"Initiative is recognizing your responsibility to make things happen" - Stephen Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Christian men do not make excuses, they take responsibility.
God gave men the noble calling of hard work. Making things happen is harder than letting things transpire. Men were made to take initiative. They were meant to assess risk and face it.
Men were made to make things happen
They were made to impose their will upon soil and bring out from it fruit and abundance to the glory of God and the good of the world. The soil is more fruitful because the man interfered.
Initiative is the essence of masculinity.
God, in this regard, is masculinity to infinity for He from nothing made everything if for no other reason than because He wanted to. He took initiative and did something when He didn't have to.
John 1:3
All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made.
Monday, September 30, 2019
Sunday, September 29, 2019
day no. 14,951: the feels
"Love is a verb. Reactive people make it a feeling... We are not a product of our feelings... If our feelings control our actions, it is because we have abdicated our responsibility and empowered them to do so... Proactive people subordinate feelings to values." - Stephen Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Love produces feelings, but love is not based on feelings. It is based on commitment and responsibility. It is something that is kept alive by obligation, not infatuation. Feelings come and go.
No one could in clean conscience promise to love another until death did part them if what they were promising was to have loving feelings. No one can keep that kind of thing up forever. But one can commit to doing what is loving even when one doesn't feel like it. And the more one does that for something or someone, the more they will find themselves regularly feeling loving thoughts towards that thing or person.
If there are never feelings, there is a problem with your love.
But if there are only feelings, you don't have love at all.
Feelings flow downstream from the fountain of commitment, responsibility and covenant. But when feelings are the fountain, what follows is fleeting.
Love produces feelings, but love is not based on feelings. It is based on commitment and responsibility. It is something that is kept alive by obligation, not infatuation. Feelings come and go.
No one could in clean conscience promise to love another until death did part them if what they were promising was to have loving feelings. No one can keep that kind of thing up forever. But one can commit to doing what is loving even when one doesn't feel like it. And the more one does that for something or someone, the more they will find themselves regularly feeling loving thoughts towards that thing or person.
If there are never feelings, there is a problem with your love.
But if there are only feelings, you don't have love at all.
Feelings flow downstream from the fountain of commitment, responsibility and covenant. But when feelings are the fountain, what follows is fleeting.
Saturday, September 28, 2019
day no. 14,950: the depth of the foundation determines the height of the spire
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.
Being consistent in your regularly assigned duties provides the stability for extraordinary work to spring from. The sturdier the platform, the more opportunity to thrust upwards. If the base is wobbly, the force of the thrust may actually work against it's ability to ascend.
"Be regular and orderly in your daily affairs that you may be violent and original in your work" - Gustavo Flaubert
You cannot set aside regular duties in order to focus on exceptional ones.
The depth of the foundation determines the height of the spire.
This explains why most buildings aren't that tall. It's too hard and too much work to dig that deep in order to get that high.
"All noble things are as difficult as they are rare." - Spinoza
The reason so many aspire to be noble and yet so few achieve it is because it is hard. It is rare because it is hard. Because it is hard, it is rare.
"Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried." - G.K. Chesterton
Noble plans can only be achieved by noble means and for noble ends. You cannot accomplish a noble task by ignoble means. You cannot achieve a noble end by ignoble measures. You cannot reach the sky by launching yourself off a crumbling foundation.
Isaiah 32:8
He who is noble plans noble things, and on noble things he stands.
The man who stands on noble principles and applies himself in a noble manner to noble means by noble measures will find himself breathing that rare air achieved only by nobility.
"Hard work beats natural ability when natural ability doesn't work hard." - unknown
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.
Being consistent in your regularly assigned duties provides the stability for extraordinary work to spring from. The sturdier the platform, the more opportunity to thrust upwards. If the base is wobbly, the force of the thrust may actually work against it's ability to ascend.
"Be regular and orderly in your daily affairs that you may be violent and original in your work" - Gustavo Flaubert
You cannot set aside regular duties in order to focus on exceptional ones.
The depth of the foundation determines the height of the spire.
This explains why most buildings aren't that tall. It's too hard and too much work to dig that deep in order to get that high.
"All noble things are as difficult as they are rare." - Spinoza
The reason so many aspire to be noble and yet so few achieve it is because it is hard. It is rare because it is hard. Because it is hard, it is rare.
"Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried." - G.K. Chesterton
Noble plans can only be achieved by noble means and for noble ends. You cannot accomplish a noble task by ignoble means. You cannot achieve a noble end by ignoble measures. You cannot reach the sky by launching yourself off a crumbling foundation.
Isaiah 32:8
He who is noble plans noble things, and on noble things he stands.
The man who stands on noble principles and applies himself in a noble manner to noble means by noble measures will find himself breathing that rare air achieved only by nobility.
"Hard work beats natural ability when natural ability doesn't work hard." - unknown
Friday, September 27, 2019
day no. 14,949: the good, the bad and the ugly
1 Corinthians 14:20
Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.
There is a good and godly way to be childish and a bad and ugly way to be childish. Christians should not be childish in their thinking, but they should be childish in their innocence.
We tend to be mature in evil and immature in thinking. It comes naturally to us like the way kicking, screaming and arching one's back in protest come naturally to a child. We know all the ins and outs of evil. We know far more than we should and we are not the better for it. But we are newbs when it comes to thinking and discernment. We do not by nature put much thought or effort into understanding the ins and outs of righteousness, piety, good works and godliness.
We should not be ignorant of evil, but we should not have PhDs either. We should know what evil is and what it's trying to do, but we shouldn't have a resume' full of anecdotes and endless experiential knowledge of the times we lived out the lessons of deeper, darker deeds. Our familiarity with them should be from discerning them from a distance, not getting overly acquainted with them up close.
Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.
There is a good and godly way to be childish and a bad and ugly way to be childish. Christians should not be childish in their thinking, but they should be childish in their innocence.
We tend to be mature in evil and immature in thinking. It comes naturally to us like the way kicking, screaming and arching one's back in protest come naturally to a child. We know all the ins and outs of evil. We know far more than we should and we are not the better for it. But we are newbs when it comes to thinking and discernment. We do not by nature put much thought or effort into understanding the ins and outs of righteousness, piety, good works and godliness.
We should not be ignorant of evil, but we should not have PhDs either. We should know what evil is and what it's trying to do, but we shouldn't have a resume' full of anecdotes and endless experiential knowledge of the times we lived out the lessons of deeper, darker deeds. Our familiarity with them should be from discerning them from a distance, not getting overly acquainted with them up close.
Thursday, September 26, 2019
day no. 14,948: excellence in the architecture
1 Corinthians 14:12
Strive to excel in building up the church.
I love this admonition.
STRIVE: throw your back into it
TO EXCEL: to do as best as you can
IN BUILDING UP: planning, praying, acquiring, executing, maintaining, developing...
THE CHURCH: God's plan A, the local assembly of saints
We must strive, not just stroll.
We must excel, not just exist.
We must build up, not just arrange bricks.
It must be for the church, not just generic groups of interested peoples.
Strive to excel in building up the church.
I love this admonition.
STRIVE: throw your back into it
TO EXCEL: to do as best as you can
IN BUILDING UP: planning, praying, acquiring, executing, maintaining, developing...
THE CHURCH: God's plan A, the local assembly of saints
We must strive, not just stroll.
We must excel, not just exist.
We must build up, not just arrange bricks.
It must be for the church, not just generic groups of interested peoples.
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
day no. 14,947: mediocre milquetoast or dangerous greatness?
While running on the treadmill last night (7/18/19) listening to Langhorne Slim and The Law's "Past Lives" I took note of the following verse
I wish that I were good
oh man, I wish that I were great
I wish that I'd been early
more often than late
but nothing lasts forever
maybe that's fate
when you're alive, you're alright
when you're dead, you're a saint
I can relate to that desire to be good and even more to that desire to be great. I have recently adopted the phrase, "in order to be great at something, you have to be willing to first be bad at it." When you want to be good, it makes sense that you would keep going and want to be better... even great. But that only complicates the necessity of first being bad at something. It makes the badness all the more difficult to endure. A desire for greatness can often create an unwillingness to bear up under badness. And so, many simply walk away and choose mediocre milquetoast rather than a dangerous greatness.
If you want to be on top of things: early, adequate, competent and capable, you are going to likely first have to be a little late, inadequate, incompetent and incapable. But if you keep at it and by grit and grace keep going, you may just find yourself getting earlier, more adequate, more competent and more capable than you were before and one step closer to greatness than you were before you ever failed.
Furthermore, if you somehow embrace the difficult venture of getting better at something, you still must consider that the end of the thing may only be greatness in hindsight. Your achievements will only outlast you if they are honorable and eternal. The saints do not only live on forever in our memories because of their noble lives, they live right now eternal as we only begin to catch on to how amazing God's grace was moving in their lives.
I wish that I were good
oh man, I wish that I were great
I wish that I'd been early
more often than late
but nothing lasts forever
maybe that's fate
when you're alive, you're alright
when you're dead, you're a saint
I can relate to that desire to be good and even more to that desire to be great. I have recently adopted the phrase, "in order to be great at something, you have to be willing to first be bad at it." When you want to be good, it makes sense that you would keep going and want to be better... even great. But that only complicates the necessity of first being bad at something. It makes the badness all the more difficult to endure. A desire for greatness can often create an unwillingness to bear up under badness. And so, many simply walk away and choose mediocre milquetoast rather than a dangerous greatness.
If you want to be on top of things: early, adequate, competent and capable, you are going to likely first have to be a little late, inadequate, incompetent and incapable. But if you keep at it and by grit and grace keep going, you may just find yourself getting earlier, more adequate, more competent and more capable than you were before and one step closer to greatness than you were before you ever failed.
Furthermore, if you somehow embrace the difficult venture of getting better at something, you still must consider that the end of the thing may only be greatness in hindsight. Your achievements will only outlast you if they are honorable and eternal. The saints do not only live on forever in our memories because of their noble lives, they live right now eternal as we only begin to catch on to how amazing God's grace was moving in their lives.
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
day no. 14,946: hair that is head and shoulders above the rest
Reading 1 Corinthians 11 today (7/18/19) in Bible Read Thru and noticed this in verse 6...
For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short
If the common narrative is that the "covering" is referring to long hair, then this would read, "if a wife will not have long hair, then she should cut her hair short." But that is assuming that she already has short hair, hence the rebuke... if we 're ONLY talking about length of hair. How could the punishment for having short hair be to cut her hair short... It's already short.
Previously in vs 5 he said...
every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven.
If this is merely referring to length of hair again, it would read, "every wife who prays or prophesies with short hair is basically praying like she was bald." So her hair is not already shaven or short or else, again, this parallel would not make sense. It only makes sense if having short hair or a shaved head would be inherently disgraceful consequence and something no one would proactively, voluntarily partake.
Then in vs. 7 he seals the deal by saying
But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head.
Again, since it would be disgraceful to cut off her hair (short) or shave her head (bald altogether), let her cover her head. This would be nonsense if it read, "Since it is a shame to cut your hair short or bald, keep your hair long." It's already long or she would already be in a state of disgrace. As it is, she is being commanded to avoid a shameful state. She does so by covering her long hair which she already has. But the hair is not the covering or it would already be solved.
If the aim were merely to have long-haired women, you wouldn't have to warn short-haired or bald women with the threat of cutting their hair. That would be redundant.
"If you do not have long hair, I will be forced to cut your hair short."
"Ugh... It's already short."
"Ahhh!!!"
So Paul's aim here appears to be the covering; and that women would use that covering in addition to their long hair. The hair alone is not the covering, but is assumed. In no scenario is short hair permitted. It is only given as a consequence of being disobedient to the command to cover or as an equivocation of the shame they should experience for not covering.
In wrapping up this discussion, Paul says in vs. 13-15
Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering.
Nature is an additional witness that Paul confidently calls to the stand. If a man has long hair, it is disgraceful. We can all see that. It is not becoming of him or befitting his calling as a man. However, if a woman has long hair, that is glorious. It matches. It makes sense. In this analogy, nature is covering women. It is teaching us that women should have a covering on their head as observed in their natural state. What Paul is arguing about in this section is not merely doing what is already natural. He is leveraging the strength of what is natural in order to testify on behalf of his previous argument that women should proactively place a symbol of authority on top of the natural symbol they have been given.
In other words, women should place a covering on top of their long hair.
In vs. 10, Paul said it this way
That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head
Symbols are artificial representatives of actual realities. The symbol is not the long hair. The long hair is the natural. The symbol is the artificial. The symbol in this case is the covering. So the covering goes on top of the long hair in order to symbolize what is already present in the natural in order to point even further to the supernatural reality of women being the glory of man.
Lastly, Paul closes this discussion by point out in vs. 16
If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God.
I realize even with this train of thought, many will not track or will jump ship in disagreement or will ride it out and still not be convinced. I'm just saying what I'm seeing. I'm late to the party on this, I understand and am not presuming to saunter in with a new revelation.
But whatever Paul meant by this discussion, he meant for it to be universal and unquestionable. This was not a Corinthian rule for a Corinthian situation resulting from a Corinthian problem. This was the rule for all Christians in all situations in all churches. There was no other acceptable practice utilized by Christians during that time in that neighborhood specifically or in the natural world more generally. Since nature does not change and the apostle went out of his way to state that this was not contextual, it seems reasonable to revisit this discussion to identify what is being said and how it applies to us now. The most unacceptable position to take regarding this passage is indifference. If there is a principle involved, it doesn't evaporate over time. If there are practices employed in the past empowered by embracing the principle, then we should learn from them and at the very least, seek to put into practice the principle in our time. Because principles don't die and nature doesn't change.
For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short
If the common narrative is that the "covering" is referring to long hair, then this would read, "if a wife will not have long hair, then she should cut her hair short." But that is assuming that she already has short hair, hence the rebuke... if we 're ONLY talking about length of hair. How could the punishment for having short hair be to cut her hair short... It's already short.
Previously in vs 5 he said...
every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven.
If this is merely referring to length of hair again, it would read, "every wife who prays or prophesies with short hair is basically praying like she was bald." So her hair is not already shaven or short or else, again, this parallel would not make sense. It only makes sense if having short hair or a shaved head would be inherently disgraceful consequence and something no one would proactively, voluntarily partake.
Then in vs. 7 he seals the deal by saying
But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head.
Again, since it would be disgraceful to cut off her hair (short) or shave her head (bald altogether), let her cover her head. This would be nonsense if it read, "Since it is a shame to cut your hair short or bald, keep your hair long." It's already long or she would already be in a state of disgrace. As it is, she is being commanded to avoid a shameful state. She does so by covering her long hair which she already has. But the hair is not the covering or it would already be solved.
If the aim were merely to have long-haired women, you wouldn't have to warn short-haired or bald women with the threat of cutting their hair. That would be redundant.
"If you do not have long hair, I will be forced to cut your hair short."
"Ugh... It's already short."
"Ahhh!!!"
So Paul's aim here appears to be the covering; and that women would use that covering in addition to their long hair. The hair alone is not the covering, but is assumed. In no scenario is short hair permitted. It is only given as a consequence of being disobedient to the command to cover or as an equivocation of the shame they should experience for not covering.
In wrapping up this discussion, Paul says in vs. 13-15
Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering.
Nature is an additional witness that Paul confidently calls to the stand. If a man has long hair, it is disgraceful. We can all see that. It is not becoming of him or befitting his calling as a man. However, if a woman has long hair, that is glorious. It matches. It makes sense. In this analogy, nature is covering women. It is teaching us that women should have a covering on their head as observed in their natural state. What Paul is arguing about in this section is not merely doing what is already natural. He is leveraging the strength of what is natural in order to testify on behalf of his previous argument that women should proactively place a symbol of authority on top of the natural symbol they have been given.
In other words, women should place a covering on top of their long hair.
In vs. 10, Paul said it this way
That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head
Symbols are artificial representatives of actual realities. The symbol is not the long hair. The long hair is the natural. The symbol is the artificial. The symbol in this case is the covering. So the covering goes on top of the long hair in order to symbolize what is already present in the natural in order to point even further to the supernatural reality of women being the glory of man.
Lastly, Paul closes this discussion by point out in vs. 16
If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God.
I realize even with this train of thought, many will not track or will jump ship in disagreement or will ride it out and still not be convinced. I'm just saying what I'm seeing. I'm late to the party on this, I understand and am not presuming to saunter in with a new revelation.
But whatever Paul meant by this discussion, he meant for it to be universal and unquestionable. This was not a Corinthian rule for a Corinthian situation resulting from a Corinthian problem. This was the rule for all Christians in all situations in all churches. There was no other acceptable practice utilized by Christians during that time in that neighborhood specifically or in the natural world more generally. Since nature does not change and the apostle went out of his way to state that this was not contextual, it seems reasonable to revisit this discussion to identify what is being said and how it applies to us now. The most unacceptable position to take regarding this passage is indifference. If there is a principle involved, it doesn't evaporate over time. If there are practices employed in the past empowered by embracing the principle, then we should learn from them and at the very least, seek to put into practice the principle in our time. Because principles don't die and nature doesn't change.
Monday, September 23, 2019
day no. 14,945: make the best use of the time
Ephesians 5:16
Make the best use of the time, because the days are evil.
Colossians 4:5
Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.
"Oh the power of ceaseless industry to perform miracles... Great men have always been misers of moments." - Orison Swett Marden, The Improvement of Spare Moments
The most productive people find the time to work hard. They grab a minute here, a moment there, and make it work for them. This requires more diligence than merely allowing the moments to pass, but from this industry is profit not only for you, but also for those watching you work.
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." - Thomas Edison
Proverbs 14:23
All hard work brings a profit,
but mere talk leads only to poverty.
Men of God were for good, hard work.
It requires zeal because it is hard.
It requires God in order to be good.
Make the best use of the time, because the days are evil.
Colossians 4:5
Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.
"Oh the power of ceaseless industry to perform miracles... Great men have always been misers of moments." - Orison Swett Marden, The Improvement of Spare Moments
The most productive people find the time to work hard. They grab a minute here, a moment there, and make it work for them. This requires more diligence than merely allowing the moments to pass, but from this industry is profit not only for you, but also for those watching you work.
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." - Thomas Edison
Proverbs 14:23
All hard work brings a profit,
but mere talk leads only to poverty.
Men of God were for good, hard work.
It requires zeal because it is hard.
It requires God in order to be good.
Sunday, September 22, 2019
day no. 14,944: not beyond what is written
1 Corinthians 4:6
I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written
There is wisdom in not wandering beyond the fences God provides for us in His Word. No one should go beyond God's wisdom - not followers or leaders, not congregants or pastors, sheep or shepherds. Paul and Apollos were not given a hall pass to go outside God's Word. The source of their strength and wisdom and knowledge was not found in a different place. They put their trust in the Word of God and on it they relied. They oriented their thoughts around God's thought, their practices around God's commands and their livelihood around the Author of life and His writings.
I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written
There is wisdom in not wandering beyond the fences God provides for us in His Word. No one should go beyond God's wisdom - not followers or leaders, not congregants or pastors, sheep or shepherds. Paul and Apollos were not given a hall pass to go outside God's Word. The source of their strength and wisdom and knowledge was not found in a different place. They put their trust in the Word of God and on it they relied. They oriented their thoughts around God's thought, their practices around God's commands and their livelihood around the Author of life and His writings.
Saturday, September 21, 2019
day no. 14,943: a letter to young Marine
2 Timothy 2:3-7
Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 5 An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. 7 Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
No solider should enlist expecting to have to buy his own bullets. Likewise, no soldier should enlist expecting to avoid bullets altogether. The one who seeks to follow Jesus will have a share of His help, but will also have a share of His sufferings. This won't come easily or naturally. You won't be able to do this without His help, but you must do it and seek His help in all of it.
1 Corinthians 9:7
Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk?
Think this over. God wants you to get this. Take the time to turn this over in your mind like a farmer does soil Exercise your mind and put in the reps they way an athlete in training repeats movements.
2 Timothy 2:15
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
We do not do our best because God picks the A-team, but because He has given us His best and we want to honor Him in like manner. We show we honor Him by doing as He did, embracing that which He demonstrated – doing your best for the benefit of others.
God commands to our weakness and for the benefits of others.
2 Timothy 2:24-26
The Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.
There will be a temptation to wear yourself out fighting things that do not matter. You must resist this temptation. There will also be a temptation to assume it's too soon to fight. But others need you to endure their evil and to correct their thinking and behaviors. It may be that God would use your willingness to fight the good fight of faith that wins them over to enlist in His service.
1 Timothy 1:18b-19
Wage the good warfare, 19 holding faith and a good conscience.
Others need to see you holding on to Jesus and holding yourself to a higher standard. Conscience is literally, "con = with + science = knowledge." So your conscience knows what you ought to do. Having a good conscience means you live in accordance with what you believe. In other words, assiduity: everything on purposes… all of Christ for all of life.
1 Timothy 4:12, 15-16
Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity… Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. 16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.
You are never too young to apply God's Word to everything. In fact, being young is the best time to begin implementing these things. The older you get, the more set in your old ways you become. If you are a young Christian, someday your old ways will merely be immature Christianity instead of immaturity insanity. Better to look back on young faith and the mistakes it made than young faithlessness and the mistakes it made.
You will not be perfect. It will require practice. So immerse yourself in these things. Literally, "baptize" yourself in God and godliness. Assiduity again. Make Him part of everything. He already is. You just haven't acknowledged it yet in thought and deed, credenda and agenda.
If you do this, you will save yourself and by God's grace He will help you gather others for His glory and your encouragement. As you've heard me say many times, "Everything has problems." You will either have the kind of problems a Christian has or you will have the kind of problems an unbeliever has.
2 Timothy 3:12, 14
All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it.
I love you, brother.
P.S. The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war. Sweat now, survive later.
Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 5 An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. 7 Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
No solider should enlist expecting to have to buy his own bullets. Likewise, no soldier should enlist expecting to avoid bullets altogether. The one who seeks to follow Jesus will have a share of His help, but will also have a share of His sufferings. This won't come easily or naturally. You won't be able to do this without His help, but you must do it and seek His help in all of it.
1 Corinthians 9:7
Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk?
Think this over. God wants you to get this. Take the time to turn this over in your mind like a farmer does soil Exercise your mind and put in the reps they way an athlete in training repeats movements.
2 Timothy 2:15
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
We do not do our best because God picks the A-team, but because He has given us His best and we want to honor Him in like manner. We show we honor Him by doing as He did, embracing that which He demonstrated – doing your best for the benefit of others.
God commands to our weakness and for the benefits of others.
2 Timothy 2:24-26
The Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.
There will be a temptation to wear yourself out fighting things that do not matter. You must resist this temptation. There will also be a temptation to assume it's too soon to fight. But others need you to endure their evil and to correct their thinking and behaviors. It may be that God would use your willingness to fight the good fight of faith that wins them over to enlist in His service.
1 Timothy 1:18b-19
Wage the good warfare, 19 holding faith and a good conscience.
Others need to see you holding on to Jesus and holding yourself to a higher standard. Conscience is literally, "con = with + science = knowledge." So your conscience knows what you ought to do. Having a good conscience means you live in accordance with what you believe. In other words, assiduity: everything on purposes… all of Christ for all of life.
1 Timothy 4:12, 15-16
Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity… Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. 16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.
You are never too young to apply God's Word to everything. In fact, being young is the best time to begin implementing these things. The older you get, the more set in your old ways you become. If you are a young Christian, someday your old ways will merely be immature Christianity instead of immaturity insanity. Better to look back on young faith and the mistakes it made than young faithlessness and the mistakes it made.
You will not be perfect. It will require practice. So immerse yourself in these things. Literally, "baptize" yourself in God and godliness. Assiduity again. Make Him part of everything. He already is. You just haven't acknowledged it yet in thought and deed, credenda and agenda.
If you do this, you will save yourself and by God's grace He will help you gather others for His glory and your encouragement. As you've heard me say many times, "Everything has problems." You will either have the kind of problems a Christian has or you will have the kind of problems an unbeliever has.
2 Timothy 3:12, 14
All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it.
I love you, brother.
P.S. The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war. Sweat now, survive later.
Friday, September 20, 2019
day no. 14,942: between the danger and his beloved.
"The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.” - G.K. Chesterton
“You cannot love a thing without wanting to fight for it. You cannot fight without something to fight for. To love a thing without wishing to fight for it is not love at all. " - G.K. Chesterton
A good man puts himself between the things he loves and the danger.
A good man, like Jesus, takes responsibility for the thing He loves by taking the heat that comes at his beloved. To lead, to take charge, is to take step out in front of the thing you love in order to be between it and the danger that threatens it.
Ephesians 5:25
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her
Headship is taking a bullet for, not taking advantage of those for whom you are responsible.
The essence of masculinity is responsibility. The man is responsible for his home. He loves the weight of this responsibility, but he feels the weight of it. Though he wouldn't have it be lighter thing. The weight is what makes it worth the while. It's good that it is hard.
Masculinity steps up by stepping out between the danger and his beloved.
“You cannot love a thing without wanting to fight for it. You cannot fight without something to fight for. To love a thing without wishing to fight for it is not love at all. " - G.K. Chesterton
A good man puts himself between the things he loves and the danger.
A good man, like Jesus, takes responsibility for the thing He loves by taking the heat that comes at his beloved. To lead, to take charge, is to take step out in front of the thing you love in order to be between it and the danger that threatens it.
Ephesians 5:25
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her
Headship is taking a bullet for, not taking advantage of those for whom you are responsible.
The essence of masculinity is responsibility. The man is responsible for his home. He loves the weight of this responsibility, but he feels the weight of it. Though he wouldn't have it be lighter thing. The weight is what makes it worth the while. It's good that it is hard.
Masculinity steps up by stepping out between the danger and his beloved.
Thursday, September 19, 2019
day no. 14,941: ChristiANDity
Many evangelicals today practice ChristiANDity. They know enough to know that they need Christ, but they also believe He is insufficient or inadequate to address certain issues, thoughts, practices, etc...
2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Either Scripture is sufficient or it isn't. At some point, we have to decide. If it is, then we need to think more Biblically, be more acquainted with the content and context of the Bible and more interactive with the principles it provides and applying them to our practices and predicaments in everyday life.
To say that Scripture is sufficient is not to say that you cannot consult or consider any other source of information, but rather it informs which filters which. With what authority does the buck stop? Which worldview will prevail? The one the Bible provides or one of its competitors.
"The Bible is thought of as authoritative on everything of which it speaks. Moreover, it speaks of everything. We do not mean that it speaks of football games, of atoms, etc., directly, but we do mean that it speaks of everything either directly or by implication." – Cornelius Van Til, Christian Apologetics
The Bible, in principle, speaks to everything. The more Biblically you begin to think -- that is to say, the more your thinking and assessment of situations is guided by underlying principles proclaimed and applied in the Scriptures -- the more you have a handle on life, breath and everything else that happens here on a Tuesday afternoon.
"In the Bible, we have a perfect library." -- Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students: To Workers with Slender Apparatus
Hebrews 5:14
Solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
It will not be easy, but it is possible. It will require constant practice. No let up, not give up. But if you keep up with it, you will find your powers of discernment growing like muscles that have been worked over. They will be stronger and able to lift today what they could not yesterday. They will be able to cut through crap they could not yesterday. They will be trained, sharpened, heightened... and they will be able to distinguish between good and evil. The clouded mind cannot tell the difference between bad and worse. The mind trained Biblically can distinguish good from evil and better from best.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Either Scripture is sufficient or it isn't. At some point, we have to decide. If it is, then we need to think more Biblically, be more acquainted with the content and context of the Bible and more interactive with the principles it provides and applying them to our practices and predicaments in everyday life.
To say that Scripture is sufficient is not to say that you cannot consult or consider any other source of information, but rather it informs which filters which. With what authority does the buck stop? Which worldview will prevail? The one the Bible provides or one of its competitors.
"The Bible is thought of as authoritative on everything of which it speaks. Moreover, it speaks of everything. We do not mean that it speaks of football games, of atoms, etc., directly, but we do mean that it speaks of everything either directly or by implication." – Cornelius Van Til, Christian Apologetics
The Bible, in principle, speaks to everything. The more Biblically you begin to think -- that is to say, the more your thinking and assessment of situations is guided by underlying principles proclaimed and applied in the Scriptures -- the more you have a handle on life, breath and everything else that happens here on a Tuesday afternoon.
"In the Bible, we have a perfect library." -- Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students: To Workers with Slender Apparatus
Hebrews 5:14
Solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
It will not be easy, but it is possible. It will require constant practice. No let up, not give up. But if you keep up with it, you will find your powers of discernment growing like muscles that have been worked over. They will be stronger and able to lift today what they could not yesterday. They will be able to cut through crap they could not yesterday. They will be trained, sharpened, heightened... and they will be able to distinguish between good and evil. The clouded mind cannot tell the difference between bad and worse. The mind trained Biblically can distinguish good from evil and better from best.
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
day no. 14,940: getting along to go along together
One piece of advise I give to every engaged couple or young married couple I meet with, talk to or preach to is to pursue oneness as much as possible. God is going to miraculously make you one on your wedding day or did exactly that looking back on that day if you are already married. Now live in light of what you are. Be one because you already are.
One last name, one address, one meal, one meal time, one bed, one bedtime, one God, one church, one church service, one show you're watching together, one bank account, one, one one...
Today, I came across this great line in one of Doug Wilson's blog posts
"A joint checking account makes getting along mandatory, and an inability to get along makes life impossible."
When you have one bank account, you have to talk. You cannot spend without conversation. You are dipping into the same funds and are watching the same numbers go up and down with deposits and withdrawals. You cannot do this without being committed to getting along in order to go along together. And this is a fundamental commitment to oneness.
One last name, one address, one meal, one meal time, one bed, one bedtime, one God, one church, one church service, one show you're watching together, one bank account, one, one one...
Today, I came across this great line in one of Doug Wilson's blog posts
"A joint checking account makes getting along mandatory, and an inability to get along makes life impossible."
When you have one bank account, you have to talk. You cannot spend without conversation. You are dipping into the same funds and are watching the same numbers go up and down with deposits and withdrawals. You cannot do this without being committed to getting along in order to go along together. And this is a fundamental commitment to oneness.
Tuesday, September 17, 2019
day no. 14,939: harmonious
Romans 12:15-16
Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another.
Harmonies are composed of different notes.
In every group of people, some will have reason for rejoicing and some will have reason for weeping. But these notes on their own cannot create harmony.
However, if those who are weeping make an effort to enter into the rejoicing of their neighbors instead of selfishly insisting on their pain being the center of everyone's universe, harmony is possible.
Likewise, if those who are rejoicing make an effort to enter into the suffering and weeping of their neighbors instead of selfishly trying to keep their buzz from being harshed, harmony is possible.
When different notes join together, beautiful music is performed.
It has already been composed by our Conductor.
Q: Will we join in and lend our voices, weeping or rejoicing, to His composition?
Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another.
Harmonies are composed of different notes.
In every group of people, some will have reason for rejoicing and some will have reason for weeping. But these notes on their own cannot create harmony.
However, if those who are weeping make an effort to enter into the rejoicing of their neighbors instead of selfishly insisting on their pain being the center of everyone's universe, harmony is possible.
Likewise, if those who are rejoicing make an effort to enter into the suffering and weeping of their neighbors instead of selfishly trying to keep their buzz from being harshed, harmony is possible.
When different notes join together, beautiful music is performed.
It has already been composed by our Conductor.
Q: Will we join in and lend our voices, weeping or rejoicing, to His composition?
Monday, September 16, 2019
day no. 14,938: working hard while going unnoticed
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.
There is something amazingly spectacular about living a regular, day in-day out, hour by hour life for Christ. Faith is not just a mountain top Sunday morning experience, but a Tuesday afternoon just doing work.
To live for Christ means to be committed to having everything you need in Him and through His provision. This includes the air we breath, the energy He gives us, the opportunities He provides to us and the industry He allows us to participate in. He gives men shoulders in order to lift weights and carry heavy loads. He blesses us with good, hard work. It is hard, so we cry out to Him for help. It is good because without Him we would fall short.
May God grant you the ability to aspire, to zealously pursue with gusto and chutzpah the quiet life of shouldering heavy burdens and being reliable, dependable, resolute, dignified, integrous, and full of gravitas as you go about ordinary business.
Gravity is common, everyday, and often taken for granted, but it is powerful and consistent and gives us the ability to be grounded. Men are to be like that. Willing to be taken for granted and overlooked while zealously, fearlessly committed to doing work.
When we work hard to go unnoticed, guess what happens? People take notice. And what they see is something out of this world. And if they ask us the source of this, we reply, "You are correct. It is out of this world. It does not come up from within, but has been given to me as a gift from without." We point people to Christ by living quietly, working hard, walking properly and using God's blessing to meet our daily needs.
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.
There is something amazingly spectacular about living a regular, day in-day out, hour by hour life for Christ. Faith is not just a mountain top Sunday morning experience, but a Tuesday afternoon just doing work.
To live for Christ means to be committed to having everything you need in Him and through His provision. This includes the air we breath, the energy He gives us, the opportunities He provides to us and the industry He allows us to participate in. He gives men shoulders in order to lift weights and carry heavy loads. He blesses us with good, hard work. It is hard, so we cry out to Him for help. It is good because without Him we would fall short.
May God grant you the ability to aspire, to zealously pursue with gusto and chutzpah the quiet life of shouldering heavy burdens and being reliable, dependable, resolute, dignified, integrous, and full of gravitas as you go about ordinary business.
Gravity is common, everyday, and often taken for granted, but it is powerful and consistent and gives us the ability to be grounded. Men are to be like that. Willing to be taken for granted and overlooked while zealously, fearlessly committed to doing work.
When we work hard to go unnoticed, guess what happens? People take notice. And what they see is something out of this world. And if they ask us the source of this, we reply, "You are correct. It is out of this world. It does not come up from within, but has been given to me as a gift from without." We point people to Christ by living quietly, working hard, walking properly and using God's blessing to meet our daily needs.
Sunday, September 15, 2019
day no. 14,937: to refuse to engage evil in battle is to embrace it in defeat
Romans 7:22-23
For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind
Every Christian is at war. If you refuse to believe it, acknowledge it, prepare for it or engage in it, you are accepting defeat, flattering yourself and embracing the enemy.
To refuse to engage evil in battle is to embrace it in defeat.
There is a battle going on in the mind and in the body and between the mind and the body. The law of your members (your body) is, "Don't tell me what I can't do and don't tell me what I must do!!!" The law of the renewed mind in Christ is, "Please tell me what I must do and please warn me against that which I must not."
The Christian man is already, but not yet. We are made new, but we live in old bodies. We have new minds which are being trained in righteousness and old habits well-versed in jumping through wicked hoops.
We live in tension like no others. Those who do not serve Christ do not have the Spirit tugging them in God's direction. They do what they want. They may feel bad or feel bad when the get caught or wish the consequences weren't so severe, etc... But they do not fear God or repent before Him of their inordinate affections.
Christians embrace the tension, fight the good fight, die to self, live for God, flee the slavery of the old man, flee to the slavery of Jesus Christ, decommission as an enemy combatant and enlist as a soldier in the service of your new Commanding Officer: Jesus Christ.
There will be slavery and their will be enlisted service. If you are a slave to sin, you are free to righteousness, a soldier fighting on the front lines against godliness. If you are a slave to righteousness, you are free from sin, a soldier fighting on the front lines against darkness.
Romans 8:6-8
For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind
Every Christian is at war. If you refuse to believe it, acknowledge it, prepare for it or engage in it, you are accepting defeat, flattering yourself and embracing the enemy.
To refuse to engage evil in battle is to embrace it in defeat.
There is a battle going on in the mind and in the body and between the mind and the body. The law of your members (your body) is, "Don't tell me what I can't do and don't tell me what I must do!!!" The law of the renewed mind in Christ is, "Please tell me what I must do and please warn me against that which I must not."
The Christian man is already, but not yet. We are made new, but we live in old bodies. We have new minds which are being trained in righteousness and old habits well-versed in jumping through wicked hoops.
We live in tension like no others. Those who do not serve Christ do not have the Spirit tugging them in God's direction. They do what they want. They may feel bad or feel bad when the get caught or wish the consequences weren't so severe, etc... But they do not fear God or repent before Him of their inordinate affections.
Christians embrace the tension, fight the good fight, die to self, live for God, flee the slavery of the old man, flee to the slavery of Jesus Christ, decommission as an enemy combatant and enlist as a soldier in the service of your new Commanding Officer: Jesus Christ.
There will be slavery and their will be enlisted service. If you are a slave to sin, you are free to righteousness, a soldier fighting on the front lines against godliness. If you are a slave to righteousness, you are free from sin, a soldier fighting on the front lines against darkness.
Romans 8:6-8
For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Saturday, September 14, 2019
day no. 14,936: grateful hearts and gritty hands
Romans 6:17
But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed
The obedience of faith is the aim of the Roman epistle. Paul's desire is that those who profess Jesus as Lord and Savior would live in accordance with His teachings and die to themselves.
This goal of living up to the standard you proclaim is not unique to the the Roman letter however.
Ephesians 4:1
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called
Colossians 1:10
Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God
We have been called and we have expressed commitment to that call. May God empower us to live in a manner worthy of our calling, pleasing to God, increasing in the knowledge of God and good works to our neighbors with grateful hearts and gritty hands.
But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed
The obedience of faith is the aim of the Roman epistle. Paul's desire is that those who profess Jesus as Lord and Savior would live in accordance with His teachings and die to themselves.
This goal of living up to the standard you proclaim is not unique to the the Roman letter however.
Ephesians 4:1
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called
Colossians 1:10
Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God
We have been called and we have expressed commitment to that call. May God empower us to live in a manner worthy of our calling, pleasing to God, increasing in the knowledge of God and good works to our neighbors with grateful hearts and gritty hands.
Friday, September 13, 2019
day no. 14,935: without excuse
The following is taken directly from section three of Doug Wilson's, Plodcast (see below) and THIS blog post quoting from his book, Mere Fundamentalism
-------------
The Greek word translated "without excuse," "no excuse," or "inexcusable" is anapologétos
and it appears in the New Testament twice, both in the epistle the Romans.
Romans 1:19-20
For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
Romans 2:1
Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.
In the first instance, we see it applied as a statement regarding those who refuse to live by what God declares and makes evident in His creation.
In the second instance, we see it applied as a statement regarding those who insist upon applying that same standard to other people without applying it first to themselves.
When combined, we see the picture even more clearly: natural revelation cannot tell me what to do, but it certainly can tell you what you must do.
It is inexcusable to ignore God's clear commands myself and it is inexcusable to apply them to others without first applying it to myself.
If someone invented a cure for cancer and walked through a cancer ward and gave the cure to as many as wanted it, but some refused it and some he didn't get to in time, those who died didn't die of a thing called "not taking the cure." They died from cancer. Similarly, those who die without hearing the Gospel do not die of a thing called "not hearing the Gospel." They die because of their sin. They are condemned for their awareness of the standards they ought to have kept and their insistence that others ought to have lived up to that same standard.
Ambrose Bierce, in the Devil's Dictionary, famously defined a Christian as, "one who believes that the New Testament is a divinely inspired book admirably suited to the spiritual needs of his neighbor.”
Imagine that God placed a tape recorder around your neck which only recorded moral judgments you applied to others. It recorded all your conversations and reactions with particular attention to phrases like,
"He should not have..."
"I can't believe she..."
"You should..."
"We can't just..."
Now, imagine God employed a set of angels with the task of editing those recordings down to individualized moral code distilled from your pronouncements. This moral code was made up of your own statements and neatly organized into a code of personal conduct.
Now imagine God judged you by your own moral code. You would fail and fall short of your own judgments. Just like everyone else would.
And God says that this is INEXCUSABLE. There is no excuse, no apology, no defense to be made. You condemn yourself by your own mouth. You pronounce your own judgment.
We defy what our moral sense tells us we ought to do and then,
we apply that same standard that we've rejected for ourselves to others.
BOTH are utterly WITHOUT EXCUSE and deserve the judgment they receive.
You may say then, "If that is the case, then who could be saved? Who could be judged worthy or up to snuff?" The answer is obvious, "No one."
Romans 3:9-12
both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
Where does that leave us? Up a creek without a paddle, in need of something outside of ourselves to save us. If someone or something doesn't save us, we are dead at the bottom of the pool.
Plodcast Ep. 70 Secularism, Sleuthing C.S. Lewis, Harmartiology
RSS Feed: http://canonpress.libsyn.com/rss-------------
The Greek word translated "without excuse," "no excuse," or "inexcusable" is anapologétos
and it appears in the New Testament twice, both in the epistle the Romans.
Romans 1:19-20
For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
Romans 2:1
Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.
In the first instance, we see it applied as a statement regarding those who refuse to live by what God declares and makes evident in His creation.
In the second instance, we see it applied as a statement regarding those who insist upon applying that same standard to other people without applying it first to themselves.
When combined, we see the picture even more clearly: natural revelation cannot tell me what to do, but it certainly can tell you what you must do.
It is inexcusable to ignore God's clear commands myself and it is inexcusable to apply them to others without first applying it to myself.
If someone invented a cure for cancer and walked through a cancer ward and gave the cure to as many as wanted it, but some refused it and some he didn't get to in time, those who died didn't die of a thing called "not taking the cure." They died from cancer. Similarly, those who die without hearing the Gospel do not die of a thing called "not hearing the Gospel." They die because of their sin. They are condemned for their awareness of the standards they ought to have kept and their insistence that others ought to have lived up to that same standard.
Ambrose Bierce, in the Devil's Dictionary, famously defined a Christian as, "one who believes that the New Testament is a divinely inspired book admirably suited to the spiritual needs of his neighbor.”
Imagine that God placed a tape recorder around your neck which only recorded moral judgments you applied to others. It recorded all your conversations and reactions with particular attention to phrases like,
"He should not have..."
"I can't believe she..."
"You should..."
"We can't just..."
Now, imagine God employed a set of angels with the task of editing those recordings down to individualized moral code distilled from your pronouncements. This moral code was made up of your own statements and neatly organized into a code of personal conduct.
Now imagine God judged you by your own moral code. You would fail and fall short of your own judgments. Just like everyone else would.
And God says that this is INEXCUSABLE. There is no excuse, no apology, no defense to be made. You condemn yourself by your own mouth. You pronounce your own judgment.
We defy what our moral sense tells us we ought to do and then,
we apply that same standard that we've rejected for ourselves to others.
BOTH are utterly WITHOUT EXCUSE and deserve the judgment they receive.
You may say then, "If that is the case, then who could be saved? Who could be judged worthy or up to snuff?" The answer is obvious, "No one."
Romans 3:9-12
both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
Where does that leave us? Up a creek without a paddle, in need of something outside of ourselves to save us. If someone or something doesn't save us, we are dead at the bottom of the pool.
Thursday, September 12, 2019
day no. 14,934: why did Paul write the epistle to the Romans?
Q: Why did Paul write the epistle to the Romans?
A: Romans 1:5 to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of His Name among all the nations
May our aim today be the same.
to bring about Obedience
of Faith
for the Sake
of His Name
among All the Nations
If any question remained of this being the primary intent of this epistle, the final words of it reiterate the matter clearly.
Romans 16:25-27
Now to Him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26 but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— 27 to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.
the Preaching of Jesus Christ
made known to All Nations
to bring about the Obedience
of Faith
A: Romans 1:5 to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of His Name among all the nations
May our aim today be the same.
to bring about Obedience
of Faith
for the Sake
of His Name
among All the Nations
If any question remained of this being the primary intent of this epistle, the final words of it reiterate the matter clearly.
Romans 16:25-27
Now to Him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26 but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— 27 to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.
the Preaching of Jesus Christ
made known to All Nations
to bring about the Obedience
of Faith
Wednesday, September 11, 2019
day no. 14,933: spitfire
Jeremiah 20:9
If I say, "I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name," there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot.
There are times where I become discouraged either by feedback I receive after preaching or from feeling internal dissatisfaction with my talent when compared to my taste in preaching. In those moments, I am tempted to give up, quit, admit defeat, or assume that this is my sign that I am not cut out for this kind of thing.
Proverbs 6:27
Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned?
But I can never really put it entirely away. I cannot kill it. It resurrects. I cannot ignore it. It screams violently from within. I cannot quench it. It burns inside my bones.
1 Corinthians 9:16
For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!
I feel compelled to preach, to study, to learn, to share, to understand, to be understood, to dig deep and aim high. I feel it all and never do I feel a greater sense of God's pleasure than when I am preparing a sermon, agonizing over the precise language, and delivering the fruit of my labors on a Sunday morning at church or Thursday evening at Salt. I love the hard work of preaching. I would not make it easier if I could. Part of the reward is how hard it is to achieve and it is good and godly work.
Jeremiah 20:11
But the LORD is with me as a dread warrior
If I say, "I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name," there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot.
There are times where I become discouraged either by feedback I receive after preaching or from feeling internal dissatisfaction with my talent when compared to my taste in preaching. In those moments, I am tempted to give up, quit, admit defeat, or assume that this is my sign that I am not cut out for this kind of thing.
Proverbs 6:27
Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned?
But I can never really put it entirely away. I cannot kill it. It resurrects. I cannot ignore it. It screams violently from within. I cannot quench it. It burns inside my bones.
1 Corinthians 9:16
For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!
I feel compelled to preach, to study, to learn, to share, to understand, to be understood, to dig deep and aim high. I feel it all and never do I feel a greater sense of God's pleasure than when I am preparing a sermon, agonizing over the precise language, and delivering the fruit of my labors on a Sunday morning at church or Thursday evening at Salt. I love the hard work of preaching. I would not make it easier if I could. Part of the reward is how hard it is to achieve and it is good and godly work.
Jeremiah 20:11
But the LORD is with me as a dread warrior
Tuesday, September 10, 2019
day no. 14,932: inability limits obligation
Doug Wilson recently pointed out that the Pelagian impulse is to cry, "inability limits obligation."
In other words, if I had no choice in the matter, I can't be held accountable for my actions. I can only be held accountable for things over which I had free choice. You can't sentence me or judge me guilty for impulses over which I had no say.
I want to do sinful things, but I didn't choose to want to do sinful things. I never remember making a conscious decision to be a sinner, I just wanted to sin and saw sin as attractive. It was always the case. I have no responsibility, therefore, for the way I feel. And if I cannot be held responsible for how I feel, then why should I prohibited from acting upon my feelings? If the feelings can't be counted as wrong, then how can the actions that flow from those feelings be any less wrong?
This sounds right in way... right? But only in a way. And that being a way in which we have all been trained and led astray. We collectively, impulsively see the unfairness of it and relate to the plea-bargainer's reply, "How can I be fined for regulations I had no ability to obey? How can I rightly be held accountable for feelings I didn't ask to feel?"
But this is where the divergence between Augustinian Christianity and Pelagian Christiahhhh....ehhhhh.....errrrrr....nity is most obvious.
Scripture has already pronounced that we are born in Adam. We have a genetic marker that compels us to follow his example and sin. We are sinful because we are sinners, not the other way around. We are not counted sinful because of our sins, we can count our sins so easily because we are sinners and are so good at what we do, you can count on it.
We are commanded by God to die to ourselves. We are commanded to go against our impulses. We are not given vague impulses as excuses for disobeying clear commands. We know what we are to do and how we are commanded to feel about our feelings. You can appeal to thine own self staying true, but it will not hold up in God's court. He has gone on record as to what He requires and what He condemns. If you find yourself, by nature, feeling attracted to things He has declared abominations or feeling repulsed by things He has declared attractive, the problem lies in you and your obligation in response to them is to forsake your feelings and follow Christ.
Because we are all born into Adam, each one of us must die to ourselves on some points and go against our natural inclinations if we are to follow Jesus. No one follows Jesus and feels warm fuzzies about His commands without being regenerated from our old nature into a new nature provided by God.
In other words, if I had no choice in the matter, I can't be held accountable for my actions. I can only be held accountable for things over which I had free choice. You can't sentence me or judge me guilty for impulses over which I had no say.
I want to do sinful things, but I didn't choose to want to do sinful things. I never remember making a conscious decision to be a sinner, I just wanted to sin and saw sin as attractive. It was always the case. I have no responsibility, therefore, for the way I feel. And if I cannot be held responsible for how I feel, then why should I prohibited from acting upon my feelings? If the feelings can't be counted as wrong, then how can the actions that flow from those feelings be any less wrong?
This sounds right in way... right? But only in a way. And that being a way in which we have all been trained and led astray. We collectively, impulsively see the unfairness of it and relate to the plea-bargainer's reply, "How can I be fined for regulations I had no ability to obey? How can I rightly be held accountable for feelings I didn't ask to feel?"
But this is where the divergence between Augustinian Christianity and Pelagian Christiahhhh....ehhhhh.....errrrrr....nity is most obvious.
Scripture has already pronounced that we are born in Adam. We have a genetic marker that compels us to follow his example and sin. We are sinful because we are sinners, not the other way around. We are not counted sinful because of our sins, we can count our sins so easily because we are sinners and are so good at what we do, you can count on it.
We are commanded by God to die to ourselves. We are commanded to go against our impulses. We are not given vague impulses as excuses for disobeying clear commands. We know what we are to do and how we are commanded to feel about our feelings. You can appeal to thine own self staying true, but it will not hold up in God's court. He has gone on record as to what He requires and what He condemns. If you find yourself, by nature, feeling attracted to things He has declared abominations or feeling repulsed by things He has declared attractive, the problem lies in you and your obligation in response to them is to forsake your feelings and follow Christ.
Because we are all born into Adam, each one of us must die to ourselves on some points and go against our natural inclinations if we are to follow Jesus. No one follows Jesus and feels warm fuzzies about His commands without being regenerated from our old nature into a new nature provided by God.
Monday, September 9, 2019
day no. 14,931: do not let your brain sit the bench
1 Peter 1:13
Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
The command Peter gives here is literally to gird up the loins of your mind. The image he is calling to mind is that of a man getting to work, who first lifts up his tunic as to keep it from dragging or getting tangled up. You pull it up and wrap it around your privates in order to keep it from dragging on the ground or getting caught on your legs and to keep your privates in place as you run.
In other words, get your mental nut cup on and prepare to do some mental exercise.
But Peter here applies this same language to what we ought to do regarding our minds. Pick up those loose ends, do not let them dangle. If you're going to get to work, you're going to need to be free from encumbrance. Which means we have to get to work and clean up loose ends in our thinking so that we can be tight and ready for action, not caught up or tangled up on the sidelines.
Do not let your brain sit the bench.
1 Peter 4:1
Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking
Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
The command Peter gives here is literally to gird up the loins of your mind. The image he is calling to mind is that of a man getting to work, who first lifts up his tunic as to keep it from dragging or getting tangled up. You pull it up and wrap it around your privates in order to keep it from dragging on the ground or getting caught on your legs and to keep your privates in place as you run.
In other words, get your mental nut cup on and prepare to do some mental exercise.
But Peter here applies this same language to what we ought to do regarding our minds. Pick up those loose ends, do not let them dangle. If you're going to get to work, you're going to need to be free from encumbrance. Which means we have to get to work and clean up loose ends in our thinking so that we can be tight and ready for action, not caught up or tangled up on the sidelines.
Do not let your brain sit the bench.
1 Peter 4:1
Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking
Sunday, September 8, 2019
day no. 14,930: on your marks, get set... Trinity!
1 Peter 1:1-2
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:
May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
Peter wastes no time identifying the Trinitarian nature of our salvation. We have been elected to a eternal life and daily living by faith in faithfulness in accordance with the wisdom of the Father, the comfort and compulsion of the Spirit and the sacrifice of the Son.
ACCORDING
The entire redemptive narrative is authored by the Author of all things, God, the Father
IN
The entire ongoing process of being made perfect is attended to by the work and presence of the God, the Holy Spirit.
FOR
The entire aim of redemption is obeying our great God and Savior, the Son.
...
FOREKNOWLEDGE
God, who cannot be overcome, compelled, indebted, bullied, manipulated or overpowered, decided what He would do and ensured it would happen.
SANCTIFICATION
God, who holds everything together by the Word of His power, who cannot be extricated from anything, is actively at work in setting His people apart in actuality. He superintends the process of us becoming what we've already been declared.
OBEDIENCE
God, who is Ruler of all is owed absolute allegiance. God did not organize the entire presentation and then forget to put on the final touches.
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:
May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
Peter wastes no time identifying the Trinitarian nature of our salvation. We have been elected to a eternal life and daily living by faith in faithfulness in accordance with the wisdom of the Father, the comfort and compulsion of the Spirit and the sacrifice of the Son.
ACCORDING
The entire redemptive narrative is authored by the Author of all things, God, the Father
IN
The entire ongoing process of being made perfect is attended to by the work and presence of the God, the Holy Spirit.
FOR
The entire aim of redemption is obeying our great God and Savior, the Son.
...
FOREKNOWLEDGE
God, who cannot be overcome, compelled, indebted, bullied, manipulated or overpowered, decided what He would do and ensured it would happen.
SANCTIFICATION
God, who holds everything together by the Word of His power, who cannot be extricated from anything, is actively at work in setting His people apart in actuality. He superintends the process of us becoming what we've already been declared.
OBEDIENCE
God, who is Ruler of all is owed absolute allegiance. God did not organize the entire presentation and then forget to put on the final touches.
Saturday, September 7, 2019
day no. 14,929: rulers must rule by the rules of the Ruler
2 Samuel 23:1-3
Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said,
The Spirit of the Lord spake by me,
and his word was in my tongue.
The God of Israel said,
the Rock of Israel spake to me,
He that ruleth over men must be just,
ruling in the fear of God.
A ruler is a measuring stick. It is organized according to standards and is then itself a standardized way of evaluating other things by measuring them.
A ruler of people is also a measuring stick. He has standards by which he is evaluated and must himself subscribe. He must abide by the rules of the Ruler of all peoples in order to rule his assigned people rightly.
But no earthly authority is absolute. It is only authoritative inasmuch as it has been given its authority by the Authority.
In order to lead men, you must lead justly, which means by the standards and measures assigned by God, the Ruler of all rulers and the Establisher of all rules.
All rulers will one day be measured by the Ruler for how well they ruled.
Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said,
The Spirit of the Lord spake by me,
and his word was in my tongue.
The God of Israel said,
the Rock of Israel spake to me,
He that ruleth over men must be just,
ruling in the fear of God.
A ruler is a measuring stick. It is organized according to standards and is then itself a standardized way of evaluating other things by measuring them.
A ruler of people is also a measuring stick. He has standards by which he is evaluated and must himself subscribe. He must abide by the rules of the Ruler of all peoples in order to rule his assigned people rightly.
But no earthly authority is absolute. It is only authoritative inasmuch as it has been given its authority by the Authority.
In order to lead men, you must lead justly, which means by the standards and measures assigned by God, the Ruler of all rulers and the Establisher of all rules.
All rulers will one day be measured by the Ruler for how well they ruled.
Friday, September 6, 2019
day no. 14,928: to because or not to because
Acts 28:3-6
When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. 4 When the native people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.” 5 He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. 6 They were waiting for him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw no misfortune come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.
Imagine the scene:
"So a snake bit him? He must be a murderer condemned by God to die."
"He diidn't die? What? He's alive and well. Never mind, he must be God."
There are those whose loyalty is only one misfortune away from evaporating and those whose opposition is only one miracle away from repenting. These are those in whom no stock should be placed. They will applaud you one day and jeer you the next. Their support cannot be assumed and their praise should not assure you in the least. They like what they like as long as they like and don't like what they don't as long as they don't. They will elect you today and impeach you tomorrow. They will promote you this moment and plot to take you down the next.
Do not place your stability in the hands of fickle men.
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