We are often encouraged by some to "live the Gospel." What this means, in its most generous interpretation, is to live in light of the Gospel you claim to believe. So far, so good inasmuch as we ought not to blatantly walk in open hypocrisy.
But what is often implied by this "live the Gospel" mantra is also often a "you may be the only Jesus someone may ever meet," or a "show them the Gospel by how you live," which often is an evangelistic methodology divorced from the actual evangel.
After all, how can you have Good News, without sharing it? Imagine watching the evening news on the television, but with the "mute" button on. You would see them live on the scene with b-roll, live footage and scrolling graphics, but you would also see a lot of flapping lips - muted, moving mouths. The news simply does not communicate without words.
Furthermore, Jesus modeled for us that words are necessary.
Matthew 5:1-2
Seeing the crowds, He went up on the mountain, and when He sat down, His disciples came to Him.2 And He opened His mouth and taught them
If anyone's life could preach, it would have been Jesus'. If anyone could have let their actions speak louder than their words, it would have been Jesus.
You may have heard it said,
“Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary, use words.” - attributed to St. Francis of Assisi
But Jesus did not subscribe to this idea. He opened His mouth and taught. If there ever existed anyone in the history of all space and time who could have let their body of work speak for itself, it would have been Him, and yet we see Him sitting down, opening His mouth and teaching them with words. He used His voice and gave instruction, correction, hope, encouragement, etc... But He most definitely used words.
Sunday, June 30, 2019
Saturday, June 29, 2019
day no. 14,859: blood on three, part 2
We worship a God who has infused enmity and warfare into His creation.
Genesis 3:15
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her Offspring;
He shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise His heel.
Enmity is not by accident or a by-product or side effect of something else God is attempting to do the way sawdust is made when cutting boards to their proper length. Enmity is part of the plan. It is to the glory of God and the good of man that enmity is infused into the story. To allow evil to exist without fighting it is to concede to evil. Evil is by nature an assault on goodness. Since evil exists as only a negation, it cannot continue without attempting to corrupt or overtake goodness. Without it being at war with goodness, it would cease to be anything since on its own it has no essence to sustain itself without reference to good.
God ordains enmity in order to demonstrate His justice.
Exodus 15:3
The LORD is a man of war;
the LORD is His name.
And God does not take His corner of the ring for granted. He is ready to throw down. In fact, the entire reason He left Heaven and took the form of a man was to destroy the stronghold of the devil.
1 John 3:8
The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
Hebrews 2:14-15
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
Jesus was sent on a seek and destroy mission from the git go. He is a destroyer. He did not fear the darkness, the darkness feared Him.
Mark 3:27
But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.
Luke 11:21-22
When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; 22 but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil.
Jesus entered the strong man's house, bound him up and then plundered his house. Satan's grip on the earth was undone by the coming of Jesus. He broke into Satan's playground and pinned the bully to the ground and extricated His elect prisoners on His way out.
Colossians 2:15
He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in Him.
When Jesus completed His perfect life and laid that spotless sacrifice on the cross. In doing so, He rendered death defenseless. It's sword and sting fell flat to the ground. He dealt death its final blow by taking upon Himself the death we deserved... the death that could not bind Him or hold Him because it had no claim upon Him.
Acts 2:24
God raised Him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it.
Going forward, He is building an earthly embassy where His saints gather to huddle up and then break to go out and do damage to the works of the world, the flesh and the devil.
Matthew 16:18
I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
And God outfits His soldiers with Heavenly armor and weapons in order to draw blood and inflict damage upon the surrounding darkness.
2 Corinthians 10:4-6
For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.
In doing this, we walk in the same way that Jesus walked and warred against the darkness.
God is good and His goodness overcomes evil. Evil cannot overcome Him.
When we walk in the light, we too, conquer darkness underfoot.
And in the end, we are called to be conquerors. Just as He conquered Satan, sin and death, we too, trample Satan underfoot by the Gospel of peace.
Romans 16:20
The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
Ephesians 6:14-15
Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
And the final rally cry is one to conquer. To hear His Spirit and respond by conqueroring wherever He may call us.
Genesis 3:15
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her Offspring;
He shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise His heel.
Enmity is not by accident or a by-product or side effect of something else God is attempting to do the way sawdust is made when cutting boards to their proper length. Enmity is part of the plan. It is to the glory of God and the good of man that enmity is infused into the story. To allow evil to exist without fighting it is to concede to evil. Evil is by nature an assault on goodness. Since evil exists as only a negation, it cannot continue without attempting to corrupt or overtake goodness. Without it being at war with goodness, it would cease to be anything since on its own it has no essence to sustain itself without reference to good.
God ordains enmity in order to demonstrate His justice.
Exodus 15:3
The LORD is a man of war;
the LORD is His name.
And God does not take His corner of the ring for granted. He is ready to throw down. In fact, the entire reason He left Heaven and took the form of a man was to destroy the stronghold of the devil.
1 John 3:8
The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
Hebrews 2:14-15
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
Jesus was sent on a seek and destroy mission from the git go. He is a destroyer. He did not fear the darkness, the darkness feared Him.
Mark 3:27
But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.
Luke 11:21-22
When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; 22 but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil.
Jesus entered the strong man's house, bound him up and then plundered his house. Satan's grip on the earth was undone by the coming of Jesus. He broke into Satan's playground and pinned the bully to the ground and extricated His elect prisoners on His way out.
Colossians 2:15
He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in Him.
When Jesus completed His perfect life and laid that spotless sacrifice on the cross. In doing so, He rendered death defenseless. It's sword and sting fell flat to the ground. He dealt death its final blow by taking upon Himself the death we deserved... the death that could not bind Him or hold Him because it had no claim upon Him.
Acts 2:24
God raised Him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it.
Going forward, He is building an earthly embassy where His saints gather to huddle up and then break to go out and do damage to the works of the world, the flesh and the devil.
Matthew 16:18
I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
And God outfits His soldiers with Heavenly armor and weapons in order to draw blood and inflict damage upon the surrounding darkness.
2 Corinthians 10:4-6
For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.
In doing this, we walk in the same way that Jesus walked and warred against the darkness.
1 Corinthians 1:19
For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart."
Romans 12:21
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
God is good and His goodness overcomes evil. Evil cannot overcome Him.
John 1:5
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
When we walk in the light, we too, conquer darkness underfoot.
Romans 8:37
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Hebrews 11:33
Who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.
And in the end, we are called to be conquerors. Just as He conquered Satan, sin and death, we too, trample Satan underfoot by the Gospel of peace.
Romans 16:20
The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
Ephesians 6:14-15
Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
And the final rally cry is one to conquer. To hear His Spirit and respond by conqueroring wherever He may call us.
Revelation 2:7
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
Revelation 2:11
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.
Revelation 2:17
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.
Revelation 2:26-29
The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, 27 and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. 28 And I will give him the morning star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Revelation 3:5-6
The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.
6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Revelation 3:12-13
The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. 13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.' -
Revelation 3:21-22
The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Revelation 5:5
And one of the elders said to me, "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.
Revelation 12:11-12
And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. 12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!
Revelation 15:2
And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire-and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands.
Revelation 17:14
They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.
Revelation 21:7-8
The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.
To deny our heritage is to be cowards. To refuse to fight before the fight is finished is to allow darkness and cowardice to dominate. The more the light increases, the greater the circumference of the darkness and more soldiers are required to hold the ever increasing line, but by the grace of God in faith and faithfulness we will see the darkness pushed back and damage done to its cause daily as we devote ourselves to Christ alone.
Leviticus 26:7-9
You shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. 8 Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand, and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. 9 I will turn to you and make you fruitful and multiply you and will confirm my covenant with you.
Jeremiah 48:10
Cursed is he who does the work of the LORD with slackness, and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from bloodshed.
To deny our heritage is to be cowards. To refuse to fight before the fight is finished is to allow darkness and cowardice to dominate. The more the light increases, the greater the circumference of the darkness and more soldiers are required to hold the ever increasing line, but by the grace of God in faith and faithfulness we will see the darkness pushed back and damage done to its cause daily as we devote ourselves to Christ alone.
Leviticus 26:7-9
You shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. 8 Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand, and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. 9 I will turn to you and make you fruitful and multiply you and will confirm my covenant with you.
Jeremiah 48:10
Cursed is he who does the work of the LORD with slackness, and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from bloodshed.
Friday, June 28, 2019
day no. 14,858: every plan must account for being punched in the mouth
Proverbs 24:10
If you faint in the day of adversity,
your strength is small.
Your plan of attack cannot simply be hoping that the enemy never fires back. You must plan on attacking and being attacked in return. If your plans do not have any contingency for what happens in the event that things do not go according to plan or any acknowledgement of the kind of problems inherent to the kind of plans you have, you are planning to fail.
Everything has problems, so everything requires a plan. And part of that includes planning on getting punched in the mouth.
Proverbs 24:6
By wise guidance you can wage your war,
and in abundance of counselors there is victory.
Proverbs 24:16
The righteous falls seven times and rises again,
but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.
"Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." - Mike Tyson
If you faint in the day of adversity,
your strength is small.
Your plan of attack cannot simply be hoping that the enemy never fires back. You must plan on attacking and being attacked in return. If your plans do not have any contingency for what happens in the event that things do not go according to plan or any acknowledgement of the kind of problems inherent to the kind of plans you have, you are planning to fail.
Everything has problems, so everything requires a plan. And part of that includes planning on getting punched in the mouth.
Proverbs 24:6
By wise guidance you can wage your war,
and in abundance of counselors there is victory.
Proverbs 24:16
The righteous falls seven times and rises again,
but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.
"Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." - Mike Tyson
Thursday, June 27, 2019
day no. 14,857: Jesus cries, "Mine!" over every square inch
Romans 11:36
From Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen.
"There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!" - Abraham Kuyper
Every atom of every credenda and agenda belongs to Jesus. He is the aim of every single thing and the means by which every single thing accomplishes its intended end.
***P.S. On a side note, Doug Wilson describes Abraham Kuyper as a tornado in boots, and that -- to me -- is about as delightful a eulogy for which one could hope.
From Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen.
"There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!" - Abraham Kuyper
Every atom of every credenda and agenda belongs to Jesus. He is the aim of every single thing and the means by which every single thing accomplishes its intended end.
***P.S. On a side note, Doug Wilson describes Abraham Kuyper as a tornado in boots, and that -- to me -- is about as delightful a eulogy for which one could hope.
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
day no. 14,856 continued... reasons and seasons
"He that is not handsome at 20, nor strong at 30, nor rich at 40, nor wise at 50, will never be handsome, strong, rich or wise."- George Herbert
Proverbs 10:5
He who gathers in summer is a prudent son,
but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame.
God provides certain opportunities during certain seasons. If you fail to plant certain seeds during certain season, the likelihood of seeing any fruit decreases significantly if planted outside of the typical growing season. It isn't to say that God can't allow growth to take place in the form of unseasonably warm or precipitous weather, but to say that the growing season is still the preferred window for anyone paying attention. Different things grow better during different seasons.
Proverbs 10:5
He who gathers in summer is a prudent son,
but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame.
God provides certain opportunities during certain seasons. If you fail to plant certain seeds during certain season, the likelihood of seeing any fruit decreases significantly if planted outside of the typical growing season. It isn't to say that God can't allow growth to take place in the form of unseasonably warm or precipitous weather, but to say that the growing season is still the preferred window for anyone paying attention. Different things grow better during different seasons.
day no. 14,856: Callista is two!!
Today, Callista Janelle turns two years old. You are such a sweet little girl. I am really enjoying this season of seeing you grow and mature and getting to know the person you are. While I was home on paternity leave with Juniper, I really enjoyed getting to spend more time than usual with you: waking you up from naps, changing your diapers, putting you down for naps, etc... I had a lot more face time and hands on opportunities to serve you and get to know you while mom was recovering from birthing Juniper. When you needed comfort, my arms were the open ones that held you since the usual arms were busy nursing a newborn. You are such a sweet little lady and I'm so glad that I had that time to get to know you specifically and see the woman you are becoming.
You love participating in whatever anyone else is doing. You love coloring, which is great, but you love coloring best in books, which is not great. You love carrying your mom's phone around. You would carry mine, but you often can't reach it. That, by the by, is not by accident :) I love listening to you say, "visit many good books, but live in the Bible," after I hold up our dinner time picture and ask, "what did Spurgeon say?" Although you say it more like, "nin nin ninna... Bible!" At night after I sing "Be Thou My Vision" and begin praying with you, you often put your tiny little hands together in the form of a prayer and stare at me with those big, beautiful, blue eyes. When someone is crying, you rush to their side and pat their back. You love well and are well loved.
Happy 2nd Birthday, Callista! I have always loved you. Before you knew me, I knew you and before you even knew who I was, I already loved you. I always have and I always will. No matter what. Forever and ever. Amen.
Love,
Daddy
You love participating in whatever anyone else is doing. You love coloring, which is great, but you love coloring best in books, which is not great. You love carrying your mom's phone around. You would carry mine, but you often can't reach it. That, by the by, is not by accident :) I love listening to you say, "visit many good books, but live in the Bible," after I hold up our dinner time picture and ask, "what did Spurgeon say?" Although you say it more like, "nin nin ninna... Bible!" At night after I sing "Be Thou My Vision" and begin praying with you, you often put your tiny little hands together in the form of a prayer and stare at me with those big, beautiful, blue eyes. When someone is crying, you rush to their side and pat their back. You love well and are well loved.
Happy 2nd Birthday, Callista! I have always loved you. Before you knew me, I knew you and before you even knew who I was, I already loved you. I always have and I always will. No matter what. Forever and ever. Amen.
Love,
Daddy
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
day no. 14,855: education is indoctrination
"If you believe that education is fundamentally about preparing your child to get a job, you are believing the lie that's at the center of why the church loses all her children."
- Ben Merkle
The chief aim of education is not vocation, but indoctrination. That sounds harsh since we've been trained to associate indoctrination with unfair, one-sided propaganda peddling. We've also been trained to assume that only religious wingnuts do this sort of thing and that the public school system is the last bastion of neutrality, simply teaching the facts and letting the hearer decide. But there is no such thing as morally, intellectually neutral education. All education seeks to raise up certain doctrines and strike down others. Education is intellectual warfare. And one of the best maneuvers the public schoolmasters have accomplished is convincing most people that what they are doing is void of doctrine and that indoctrinating anyone is a cardinal sin.
The word "education" has its etymology in the the words ex (out) + ducere (to lead). In other words, "education" means to lead out. It therefore assumes that the student's greatest need is to be moved from where they began to where the teacher believes they ought to be. There is no education without indoctrination. It is not a question of will the students be indoctrinated, but rather into which doctrine they will be led.
So education is meant to lead someone out of somewhere by some means in order to get them to some other place.
Education is leading its students somewhere, and sooner or later they're going to get there. But from where are they being led out and by what means? And to where are you trying to lead them? However you answer those questions is your doctrine of education.
Christians are not called to sit idly by living their faith out in the corners of their homes hoping that their children catch a whiff of it at some point. They are called to teach their children the faith, to raise them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, or in other words, to teach them the doctrines of God in the hope of them making their way into their heads, hearts and out of their fingertips -- or what the old-fashioneds would merely have called, "indoctrination."
For more on the matter, read HERE.
- Ben Merkle
The chief aim of education is not vocation, but indoctrination. That sounds harsh since we've been trained to associate indoctrination with unfair, one-sided propaganda peddling. We've also been trained to assume that only religious wingnuts do this sort of thing and that the public school system is the last bastion of neutrality, simply teaching the facts and letting the hearer decide. But there is no such thing as morally, intellectually neutral education. All education seeks to raise up certain doctrines and strike down others. Education is intellectual warfare. And one of the best maneuvers the public schoolmasters have accomplished is convincing most people that what they are doing is void of doctrine and that indoctrinating anyone is a cardinal sin.
The word "education" has its etymology in the the words ex (out) + ducere (to lead). In other words, "education" means to lead out. It therefore assumes that the student's greatest need is to be moved from where they began to where the teacher believes they ought to be. There is no education without indoctrination. It is not a question of will the students be indoctrinated, but rather into which doctrine they will be led.
So education is meant to lead someone out of somewhere by some means in order to get them to some other place.
Education is leading its students somewhere, and sooner or later they're going to get there. But from where are they being led out and by what means? And to where are you trying to lead them? However you answer those questions is your doctrine of education.
Christians are not called to sit idly by living their faith out in the corners of their homes hoping that their children catch a whiff of it at some point. They are called to teach their children the faith, to raise them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, or in other words, to teach them the doctrines of God in the hope of them making their way into their heads, hearts and out of their fingertips -- or what the old-fashioneds would merely have called, "indoctrination."
For more on the matter, read HERE.
Monday, June 24, 2019
day no. 14,854: categorical confusion as utmost blasphemy
Mark 3:28-30
"Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin"- for they were saying, "He has an unclean spirit."
Isaiah 5:20-21
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!
Jesus equates the unforgivable sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit to calling good "evil." The Greek word for blaspheme is a compound word made up of two words meaning "slow" and "fame." In other words, blasphemy is being slow or reluctant to call good things "good."
This echoes Isaiah's sentiment that those who attempt to call good "evil" are in danger of woe no matter how clever their apologetic.They know enough to know that good is preferable, but they also know enough to know that they don't like what God is calling good. So the ol' switcheroo is employed in order to be on the side of right while embracing everything that is wrong by calling wrong "right," evil "good," and darkness "light."
"Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin"- for they were saying, "He has an unclean spirit."
Isaiah 5:20-21
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!
Jesus equates the unforgivable sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit to calling good "evil." The Greek word for blaspheme is a compound word made up of two words meaning "slow" and "fame." In other words, blasphemy is being slow or reluctant to call good things "good."
This echoes Isaiah's sentiment that those who attempt to call good "evil" are in danger of woe no matter how clever their apologetic.They know enough to know that good is preferable, but they also know enough to know that they don't like what God is calling good. So the ol' switcheroo is employed in order to be on the side of right while embracing everything that is wrong by calling wrong "right," evil "good," and darkness "light."
Sunday, June 23, 2019
day no. 14,853: circumcised and baptized
Colossians 2:9-12
For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.
Jesus fulfilled every requirement of the human body. He was born and died, was both circumcised and baptized, followed and flogged, crucified and resurrected, buried in the earth and raised up into the heavens. He was crowned with thorns and with glory and put on our sins so that we could put off our body of flesh.
For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.
Jesus fulfilled every requirement of the human body. He was born and died, was both circumcised and baptized, followed and flogged, crucified and resurrected, buried in the earth and raised up into the heavens. He was crowned with thorns and with glory and put on our sins so that we could put off our body of flesh.
Saturday, June 22, 2019
day no. 14,852: accordingly
Ephesians 1:7-8
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight
Philippians 4:19
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
God gives according to His riches, not out of His riches. The difference is subtle, yet crucial for us to understand in order to get a better picture of His generosity and our security.
God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. If He were to give out of His riches, He could give you one of those hills and all the cattle living on it. But if He were to give according to His riches, He would give you thousands of hills and all the cattle they could hold. One is a gift OUT OF His riches (simply subtracting some from the larger whole) and the other is a gift ACCORDING TO His riches (giving gifts in keeping with how rich the Giver is).
Anyone can and should give out of their riches. Whatever they have can be utilized for generosity and as much as a person has been given should have some bearing on how much they give in return.
1 Corinthians 16:2
On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.
The glory of God given to us is that He gives according to His riches. So the question is: how rich is God? However rich that is, is the measure by which He determines to give and bless those who love Him.
However rich God is, is how richly He is blessing us.
Psalm 84:11
For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight
Philippians 4:19
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
God gives according to His riches, not out of His riches. The difference is subtle, yet crucial for us to understand in order to get a better picture of His generosity and our security.
God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. If He were to give out of His riches, He could give you one of those hills and all the cattle living on it. But if He were to give according to His riches, He would give you thousands of hills and all the cattle they could hold. One is a gift OUT OF His riches (simply subtracting some from the larger whole) and the other is a gift ACCORDING TO His riches (giving gifts in keeping with how rich the Giver is).
Anyone can and should give out of their riches. Whatever they have can be utilized for generosity and as much as a person has been given should have some bearing on how much they give in return.
1 Corinthians 16:2
On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.
The glory of God given to us is that He gives according to His riches. So the question is: how rich is God? However rich that is, is the measure by which He determines to give and bless those who love Him.
However rich God is, is how richly He is blessing us.
Psalm 84:11
For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.
Friday, June 21, 2019
day no. 14,851: be who you are
Philippians 3:16
Only let us hold true to what we have attained.
Hold on to what you already have in Christ. Become who you already are in Christ. Live out of the life you have already been given in Christ..
Hold true to what you have already attained in Christ.
Only let us hold true to what we have attained.
Hold on to what you already have in Christ. Become who you already are in Christ. Live out of the life you have already been given in Christ..
Hold true to what you have already attained in Christ.
Thursday, June 20, 2019
day no. 14,850: day and night defined by day
Philippians 2:14-16
Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
There are 24 hours in every day. Some are filled with light and called, "day," while some are filled darkness and called, "night," but the 24 hours as a whole is known as a "day." The 24 hours are defined by the presence of day, even during winter months when darkness prevails the 24 hours.
When the darkness is finally overcome completely by light, it will be called the day of Christ. On that day darkness and light we meet and the day will come to be dominated entirely by light. The day will become in reality what it has always been identified with etymologically.
On that day, the day will become what it always has been, Christ's. In the meantime, take heart and comfort in the fact that the periods of darkness are defined as "day" and are under the headship, authority and title of "Day."
In the end, on that day, it will be revealed that the day belongs to the day and the world belongs to Christ... as they both always have.
Just as field mixed with wheat and weeds is called a wheat field, a 24 hour period of daylight and darkness is identified as "DAY."
Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
There are 24 hours in every day. Some are filled with light and called, "day," while some are filled darkness and called, "night," but the 24 hours as a whole is known as a "day." The 24 hours are defined by the presence of day, even during winter months when darkness prevails the 24 hours.
When the darkness is finally overcome completely by light, it will be called the day of Christ. On that day darkness and light we meet and the day will come to be dominated entirely by light. The day will become in reality what it has always been identified with etymologically.
On that day, the day will become what it always has been, Christ's. In the meantime, take heart and comfort in the fact that the periods of darkness are defined as "day" and are under the headship, authority and title of "Day."
In the end, on that day, it will be revealed that the day belongs to the day and the world belongs to Christ... as they both always have.
Just as field mixed with wheat and weeds is called a wheat field, a 24 hour period of daylight and darkness is identified as "DAY."
Wednesday, June 19, 2019
day no. 14,849: mature manhood as the standard under which we march
Ephesians 4:11-14
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
The move our God requires us to make is away from childishness and toward mature manhood. The measure of success is the stature and fullness of Jesus Christ, Himself the chief Man among men, the standard by which manliness and manhood ought to be defined and measured. There is no manhood outside of Jesus and there is no maturity independent of Him.
Our manhood is not measured in inches. It is measured by likeness and family resemblance to Jesus. He is the rod by which we determine if we are plumb. He is the standard under which we march and secure our calling.
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
The move our God requires us to make is away from childishness and toward mature manhood. The measure of success is the stature and fullness of Jesus Christ, Himself the chief Man among men, the standard by which manliness and manhood ought to be defined and measured. There is no manhood outside of Jesus and there is no maturity independent of Him.
Our manhood is not measured in inches. It is measured by likeness and family resemblance to Jesus. He is the rod by which we determine if we are plumb. He is the standard under which we march and secure our calling.
Tuesday, June 18, 2019
day no. 14,848: inordinate affections
Colossians 3:5 (KJV)
Mortify therefore inordinate affection
Where your treasure is, your heart will be also. What gets your affection, gets your heart. And when your affections are out of order, your heart is out of sorts and your life is out of control.
If you give the first and best of yourself to second-rate goals, you will succeed at failure.
"The worst kind of failure is succeeding in things that don't matter." - Peter Drucker
Mortify therefore inordinate affection
Where your treasure is, your heart will be also. What gets your affection, gets your heart. And when your affections are out of order, your heart is out of sorts and your life is out of control.
If you give the first and best of yourself to second-rate goals, you will succeed at failure.
"The worst kind of failure is succeeding in things that don't matter." - Peter Drucker
Monday, June 17, 2019
day no. 14,847: the rest of the story
1 John 3:19-20
By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.
I have noticed that you sometimes feel overwhelmed by the condemnation you feel when you contemplate your own sinfulness. On the one hand, this is a gift from God. Paul says in Romans 1 that a sure sign of God's wrath being poured out upon a person is their inability to feel badly about breaking His law or indulging their sinfulness. On the other hand, it is only a gift, if it is used the way God intends it. Since Satan cannot keep God from giving good things to His children, he attempts to convince God's children that the gifts are bad or twist the way they were meant to be used in order to accomplish evil with the good things God has given. Satan cannot create anything, he can only edit. Evil is not a force on its own, it is a goodness tank running on empty.
God is greater than our hearts. Hallelujah! And He knows everything. When you focus on your sinfulness, you are correct. The Devil has a point. You really are sinful and actually deserve to be shut out from all goodness. But that is only PART of the story. God knows everything. He knows that by grace and through faith you have placed yourself in Christ for the remission of your sins. So while it is true that when Jesus loves you, He loves a sinner, it is NOT true that those sins keep Him from loving you.
Whenever your heart condemns you, remember... that is only half the story. The wrongness on which you are tempted to dwell upon is not the entire situation. You are missing things, but God never does. In Him you can rest secure knowing that your sinful heart is forgiven, even from the sin of having forgotten to remember your salvation. You may miss the rest of the story sometimes, but there is always rest when we remember it.
May your heart be reassured today as you love God, hate sin, fight the good fight and rest entirely in Christ.
By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.
I have noticed that you sometimes feel overwhelmed by the condemnation you feel when you contemplate your own sinfulness. On the one hand, this is a gift from God. Paul says in Romans 1 that a sure sign of God's wrath being poured out upon a person is their inability to feel badly about breaking His law or indulging their sinfulness. On the other hand, it is only a gift, if it is used the way God intends it. Since Satan cannot keep God from giving good things to His children, he attempts to convince God's children that the gifts are bad or twist the way they were meant to be used in order to accomplish evil with the good things God has given. Satan cannot create anything, he can only edit. Evil is not a force on its own, it is a goodness tank running on empty.
God is greater than our hearts. Hallelujah! And He knows everything. When you focus on your sinfulness, you are correct. The Devil has a point. You really are sinful and actually deserve to be shut out from all goodness. But that is only PART of the story. God knows everything. He knows that by grace and through faith you have placed yourself in Christ for the remission of your sins. So while it is true that when Jesus loves you, He loves a sinner, it is NOT true that those sins keep Him from loving you.
Whenever your heart condemns you, remember... that is only half the story. The wrongness on which you are tempted to dwell upon is not the entire situation. You are missing things, but God never does. In Him you can rest secure knowing that your sinful heart is forgiven, even from the sin of having forgotten to remember your salvation. You may miss the rest of the story sometimes, but there is always rest when we remember it.
May your heart be reassured today as you love God, hate sin, fight the good fight and rest entirely in Christ.
Sunday, June 16, 2019
day no. 14,846: mind thine own beeswax
John 21:22
"What is that to you? You follow Me!”
We have only to live the life that God has given to us. We are not responsible to live other peoples lives or feel competitive about the places we have been put. We must be where we are, because we certainly cannot be where we aren't. And where God places others is not really our business. What is that to us? It is not of our concern. We have only to do what we have been called to do. To live in the family He has given us at the time in which He has created us for the glory of eternal Kingdom and the good of the neighbors who He's led to live in proximity to us. For who is your neighbor? The one God has placed in front of you.
"What is that to you? You follow Me!”
We have only to live the life that God has given to us. We are not responsible to live other peoples lives or feel competitive about the places we have been put. We must be where we are, because we certainly cannot be where we aren't. And where God places others is not really our business. What is that to us? It is not of our concern. We have only to do what we have been called to do. To live in the family He has given us at the time in which He has created us for the glory of eternal Kingdom and the good of the neighbors who He's led to live in proximity to us. For who is your neighbor? The one God has placed in front of you.
“He who does not serve God where he is would not serve God anywhere else.” — Charles H. Spurgeon
Saturday, June 15, 2019
day no. 14,845: the Gospel according to... GARDENS
Genesis 2:8
And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.
Genesis 1:28
And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it."
When God first made man, He placed him in a garden. He made him a gardener and charged him with the task of conquering more land for the purpose of cultivating it and making the world increasingly more and more fruitful.
Genesis 3:1
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”
So when Satan desired to tempt Adam, he led him to believe that all his hard work was actually fruitless. He led him to wonder if the fruit he had been working so hard to cultivate wasn't perhaps only second-rate produce and that the good stuff was being withheld from him.
Genesis 3:8
And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
After Adam and Eve sinned, their familiar garden was no longer a home, but a hiding place.
Genesis 3:15
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her Offspring;
He shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise His heel.
So God, in His mercy, provided hope in the midst of destruction. Though Adam had given in to fruitlessness, God promised a new Seed would be planted which would one day erase all of the weeds.
Genesis 3:17
17 And to Adam he said,
“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field.
But in the meantime, gardening was going to become much more complicated. Adam was not given a new chore. Gardening was still the work du jour.
For thousands of years, God's people held onto the hope of a garden where they could walk with God. And along the way, He provided sneak previews. For example, the land of Canaan flowed with milk and honey and produced enormous, enjoyable produce.
But no garden could be found that man could not corrupt. So the Seed came down from Heaven to be planted in our earth. And the Seed grew and flourished.
Luke 2:52
And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.
But the plant that grew was not appreciated by those who watched it. Though it defied all the odds of dry ground and lack of nutrition, it grew on food of which no one else knew, nutrition from God's Word that supplied Him with everything He needed to thrive.
Isaiah 53:2
For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.
John 4:32
He told them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”
But the time came for the plant to die so that the dry earth could live. The blood of the Son would give the soil the nutrients it needed to produce fruit again the likes of which had not been seen since Eden.
Galatians 3:16
Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, "And to seeds," as referring to many, but rather to one, "And to your seed," that is, Christ.
John 12:24
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
So the Seed prepared Himself to be cracked open and shoved into the soil.
John 18:1
When Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered.
As He began to crack, the blood began to spill. It would continue to spill until it was all of it emptied out into the ground for the people He loved, who themselves were born of dust.
Luke 22:40-44
And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” 41 And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, w“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” 43 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
But this blood would not be spilled in vain or in futility.
2 Samuel 14:14
We must all die; we are like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God will not take away life, and he devises means so that the banished one will not remain an outcast.
This blood would not remain in the dirt. By this blood, God was devising the means by which those born of dirt may rise again.
John 19:41-42
Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42 So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.
So God buried His precious Seed in a garden. What began in garden with one man now ended in another garden with the Man. The first Adam forsook his fruitful calling and plunged the earth into turmoil. The second Adam did not forsake His Father and died what appeared to be a fruitless fashion. But this death was merely a sowing which would become the soil from which growing would forever take place. And the Seed arose a new creation.
John 20:15-16
Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).
Mary assumed the Seed was buried in the soil which is why she never considered that the gardener was, in fact, the Seed.
Revelation 22:1-2
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
And in the end, everything will be restored again to the state of a garden in which we will live, move, walk, work and have our being with God.
There is more, of course, but that is a Cook's Tour of the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to: GARDENS
And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.
Genesis 1:28
And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it."
When God first made man, He placed him in a garden. He made him a gardener and charged him with the task of conquering more land for the purpose of cultivating it and making the world increasingly more and more fruitful.
Genesis 3:1
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”
So when Satan desired to tempt Adam, he led him to believe that all his hard work was actually fruitless. He led him to wonder if the fruit he had been working so hard to cultivate wasn't perhaps only second-rate produce and that the good stuff was being withheld from him.
Genesis 3:8
And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
After Adam and Eve sinned, their familiar garden was no longer a home, but a hiding place.
Genesis 3:15
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her Offspring;
He shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise His heel.
So God, in His mercy, provided hope in the midst of destruction. Though Adam had given in to fruitlessness, God promised a new Seed would be planted which would one day erase all of the weeds.
Genesis 3:17
17 And to Adam he said,
“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field.
But in the meantime, gardening was going to become much more complicated. Adam was not given a new chore. Gardening was still the work du jour.
For thousands of years, God's people held onto the hope of a garden where they could walk with God. And along the way, He provided sneak previews. For example, the land of Canaan flowed with milk and honey and produced enormous, enjoyable produce.
But no garden could be found that man could not corrupt. So the Seed came down from Heaven to be planted in our earth. And the Seed grew and flourished.
Luke 2:52
And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.
But the plant that grew was not appreciated by those who watched it. Though it defied all the odds of dry ground and lack of nutrition, it grew on food of which no one else knew, nutrition from God's Word that supplied Him with everything He needed to thrive.
Isaiah 53:2
For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.
John 4:32
He told them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”
But the time came for the plant to die so that the dry earth could live. The blood of the Son would give the soil the nutrients it needed to produce fruit again the likes of which had not been seen since Eden.
Galatians 3:16
Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, "And to seeds," as referring to many, but rather to one, "And to your seed," that is, Christ.
John 12:24
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
So the Seed prepared Himself to be cracked open and shoved into the soil.
John 18:1
When Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered.
As He began to crack, the blood began to spill. It would continue to spill until it was all of it emptied out into the ground for the people He loved, who themselves were born of dust.
Luke 22:40-44
And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” 41 And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, w“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” 43 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
But this blood would not be spilled in vain or in futility.
2 Samuel 14:14
We must all die; we are like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God will not take away life, and he devises means so that the banished one will not remain an outcast.
This blood would not remain in the dirt. By this blood, God was devising the means by which those born of dirt may rise again.
John 19:41-42
Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42 So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.
So God buried His precious Seed in a garden. What began in garden with one man now ended in another garden with the Man. The first Adam forsook his fruitful calling and plunged the earth into turmoil. The second Adam did not forsake His Father and died what appeared to be a fruitless fashion. But this death was merely a sowing which would become the soil from which growing would forever take place. And the Seed arose a new creation.
John 20:15-16
Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).
Mary assumed the Seed was buried in the soil which is why she never considered that the gardener was, in fact, the Seed.
Revelation 22:1-2
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
And in the end, everything will be restored again to the state of a garden in which we will live, move, walk, work and have our being with God.
There is more, of course, but that is a Cook's Tour of the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to: GARDENS
Friday, June 14, 2019
day no. 14,844: the Christian Warrior Diet
Since January 1st, I have been employing a dietary strategy of intermittent fasting. I have gravitated towards a 20 hours of fasting and 4 hours of eating window. I typically fast during daylight hours and eat from 5pm-9pm. I recently discovered that this method of intermittent fasting is called, "the warrior diet." The name is an homage to warriors who spent most of their days marching and training and fortifying and sharpening followed by a large feast at the end of the day and then rest.
It was fun to discover that my intuitive method of intermittent fasting already had a name and that it was tied to the habits of warriors.
As a Christian, however, I had one major strategic wrinkle to this method of fasting. I utilize a 20:4 eating strategy on a daily basis and a 6:1 strategy for my weekly basis. 20 hours a day fasting, 4 hours a day eating; 6 days a week of intermittent fasting, 1 day a week of feasting. As a Christian, my cadences are meant to be aimed at Christ, which means daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually, etc... The Christian cadence is to feast once a week in remembrance of Christ's vicarious life, death and resurrection in our place, for our sin and for our righteousness. Taking one day a week to break from my regularly scheduled programming is important. Whatever benefits are to be gained scientifically by putting yourself in ketosis on the regs, are spiritually trumped by taking 1 day out of 7 to Sabbath and find rest in Christ alone, not ketosis. We are saved by grace through faith in Christ alone and we do not attempt to live forever in any way outside of Him. Our hope for eternal life is in Him and we have life right now regardless of what source your physiology is utilizing to energy pull. Whether from fat or carbs, our energy comes from Christ and His indwelling Spirit. So we refuse to be so rigid as to fast on the day of the week we celebrate His triumph. We feast and put our weekly rigor to rest for 24 hours of disciplined mirth and gratitude expressed in good food, good naps and refreshment for facing another 6 out of 7 days of grind.
So, join me in the Christian Warrior diet: fasting 20 hours out of every 24 and feasting 1 day out of every 7.
It was fun to discover that my intuitive method of intermittent fasting already had a name and that it was tied to the habits of warriors.
As a Christian, however, I had one major strategic wrinkle to this method of fasting. I utilize a 20:4 eating strategy on a daily basis and a 6:1 strategy for my weekly basis. 20 hours a day fasting, 4 hours a day eating; 6 days a week of intermittent fasting, 1 day a week of feasting. As a Christian, my cadences are meant to be aimed at Christ, which means daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually, etc... The Christian cadence is to feast once a week in remembrance of Christ's vicarious life, death and resurrection in our place, for our sin and for our righteousness. Taking one day a week to break from my regularly scheduled programming is important. Whatever benefits are to be gained scientifically by putting yourself in ketosis on the regs, are spiritually trumped by taking 1 day out of 7 to Sabbath and find rest in Christ alone, not ketosis. We are saved by grace through faith in Christ alone and we do not attempt to live forever in any way outside of Him. Our hope for eternal life is in Him and we have life right now regardless of what source your physiology is utilizing to energy pull. Whether from fat or carbs, our energy comes from Christ and His indwelling Spirit. So we refuse to be so rigid as to fast on the day of the week we celebrate His triumph. We feast and put our weekly rigor to rest for 24 hours of disciplined mirth and gratitude expressed in good food, good naps and refreshment for facing another 6 out of 7 days of grind.
So, join me in the Christian Warrior diet: fasting 20 hours out of every 24 and feasting 1 day out of every 7.
Thursday, June 13, 2019
day no. 14,843: before kings pre-work
Proverbs 22:29
Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.
"If you want the secondary greatness of recognized talent, focus first on the primary greatness of character." - Stephen Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
It is not hard to imagine why so many want to stand before kings, but it is hard to imagine many putting in the hard work to become good enough at anything in order to warrant such a meeting.
Character cannot be crafted in a moment of panic.
Panic reveals character. It produces an opportunity for the existing character to come out. Character is crafted over time and moments of panic may produce data points for future reformation, but the moment itself reveals everything up to that point. Future moments will reveal what was learned from prior moments.
No one becomes great on a whim, nor could they. Character is a matter of hard work and habit; more precisely the habit of working hard and doing the hard work of being habitual.
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.
"If you want the secondary greatness of recognized talent, focus first on the primary greatness of character." - Stephen Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
It is not hard to imagine why so many want to stand before kings, but it is hard to imagine many putting in the hard work to become good enough at anything in order to warrant such a meeting.
Character cannot be crafted in a moment of panic.
Panic reveals character. It produces an opportunity for the existing character to come out. Character is crafted over time and moments of panic may produce data points for future reformation, but the moment itself reveals everything up to that point. Future moments will reveal what was learned from prior moments.
No one becomes great on a whim, nor could they. Character is a matter of hard work and habit; more precisely the habit of working hard and doing the hard work of being habitual.
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
Wednesday, June 12, 2019
day no. 14,842: illogical
Illogical is literally the state of being "il" = not + "logos" = word. To be illogical is to be oriented against or altogether without the Word.
John 5:456-47
Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote of Me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?
What hope is there for someone who does not hope even in what they claim to hope? Some said that Moses was their hope, yet refused to believe in what Moses placed his. Moses wrote of a prophet, greater than himself, who was coming down the pipeline of God's redemptive history. So if you believe in some parts of the Bible in order to help you not believe in other parts, your belief is a muddled mess. You don't even believe in what you say you believe.
John 5:456-47
Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote of Me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?
What hope is there for someone who does not hope even in what they claim to hope? Some said that Moses was their hope, yet refused to believe in what Moses placed his. Moses wrote of a prophet, greater than himself, who was coming down the pipeline of God's redemptive history. So if you believe in some parts of the Bible in order to help you not believe in other parts, your belief is a muddled mess. You don't even believe in what you say you believe.
Tuesday, June 11, 2019
day no. 14,841: the gift of God in grace through faith
John 3:27
A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.
No one has anything unless it is given to him from heaven. In other words, everyone has nothing until it is provided as a gift from above.
John 3:36
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
Everyone begins in the wrath of God. The gift of God transfers one out from under the wrath of God, but the ones who are not given the gift of belief in the only Son of God, remain where they began -- under the wrath of God.
In other words, the wrath of God remains where it always was... on the sinner UNLESS God by His grace through the faith He provides does move a man out from under it.
A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.
No one has anything unless it is given to him from heaven. In other words, everyone has nothing until it is provided as a gift from above.
John 3:36
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
Everyone begins in the wrath of God. The gift of God transfers one out from under the wrath of God, but the ones who are not given the gift of belief in the only Son of God, remain where they began -- under the wrath of God.
In other words, the wrath of God remains where it always was... on the sinner UNLESS God by His grace through the faith He provides does move a man out from under it.
Monday, June 10, 2019
day no. 14,840: our arrows will blot out the sun!!!
Psalm 127:3-5
Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the children of one's youth.
Blessed is the man
who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.
Isaiah 54:3
For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left,
and your offspring will possess the nations
and will people the desolate cities.
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