they shrug their shoulders. Regardless, a Bible-believing complementarian should consider it a compliment to be criticized as a "chauvinist, by either of these brands.

"Chauvinism" is a choice term. Decades of women's studies majors have pre-loaded it with all the appeal of a plastic straw in the ocean. It is not cool. It is a word that no one wants to be and thus can be used to manipulate people to change their behavior. If you label what they do or think as "chauvinistic," you successfully maneuver them off that position or activity. No one can in clean conscience remain a chauvinist any more than they can tolerate being a "racist." If something is called chauvinistic or racist, whatever it is, even if it isn't at all, we know one thing… it must stop… NOW!

But knowing all of that, those on the more liberal (read: generous) end of the Christian spectrum feel the freedom to connect the conservative, historical, Christian, biblical position with the term "chauvinism" and accuse their exegesis of thinking only with its other head. However, if someone who is in Camp Chauvinist lobs back that grenade before it explodes, they're accused of friendly fire and promoting disunity as though the problem of divisions in the brotherhood were unilaterally the responsibility of the bigger, older brother's punching back.

day no. 14,690: alphabetical areas of interest list January 2019

Advent (really enjoyed our first very intentional season)

Ask Doug (YouTube videos of Doug Wilson answering questions)

Beard (3 months old, looking good, feeling great!)

Benediction (trying to find more ways to implement Numbers 6:24-26)
Bifocals (still haven't mentally resolved to fact of needing them)

Brain Games (show on Netfliex enjoying with family)

Canon Press/Christ Church (wanting to visit)

Calendar (reorienting calendar around Christian calendar)

Charades (enjoyed playing w/ family during Advent nights w/o movies)

Charcuterie board (loved having out several times during feast day celebrations)

Cold Showers (still enjoying cold showers after workouts)

Connection Group (enjoying break over holidays and looking ahead to Spring)

Discipleship (meeting with guys 4 out of 5 days a week for lunch this semester)

Doug Wilson (still fan-girling like a boss: Books, Blog & Mablog, and Plodcast)

Dude Perfect (still a family favorite, Youtube videos)

Down Syndrome (scared after initial ultrasound for baby girl, blood test confirmed negative)

Eldering (identifying next group, beginning new book/group training in Feb)

Fasting (revisiting this discipline accompanied by specific prayers)

Feast Days (implementing intentional focus on feasting) 

Future (keeping eye on prize and wondering what God may call us to)

Genesis 3 (looking fwd to preaching the Fall in a few weeks)

Gentlemen Broncos (excited to watch this Hess film I got for Christmas!)

Gifts (God using Christmas to prompt many to provide financial needs)

Girl's Names (contemplating VV #7's name)
Glasses (trying to adjust to wearing new glasses more regularly)

God Rest Ye Merry (just completed Advent devo by Doug Wilson)

Gratitude (a heart full of "Thank you" for God's kindness in healing and provision lately)

High Protein Diet (looking to get back into it after holiday season)

How to think (learning not just what, but how and how to teach others the same)

IPAs (still by far my favorite genre of beer, lately Logboat's Rosalitas)
Is Genesis History? (excited to watch movie I got for Christmas)

Jammin Jalapeno sauce at BWW (back for limited time, love it! why'd they discontinue it?)

Korn (getting reacquainted while running on treadmill)
Lay leading (prepping for sermon on "All of Life is Spiritual")

Lion and the Lamb (just preached on Rev 19:11-16, loved opportunity to cash it out)

Moscow, ID (interested in the area and the ministry of Christ Church)

Music (excited to explore this possibility more while working in UW)

Mustache (first time growing beard w/o trimming 'stache, crazy)

New Building (Anthem renovating, prepping to enter new building by February)

Ology, The (reading w/ kids during dinner)

Other Jesuses (2 Cor 11:3-4 ref in recent sermon is clutch in combating this tendency)

Pilgrim's Progress (began reading w/ intention of reading through every year going fwd)

Preaching and sermon preparation (delighting in studying, doing and teaching God's Word)

Prayer walking (praying for family by name during morning walk to work)

Pull up bar (Atticus got for Christmas, been enjoying opportunity to work upper body)

Quarter zip (hand me down work out jacket/shirt from Josh Miller I've be wearing tons)

Quit biting pointer and pinky finger nails on right hand (bad habit resurfaced on these only)

Racial Reconciliation (pursuing clear-headed, Gospel-centered discussion/reactions)

Refused (listened to Shape of Punk to Come album other day for first time in long time)

Strength (men: serve, provide protect -- women: make home, cultivate beauty, nurture life)

Stroopwafels (got some for Christmas)

Tax return (excited to see how much we get back this year!!!)

Tithing (God continues to generously provide as we give our first and best to Him faithfully)

Toms (got my first pair as hand me downs from Josh Miller

Underwriting (hired Sep 1, 2018; completing training Jan 11, 2019)
Vacation (excited I get 2 weeks of paid paternal leave when baby girl arrives)

Van (have a 15 pass van lined up from Baptist church in town: answer to prayer)

Vocation (pursuing my calling in the context of lay leading)

Walking to work (been enjoying opportunity for fresh air to and from work)

Why Children Matter (reading at night with wife)

Women in leadership (recent discussion w/ Vint regarding woman worship director)
X marks the spot (focusing on being where I am and thinking about where I want to be)

"Yes!" (realizing I hear myself saying, "No" more than I need to at home)
Zeitgeist sniffer (sick burn Wilson used referring to Rob Bell)

day no. 14,689: benediction (the priestly blessing)

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.

I was once again astounded by the simplicity and profundity of this short prayer of blessing and I was inspired to find ways to include it more often in my own prayers for others. In particular, I want to speak these words over my household, my wife and my children. As their pastor, I desire to see God's favor upon them, with them, in them, alive and operating, producing fruit and fruitfulness, faith and faithfulness.

I look forward to seeing what may happen and for the privilege of being responsible for the garden I've been given.

day no. 14,688: given without measure

John 3:34
He gives the Spirit without measure.

God doesn't hand out fun-sized Holy Spirit portions. He doesn't offer sample sizes. There is no portion control mantra required when consuming. You cannot pace yourself or work your way up to having the Spirit.

You either have Him or you don't; and if you do, you have ALL of Him.

God doesn't ration His Spirit or let Him be taken for test drives. He doesn't withhold any of Him pending a performance review.

What a profound truth stated so simply.

No reservation, all grace.

day no. 14,687: a year in books, 2018 edition

1.   Bible (minus Deut, Isaiah, John, 1 & 2 Cor, and Rev) - Holy Spirit

2.   My Utmost for His Highest - Oswald Chambers

3.   Think on These Things: Wisdom for Life from Proverbs - Ray Comfort

4.   The Biggest Story - Kevin DeYoung

5.   Dangerous Journey - John Bunyan

6.   A Light in the Attic - Shel Silverstein

7.   Cautionary Tales for Children - Hilaire Belloc

8.   Orthodoxy - G.K. Chesterton

9.   My 1st Book of Bible Prayers - Philip Ross

10. Lentin Lights - Desiring God

11. The Story of Christianity, Volume 1 - Justo L. Gonzalez

12. Pastoral Epistles Commentary: The Pillar of the Truth - Douglas Wilson

13. Wise Words - Peter J. Leithart  

14. Am I Called? - Dave Harvey

15. Beowulf - Douglas Wilson

16. The Pursuit of God / God’s Pursuit of Man Devotional - A.W. Tozer

17. The Jesus Storybook Bible - Sally Lloyd-Jones

18. Where the Sidewalk Ends - Shel Silverstein

19. Everything On It - Shel Silverstein

20. The Giving Tree - Shel Silverstein

21. Here We Stand: A 31-Day Journey with Heroes of the Reformation - Desiring God

22. Standing on the Promises: A Handbook of Biblical Child-rearing -  Douglas Wilson

23. The Dawning of Indestructible Joy - John Piper

24. Jesus Christ, the Forgiver of Our Sins: The Advent of Christmas - Penelope Page

25. Song of the Stars - Sally Lloyd-Jones

26. My 1st Book of Questions and Answers - Carine MacKenzie

27. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

28. God Rest Ye Merry: Why Christmas is the Foundation for Everything - Douglas Wilson

day no. 14,686: belief and battle as a be all, end all

The promises of God are clearly set out for those who humbly hear Him and courageously conquer in His Name: "let him hear," and "the one who conquers"

7 churches, 7 pleas, and 7 promises for those who believe and battle in Jesus' Name!

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.

day no. 14,685: graydar

Hebrews 5:12-14
For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food,13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

Everyone knows life is full of gray. There are things which are more complicated than simple binary, black and white assessments. But what is often overlooked is that gray is a product of black and white. You can't have gray without black and white, so you can't find yourself in a gray area if there are no such things as black and white areas

All gray can be broken down into its black and white components. It could not exist without them. It either began black and some white got added in along the way or it began white and some black got added in along the way. Or its existence began as a result of a collision between particular black and white components. But in any case, gray can always be broken down. The modern tendency is to either consider gray as a fact at face value as though its existence were as substantial as something concrete like black or white OR to consider gray as a subjective mystery so beyond comprehension that only the arrogant would dare make any definitive statement regarding it. But it is not arrogant to point out that gray is made up of some mixture of black and white, rather it IS the height of arrogance to insist that it's NOT. If it is a woe to call black "white" or to call white "black," then it is a double dose of woe to do both at the same time by calling gray NEITHER "black" NOR "white," when it MUST be a bit of both. 

We live in a day where much is considered gray without considering what it must consist of or discerning how it got that way.

The world we live in is a world of ordained distinction by God which means that the ingredients for gray exist on purpose, but also that they are meant to be distinguishable and stay definable.

This kind of discernment does not come naturally, but requires CONSTANT training and practice.

day no. 14,684: camp Van Voorst

Every day in our house is like being at camp: food in bulk, friends for days and an altar call every evening.

day no. 14,683: deacons, sheacons, heacons or weacons?

Based on what modern deacons are often asked to do, Biblically speaking, women should not be them; but not because the Bible does not permit them, but because what we often now assign them to do is not permitted by the Bible.

FOR EXAMPLE or FOR ANOTHER EXAMPLE

day no. 14,682: an obligation to engage the danger

Deuteronomy 3:18-20
Men must fight. They must engage the danger, but women and children may remain in peace and security. When there is war, men must go. God does not insist everyone be inconvenienced by going to war, but men must be. It is not disobedience or cowardice for women and children to stay home, it is for men.

day no. 14,681: the segue of self-interest

Deuteronomy 2:26-40
God is giving Sihon over to Israel by allowing Sihon to act selfishly. He protected Esau and Lot by their willingness to comply with Moses' reasonable request to buy food and water while passing through. But Sihon is being undone by their self-interest. In order for God to hand Sihon over, all He has to do is nothing.

day no. 14,680: men upon whom the King can count

1 Chronicles 12:8

From the Gadites there went over to David at the stronghold in the wilderness mighty and experienced warriors, expert with shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions and who were swift as gazelles upon the mountains.

Strong, battle-tested, proven, professional, courageous, confident men in the service of their king.

1 Chronicles 12:32-33
32 Of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, 200 chiefs, and all their kinsmen under their command. 33 Of Zebulun 50,000 seasoned troops, equipped for battle with all the weapons of war, to help David with singleness of purpose.

Men with eyes wide-open and minds full of wisdom who know what's up and what's going down.

Men efficient in purpose and proficient in wars of all kinds.

Men who know what's really going on and how to actually win the wars instead of getting sidetracked into skirmishes and smokescreens.

May we be men of this kind, character and consistency for King and for kingdom.