"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects." - Robert Heinlein
A liberal arts education disciplines and trains a man to be free. Vocational training enslaves a man to a skill for which there is no trade. It does not scale. It stays stuck behind whatever wall it builds. But thinking prepares a man for whatever adventure or endeavor may confront him. But even better, it prepares him to develop and discover new adventures and to create new endeavors to confront. Free thinking is expansive. It equips and enables a man to fulfill the cultural mandate to be fruitful and multiply, discipling the earth for the glory of God and His good Name.
Tuesday, June 30, 2020
Monday, June 29, 2020
day no. 15,225: always welcome, never obligated
Always welcome, never obligated
That is the goal of raising Christian children to adulthood. That is the banner you want to extend into their hearts and over their memories that informs their present when they are grown and living in a family of their own.
When your kids are kids, this is not the case.
Young kids are obligated to obey their parents (Ephesians 6:4) and need to know that they are under obligation to worship Jesus since God has made Him both Lord and Savior (Acts 2:36-39). These ideas must be impressed upon children, but done so in an environment where mom and dad are already delighting to do so and are actively creating a healthy atmosphere where the air is sweet and you would want to be... even if you didn't HAVE TO be there.
That is building and preparing to hand off your authoritative position for an influential position. That will grant you a seat at the table of advisers in your adult children's life and livelihood. Your children cannot and should not be under your authority forever, so love and train them while they are under your authority so that once they are no longer obligated to listen to you, they call you anyways. Create a culture and build a home that says, "always welcome, never obligated" so that your kids can't imagine MISSING OUT on Thanksgiving because there's no place they'd rather be. If you continue to insist on their obedience to your authority once they've established homes of their own, you will make them wish to be anywhere other than your home and if they do make their way over it will be because of your bullying, not their liberty; because of your obligation, not their freedom; because of your insistence, not theirs. If you make the opposite error and never insist on being obeyed, even when they are young, when they are old, they will resent you for not being more caring or invested in them and will not want to come around as adults to visit those who neglected them when they were young.
For more helpful insights and advice, let's Ask Doug.
That is the goal of raising Christian children to adulthood. That is the banner you want to extend into their hearts and over their memories that informs their present when they are grown and living in a family of their own.
When your kids are kids, this is not the case.
Young kids are obligated to obey their parents (Ephesians 6:4) and need to know that they are under obligation to worship Jesus since God has made Him both Lord and Savior (Acts 2:36-39). These ideas must be impressed upon children, but done so in an environment where mom and dad are already delighting to do so and are actively creating a healthy atmosphere where the air is sweet and you would want to be... even if you didn't HAVE TO be there.
That is building and preparing to hand off your authoritative position for an influential position. That will grant you a seat at the table of advisers in your adult children's life and livelihood. Your children cannot and should not be under your authority forever, so love and train them while they are under your authority so that once they are no longer obligated to listen to you, they call you anyways. Create a culture and build a home that says, "always welcome, never obligated" so that your kids can't imagine MISSING OUT on Thanksgiving because there's no place they'd rather be. If you continue to insist on their obedience to your authority once they've established homes of their own, you will make them wish to be anywhere other than your home and if they do make their way over it will be because of your bullying, not their liberty; because of your obligation, not their freedom; because of your insistence, not theirs. If you make the opposite error and never insist on being obeyed, even when they are young, when they are old, they will resent you for not being more caring or invested in them and will not want to come around as adults to visit those who neglected them when they were young.
For more helpful insights and advice, let's Ask Doug.
Sunday, June 28, 2020
day no. 15,224: if you want to lead, you must first be led; if you want to feed, you must first be fed
Men,
If we want to lead, we must be led.
If we want to feed, we must be fed.
Did you know that if you read 4 chapters of the Old Testament and 1 chapter of the New Testament 5 days a week, you will read the entire Bible in one calendar year? If you make it your goal beginning today to read every weekday (M-F), you will have read the entire Bible by the time the sun rises this day next year.
You can take Saturday and Sunday off from reading and still finish the whole Bible if you simply commit to 5 chapters of the Bible per day. You don't have to read the books in any particular order. As long as you keep to at least 4 OT and 1 NT 5 days a week, you will finish the whole counsel of God in the time it takes our planet to make its annual tour of duty around our sun.
Are you up for the challenge? I've attached a link to a PDF of the Bible broken down by book and chapters in case you want to mark progress and check off chapters read.
Please consider joining me in reading God's Word together.
If you want to lead, you must first be led.
If you want to feed, you must first be fed.
Matthew 8:9-10
"I too am a man under authority"
John 21:17
Feed my sheep.
LINK TO FILE
http://www.goodshepherdlowell.org/bibrdgck.pdf
If we want to lead, we must be led.
If we want to feed, we must be fed.
Did you know that if you read 4 chapters of the Old Testament and 1 chapter of the New Testament 5 days a week, you will read the entire Bible in one calendar year? If you make it your goal beginning today to read every weekday (M-F), you will have read the entire Bible by the time the sun rises this day next year.
You can take Saturday and Sunday off from reading and still finish the whole Bible if you simply commit to 5 chapters of the Bible per day. You don't have to read the books in any particular order. As long as you keep to at least 4 OT and 1 NT 5 days a week, you will finish the whole counsel of God in the time it takes our planet to make its annual tour of duty around our sun.
Are you up for the challenge? I've attached a link to a PDF of the Bible broken down by book and chapters in case you want to mark progress and check off chapters read.
Please consider joining me in reading God's Word together.
If you want to lead, you must first be led.
If you want to feed, you must first be fed.
Matthew 8:9-10
"I too am a man under authority"
John 21:17
Feed my sheep.
LINK TO FILE
http://www.goodshepherdlowell.org/bibrdgck.pdf
Saturday, June 27, 2020
day no. 15,223: four common idols: comfort, approval, control and power
I was reading, Gospel Eldership: Equipping a New Generation of Servant Leaders by Bob Thune and he used a chart in it that he pulled from Darrin Patrick's Church Planter.
The chart is meant to highlight four common sources of idolatry and how they manifest themselves. It highlights signs to look for or can be used to reverse engineer to find root issues.
The chart is meant to highlight four common sources of idolatry and how they manifest themselves. It highlights signs to look for or can be used to reverse engineer to find root issues.
For example, if you often feel cowardly and wish you had said something different than what you did or didn't say, it may stem from an idol of approval. If you find yourself often worried about the future perhaps it stems from an idolatry of control. If people often feel used by you, it may be because you worship, in some fashion, power. Or if you flee from anything that whiffs of stress, you may be bowing at the altar of comfort.
I found this chart helpful in both directions. Both in beginning with the idolatry and watching how it bleeds into all areas of life and beginning with the data points and working backwards to see what might be driving them.
Friday, June 26, 2020
day no. 15,222 continued... more than we imagined, but less than we hoped
1 Chronicles 12:32
And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment.
As I walked this morning, I found myself crying out to God begging for men of Issachar to be raised up and revealed in this generation: men who understand what's going on and what to do about it.
And then I considered the fact of their number according to the Chronicler was 200. When you are looking out at the crowds, it is easy to think that 200 isn't enough. However, when you're feeling alone, it is comforting to know that there are 200.
Then I considered Gideon's 300.
Judges 8:4
And Gideon came to Jordan, and passed over, he, and the three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing them.
God vanquished an army of numbering tens of thousands at the hands of a faithful 300. While 300 may not inspire confidence when overlooking an army of opposition, God can overcome numerical disparity with spiritual fidelity.
Then I considered Elijah.
1 Kings 18:22
Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men.
God used one faithful prophet to overcome 450. By the end of their altercation, Elijah stood and the 450 were slain. By that math, an army of 135,000 could be demolished by a faithful tribe of 300. And that is probably well within the reasonable range of disparity of numbers Gideon actually faced and overcome by grace through faith.
1 Kings 19:18
I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.
While scanning social media and using Google, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, etc... you may be inclined to believe that if you are faithful, you are few. And that may well be the case, but it is also a comfort to remember that there are likely more than we imagine, though less than we hoped. Yet, God can overcome numerical impossibilities and provide glorious victory to those who overcome the world by their faith.
Luke 18:27
The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.
1 John 5:4
For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
*If by 300, God unmade 135,000, imagine what He could do with 7,000? By my math, it's 3,150,000, and that's limiting God's servant to merely a 1/450 ratio.
And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment.
As I walked this morning, I found myself crying out to God begging for men of Issachar to be raised up and revealed in this generation: men who understand what's going on and what to do about it.
And then I considered the fact of their number according to the Chronicler was 200. When you are looking out at the crowds, it is easy to think that 200 isn't enough. However, when you're feeling alone, it is comforting to know that there are 200.
Then I considered Gideon's 300.
Judges 8:4
And Gideon came to Jordan, and passed over, he, and the three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing them.
God vanquished an army of numbering tens of thousands at the hands of a faithful 300. While 300 may not inspire confidence when overlooking an army of opposition, God can overcome numerical disparity with spiritual fidelity.
Then I considered Elijah.
1 Kings 18:22
Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men.
God used one faithful prophet to overcome 450. By the end of their altercation, Elijah stood and the 450 were slain. By that math, an army of 135,000 could be demolished by a faithful tribe of 300. And that is probably well within the reasonable range of disparity of numbers Gideon actually faced and overcome by grace through faith.
1 Kings 19:18
I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.
While scanning social media and using Google, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, etc... you may be inclined to believe that if you are faithful, you are few. And that may well be the case, but it is also a comfort to remember that there are likely more than we imagine, though less than we hoped. Yet, God can overcome numerical impossibilities and provide glorious victory to those who overcome the world by their faith.
Luke 18:27
The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.
For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
*If by 300, God unmade 135,000, imagine what He could do with 7,000? By my math, it's 3,150,000, and that's limiting God's servant to merely a 1/450 ratio.
day no. 15,222: callista janelle... threenager extraordinaire
Callista Janelle Van Voorst, you are a hoot. Every night when I used to lay you down for bedtime in the pack n play in our room, you would spend time tucking in your "babies" who are some stuffed animals. I know this because when I would come to get you and move you to your bedroom for the night with the big girls, Penelope and Laurelai, they were always tucked into the covers on our bed while you are conked out in yours. Now that you go to bed in the girls' room from the git go, your maternal spirit has not dampened a single bit, but now you tuck your babies under the cover on the opposite side of your pack n play. Sometimes even after nap, you get up and then insist on leaving the fan running for the sake of your babies, who, of course, are still napping.
You have a deep maternal streak and immediately rush to the aid and care of anyone who is not feeling well, hurt or sad. You rub their back and try to make eye contact as you say, "You ok?" until the hurt person acknowledges that they are, in fact, ok. You love setting the table and being involved in anything in the kitchen.
You are particular. You like one, solitary ice cube in your sippy cup. You like to hold the timer while you brush your teeth. You like to buckle your own strap on your booster seat at the kitchen table. You like to walk yourself up the stairs instead of being carried.
You love making silly faces and making people laugh. You love being a big kid and being wherever the action is. You love cuddling mom when we watch television in the evening. You love to dance and immediately begin to catch whatever rhythms are played over the airwaves in our home.
You know that there is only one God and where He lives. You know He made you and you love reading our Spurgeon quote before dinner time reading,
"Visit many good books, but live in the Bible."
You are full of life and full of force. You know what you want and expect others to want it just as much. Your mom and I have had to institute several reigns of terror in order to corral your independence into something more constructive and you fall in with some persuasion. You are not easy to outlast. May God employ that tenacity as fiercely for His glory as it is currently employed for your fancies. You are strong-willed and kind-hearted. I love being your dad and spending time with you. You are a wild, predictable card: predictably wild, wildly predicatble :) I can count on you to make life interesting in the best ways possible and you always come through.
I can't wait to meet the lady you are becoming and I love the little girl that you currently are.
Love,
Daddy
You have a deep maternal streak and immediately rush to the aid and care of anyone who is not feeling well, hurt or sad. You rub their back and try to make eye contact as you say, "You ok?" until the hurt person acknowledges that they are, in fact, ok. You love setting the table and being involved in anything in the kitchen.
You are particular. You like one, solitary ice cube in your sippy cup. You like to hold the timer while you brush your teeth. You like to buckle your own strap on your booster seat at the kitchen table. You like to walk yourself up the stairs instead of being carried.
You love making silly faces and making people laugh. You love being a big kid and being wherever the action is. You love cuddling mom when we watch television in the evening. You love to dance and immediately begin to catch whatever rhythms are played over the airwaves in our home.
You know that there is only one God and where He lives. You know He made you and you love reading our Spurgeon quote before dinner time reading,
"Visit many good books, but live in the Bible."
You are full of life and full of force. You know what you want and expect others to want it just as much. Your mom and I have had to institute several reigns of terror in order to corral your independence into something more constructive and you fall in with some persuasion. You are not easy to outlast. May God employ that tenacity as fiercely for His glory as it is currently employed for your fancies. You are strong-willed and kind-hearted. I love being your dad and spending time with you. You are a wild, predictable card: predictably wild, wildly predicatble :) I can count on you to make life interesting in the best ways possible and you always come through.
I can't wait to meet the lady you are becoming and I love the little girl that you currently are.
Love,
Daddy
Thursday, June 25, 2020
day no. 15,221 continued... altogether unlike Hezekiah
2 Kings 20:16-19
And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the Lord. Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the Lord. And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of the Lord which thou hast spoken. And he said, Is it not good, if peace and truth be in my days?
Hezekiah was comforted by the fact that he wouldn't have to first-hand experience any of the fall out of his decisions. He would continue to live peaceably off of his wealth until he expired -- the bankruptcy wouldn't hit until well after his departure.
America is currently experiencing mass upheaval and now is the time to decide to be altogether unlike Hezekiah in our thinking, to seek to secure peace and truth for our grandchildren, not just ourselves, to be the ones who would be willing to fight for truth in order to ensure future generations have the ability to live in peace and truth. If we don't rise up and fight, peace will not survive and truth will be slain along with it. There can be no peace or truth without the way, the truth and the life of Jesus. There is no other road to the reconciliation of heaven and earth.
And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the Lord. Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the Lord. And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of the Lord which thou hast spoken. And he said, Is it not good, if peace and truth be in my days?
Hezekiah was comforted by the fact that he wouldn't have to first-hand experience any of the fall out of his decisions. He would continue to live peaceably off of his wealth until he expired -- the bankruptcy wouldn't hit until well after his departure.
America is currently experiencing mass upheaval and now is the time to decide to be altogether unlike Hezekiah in our thinking, to seek to secure peace and truth for our grandchildren, not just ourselves, to be the ones who would be willing to fight for truth in order to ensure future generations have the ability to live in peace and truth. If we don't rise up and fight, peace will not survive and truth will be slain along with it. There can be no peace or truth without the way, the truth and the life of Jesus. There is no other road to the reconciliation of heaven and earth.
1 Timothy 2:1-4
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
1 Thessalonians 4:11-12
Aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.
The world we should be aiming to produce is the one for which we are commanded to a pray: one where the government exists and works hard to make it possible for Christian people to lead quiet, peaceable lives in ALL godliness and honesty with little interference. That is a world on which God would look down with favor and is the one toward which we should devote our labors and prayers.
But in order to secure that world, some will need to resolve to leave the quiet life in order to enter the ruckus, to devote their minds to business other than just their own and their hands to the work of opposing those outside in order to make quiet lives of minding your own business and working with your hands possible for our progeny. If we do not meet those outside, there difference between an inside and outside will erode. There comes a point where those outside are no longer content with our cloisters and seek to enter it or dissolve its distinction entirely.
In order to secure peace for our son's sons, a place where they may lead quiet, peaceable lives in their homes, we will need to leave ours for now in order to meet the enemy on the field of battle before they breach our front doors. Because if they do, they won't stop there. They will worm their way into our houses, our bedrooms, our family rooms, and our family tables until Christian households are outlawed and the world we were meant to pray and labor toward is made illegal by the governing authorities instead of guaranteed by them.
So what will it be? Will we, like Hezekiah, rest in the fact that it hasn't hit rock bottom yet and enjoy the ride in the meantime knowing the crash will come later? Or will we rise up and meet the madness resting in our knowledge that God has given the earth to the meek and those who seek His kingdom before any other?
So what will it be? Will we, like Hezekiah, rest in the fact that it hasn't hit rock bottom yet and enjoy the ride in the meantime knowing the crash will come later? Or will we rise up and meet the madness resting in our knowledge that God has given the earth to the meek and those who seek His kingdom before any other?
day no. 15,221: paying for the cake and not eating it
"You will notice that we have got them completely fogged about the meaning of the word 'real.' They tell each other, of some great spiritual experience, 'All that really happened was that you heard some music in a lighted building'; here 'real' means the bare physical facts, separated from the other elements in the experience they actually had. On the other hand, they will also say, 'It's all very well discussing that high dive as you sit here in an armchair, but wait till you get up there and see what it's really like": here 'real' is being used in the opposite sense to mean, not the physical facts (which they know already while discussing the matter in armchairs) but the emotional effect those facts will have on a human consciousness.
Either application of the word could be defended; but our business is to keep the two going at once so that the emotional value of the word 'real' can be placed now on one side of the account, now on the other, as it happens to suit us. The general rule which we have now pretty well established among them is that in all experiences which can make them happier or better only the physical facts are 'real' while the spiritual elements are 'subjective'; in all experiences which can discourage or corrupt them the spiritual elements are the main reality and to ignore them is to be an escapist. Thus in birth the blood and pain are 'real', the rejoicing a mere subjective point of view; in death, the terror and ugliness reveal what death 'really means.'
The hatefulness of a hated person is 'real'—in hatred you see men as they are, you are disillusioned; but the loveliness of a loved person is merely a subjective haze concealing a 'real' core of sexual appetite or economic association. Wars and poverty are 'really' horrible; peace and plenty are mere physical facts about which men happen to have certain sentiments.
The creatures are always accusing one another of wanting 'to eat the cake and have it'; but thanks to our labours they are more often in the predicament of paying for the cake and not eating it. Your patient, properly handled, will have no difficulty in regarding his emotion at the sight of human entrails as a revelation of Reality and his emotion at the sight of happy children or fair weather as mere sentiment." - C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
In other words, goodness is completely ostracized. Likable things do not possess something we could call, "likability," rather we simply invent sentimentalities and attach them to it. On the other hand, disagreeable things do not possess anything, "likable" as obviously observed by the fact that we don't like them. In one sense, we do not trust our senses and in the other, we scoff at anything other than our senses.
We assume badness is conspicuous and that goodness is supercilious. We say that sex seems good, but it's only because it feels really good, a mere product of good vibrations. Conversely, we say that whatever good could come of something difficult, like a problem, is only making lemonade out of lemons and that the sips are only a painful reminder of the reality of lemons being given in the first place.
We pay for the cake and then refuse to eat it. We go to great lengths to create value out of thin air and then refuse to value it. We spend all day in the heat of the kitchen and then spend your night neglecting to eat the cake we made. We know enough to know that something should mean something, so we create the meanings we prefer and then pretend that we're too good to believe in them; because, after all, we know who made them and where they came from. In one way, this makes perfect sense, but in another it only reveals how we've been gamed. By substituting God's preferred pronouns and sentiments with our own, we've given ourselves an 'out', but we have yet to create an 'in'. God's design draws us in; ours erases everything out.
Basically, we believe that bad sentiments are real and that good sentiments are imaginary while insisting that bad actions are imaginary and that good actions are sentimental. In other words, when you remember that a particular difficulty ended up producing some good, you discount it as merely sugar-coated sentimentality, but when you remember that a particular good situation ended up producing negative feelings, you conclude that the feelings are more accurately recalling the anecdote.
Either application of the word could be defended; but our business is to keep the two going at once so that the emotional value of the word 'real' can be placed now on one side of the account, now on the other, as it happens to suit us. The general rule which we have now pretty well established among them is that in all experiences which can make them happier or better only the physical facts are 'real' while the spiritual elements are 'subjective'; in all experiences which can discourage or corrupt them the spiritual elements are the main reality and to ignore them is to be an escapist. Thus in birth the blood and pain are 'real', the rejoicing a mere subjective point of view; in death, the terror and ugliness reveal what death 'really means.'
The hatefulness of a hated person is 'real'—in hatred you see men as they are, you are disillusioned; but the loveliness of a loved person is merely a subjective haze concealing a 'real' core of sexual appetite or economic association. Wars and poverty are 'really' horrible; peace and plenty are mere physical facts about which men happen to have certain sentiments.
The creatures are always accusing one another of wanting 'to eat the cake and have it'; but thanks to our labours they are more often in the predicament of paying for the cake and not eating it. Your patient, properly handled, will have no difficulty in regarding his emotion at the sight of human entrails as a revelation of Reality and his emotion at the sight of happy children or fair weather as mere sentiment." - C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
In other words, goodness is completely ostracized. Likable things do not possess something we could call, "likability," rather we simply invent sentimentalities and attach them to it. On the other hand, disagreeable things do not possess anything, "likable" as obviously observed by the fact that we don't like them. In one sense, we do not trust our senses and in the other, we scoff at anything other than our senses.
We assume badness is conspicuous and that goodness is supercilious. We say that sex seems good, but it's only because it feels really good, a mere product of good vibrations. Conversely, we say that whatever good could come of something difficult, like a problem, is only making lemonade out of lemons and that the sips are only a painful reminder of the reality of lemons being given in the first place.
We pay for the cake and then refuse to eat it. We go to great lengths to create value out of thin air and then refuse to value it. We spend all day in the heat of the kitchen and then spend your night neglecting to eat the cake we made. We know enough to know that something should mean something, so we create the meanings we prefer and then pretend that we're too good to believe in them; because, after all, we know who made them and where they came from. In one way, this makes perfect sense, but in another it only reveals how we've been gamed. By substituting God's preferred pronouns and sentiments with our own, we've given ourselves an 'out', but we have yet to create an 'in'. God's design draws us in; ours erases everything out.
Basically, we believe that bad sentiments are real and that good sentiments are imaginary while insisting that bad actions are imaginary and that good actions are sentimental. In other words, when you remember that a particular difficulty ended up producing some good, you discount it as merely sugar-coated sentimentality, but when you remember that a particular good situation ended up producing negative feelings, you conclude that the feelings are more accurately recalling the anecdote.
Wednesday, June 24, 2020
day no. 15,220: tasty tartness and sickly sweetness
"'I’d rather be blown up by you than praised by those other people!' The fact is, there’s a way of doing such things so that the person reproved feels positively grateful to you. One may kick a man downstairs in such a fashion that he will rather like it. While another may open a door in such an offensive way that you don’t want to go through till he is out of the way." - Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Soul Winner: How to Lead Sinners to the Saviour
There is a kind of compliment that is wicked and a kind of conflict that is winsome.There is a tartness that tastes good and a sweetness that sickens.
Proverbs 27:5-6
Better is open rebuke
than hidden love.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend;
profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
God's gift to you are those from whom you invite a strike and those for whom no compliment could entice. If you only have yay-sayers, you are likely to coast and spin like a bike gear with no teeth. You are free to fall downhill, but you cannot climb. If you have only nay-sayers, you are likely to despair like a bike with only one pedal. You can make a go of it, but everything always seems so much harder than it needs to be.
Pray that God would give you friends who love you enough to wound while also revealing to you those foes whose honey is but a trap for flies.
There is a kind of compliment that is wicked and a kind of conflict that is winsome.There is a tartness that tastes good and a sweetness that sickens.
Proverbs 27:5-6
Better is open rebuke
than hidden love.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend;
profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
God's gift to you are those from whom you invite a strike and those for whom no compliment could entice. If you only have yay-sayers, you are likely to coast and spin like a bike gear with no teeth. You are free to fall downhill, but you cannot climb. If you have only nay-sayers, you are likely to despair like a bike with only one pedal. You can make a go of it, but everything always seems so much harder than it needs to be.
Pray that God would give you friends who love you enough to wound while also revealing to you those foes whose honey is but a trap for flies.
Tuesday, June 23, 2020
day no. 15,219: red hot shot
"This is what you must do with your sermons, make them red-hot. Never mind if men say you are too enthusiastic or even too fanatical. Give them red-hot shot, because there’s nothing else half as good for the purpose you have in view. We don’t go out snow-balling on Sundays, we go fire-balling in order to hurl grenades into the enemy’s ranks." - Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Soul Winner: How to Lead Sinners to the Saviour
A cold, hard cannonball is hard to move.
A cannonball shot red-hot is hard to resist.
"Hard preaching produces soft hearts and soft preaching produces hard hearts."
- Jim Wilson
Cook your cannonballs ahead of time and then when you preach, fire away!
If you make snowballs out of falling snowflakes, you only reformat the snow and what you throw only redistributes it. However, if you take red-hot shot and fire it at snowmen, you will change its form and its state... not to mention the entire landscape.
A cold, hard cannonball is hard to move.
A cannonball shot red-hot is hard to resist.
"Hard preaching produces soft hearts and soft preaching produces hard hearts."
- Jim Wilson
Cook your cannonballs ahead of time and then when you preach, fire away!
If you make snowballs out of falling snowflakes, you only reformat the snow and what you throw only redistributes it. However, if you take red-hot shot and fire it at snowmen, you will change its form and its state... not to mention the entire landscape.
Monday, June 22, 2020
day no. 15,218: tuppence
While reading Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Soul Winner: How to Lead Sinners to the Saviour the other day I came across the following quotations...
"Repentance is to leave
The sins we loved before
And show that we in earnest grieve,
By doing so no more."
Repentance is a change of mind. What one used to adore, one now abhors. That in which one used to delight, now one detests. Love and loyalties have shifted. What one once loved, one now grieves. One actively recoils from that which previously was regarded. One grieves that they once held sin so dearly and cleave to God's promises in rejecting them now completely.
"True belief and true repentance are twins."
Belief and repentance are born of the same mother at the same time. They are not siblings born years apart with distance in between. They are born as twins. They are born together or not born. There are no miscarriages when they come. There is no still born faith. It is belief and repentance, born as twins, grasping the heels of each other as gifts from God who planted and fertilized the seed to begin with. Although it may involve much travail and pains in labor to bring about, it produces the two-fold fruit of faith and faithfulness, belief and repentance every time.
"If a man doesn’t live differently than how he did before, both at home and beyond the walls of his house, his repentance needs to be repented of, because his conversion is a fabrication."
There is a repentance of which itself requires repenting. It is a repentance in theory that fails to find reality. It is a stated change of mind without an observed change of behavior. This "repentance" requires a repentance. This "change of mind" needs to be rethought. It needs to be reborn, anew, in belief and repentance. It is a commitment to say absent of a commitment to do. This brand of repentance is merely unbelief masquerading as renewal. It is all chirp and no flight. It is tuppence, worth less than the effort it took to produce it.
"Repentance is to leave
The sins we loved before
And show that we in earnest grieve,
By doing so no more."
Repentance is a change of mind. What one used to adore, one now abhors. That in which one used to delight, now one detests. Love and loyalties have shifted. What one once loved, one now grieves. One actively recoils from that which previously was regarded. One grieves that they once held sin so dearly and cleave to God's promises in rejecting them now completely.
"True belief and true repentance are twins."
Belief and repentance are born of the same mother at the same time. They are not siblings born years apart with distance in between. They are born as twins. They are born together or not born. There are no miscarriages when they come. There is no still born faith. It is belief and repentance, born as twins, grasping the heels of each other as gifts from God who planted and fertilized the seed to begin with. Although it may involve much travail and pains in labor to bring about, it produces the two-fold fruit of faith and faithfulness, belief and repentance every time.
"If a man doesn’t live differently than how he did before, both at home and beyond the walls of his house, his repentance needs to be repented of, because his conversion is a fabrication."
There is a repentance of which itself requires repenting. It is a repentance in theory that fails to find reality. It is a stated change of mind without an observed change of behavior. This "repentance" requires a repentance. This "change of mind" needs to be rethought. It needs to be reborn, anew, in belief and repentance. It is a commitment to say absent of a commitment to do. This brand of repentance is merely unbelief masquerading as renewal. It is all chirp and no flight. It is tuppence, worth less than the effort it took to produce it.
Sunday, June 21, 2020
day no. 15,217 continued... father's day
***The following is a repost of "The Fathers of Future Kings"
"Like trees, plants, animals, and many other living things of creation, we have a deposit of seeds that when 'planted' become separate creations after our own kind. In a very real sense, sons and daughters exist within us which means we carry them before a woman does. The profoundness of this is fascinating" -- Matthew Pennock, As a Man Is so Is His Strength
Men who raise their sons in the discipline and instruction of the Lord are grooming future kings. In our person, we carry the future rulers of the world. We have been given the responsibility to rule well within our lifetime in order to ensure that the future rulers of the world will rule with eternity in mind.
"A people which takes no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote descendants."
- Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay (aka T.B. Macaulay)
If we fail to recognize the part God has gifted us to play in the ongoing conquest of His world by His decree through His saints by His grace through our faith in His Son and by the power of His Holy Spirit, we will fail our forefathers and our grandchildren. We love our great grandchildren by respecting our great grandfathers.
Genesis 35:11
And God said to him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body."
"People will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors."
- Edmund Burke
"Like trees, plants, animals, and many other living things of creation, we have a deposit of seeds that when 'planted' become separate creations after our own kind. In a very real sense, sons and daughters exist within us which means we carry them before a woman does. The profoundness of this is fascinating" -- Matthew Pennock, As a Man Is so Is His Strength
Men who raise their sons in the discipline and instruction of the Lord are grooming future kings. In our person, we carry the future rulers of the world. We have been given the responsibility to rule well within our lifetime in order to ensure that the future rulers of the world will rule with eternity in mind.
"A people which takes no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote descendants."
- Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay (aka T.B. Macaulay)
If we fail to recognize the part God has gifted us to play in the ongoing conquest of His world by His decree through His saints by His grace through our faith in His Son and by the power of His Holy Spirit, we will fail our forefathers and our grandchildren. We love our great grandchildren by respecting our great grandfathers.
Genesis 35:11
And God said to him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body."
"People will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors."
- Edmund Burke
day no. 15,217: perfect and in process
"He either saves us once for all or not at all" - Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Soul Winner: How to Lead Sinners to the Saviour
Jesus saves... or He doesn't. If He saves, He saves all of you all at once. If He doesn't, there is no good in trying to imagine parts of you being saved while others remain unsaved or all of you being mostly saved with some work left for you to do.
If Jesus does not save us completely, we are completely damned.
If Jesus saves us only in part, all of our parts are in peril.
For the sake of a sinful eye, the entire body will be sent to hell.
Matthew 18:9
And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.For the sake of His single sacrifice, the entire person is perfected and in process.
Hebrews 10:14
By a single offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
You do not have to be perfect right now in practical reality in order to be pronounced perfect in His sight by His sacrifice. But all those who are, in fact, pronounced "perfect" are, in fact, in process.
Everything is going somewhere... and sooner or later it's going to get there.
Saturday, June 20, 2020
day no. 15,216: He is before all things
Colossians 1:15-20
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the Head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the Head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross.
Jesus is the reconciliation of all things, whether on earth or in heaven. His blood on His cross make peace in heaven, on earth and between heaven and earth.
Friday, June 19, 2020
day no. 15,215: fidelity, fertility and festivity
"Humans can be made to infer the false belief that the blend of affection, fear, and desire which they call 'being in love' is the only thing that makes marriage either happy or holy. The error is easy to produce because 'being in love' does very often, in Western Europe, precede marriages which are made in obedience to the Enemy's designs, that is, with the intention of fidelity, fertility and good will; just as religious emotion very often, but not always, attends conversion. In other words, the humans are to be encouraged to regard as the basis for marriage a highly-coloured and distorted version of something the Enemy really promises as its result. Two advantages follow. In the first place, humans who have not the gift of continence can be deterred from seeking marriage as a solution because they do not find themselves 'in love.' and, thanks to us, the idea of marrying with any other motive seems to them low and cynical." - C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
God's design for marriage is fullness in the forms of fidelity, fertility and festivity.
FIDELITY is faith-filled faithfulness. It is, of course, the idea of remaining faithful to your covenant vows by reserving your eyes, body, mind, aspirations and attentions for your spouse. This obviously precludes giving any of that to any other. But fidelity is more than merely remaining loyal to your spouse, it is the fuel which makes loyalty the aim, not just the consequence. It makes "being married" something to strive for rather than merely settling for "staying married." Many people do not commit adultery or seek divorce, yet 'fidelity' would not be the word that best describes their situation... there is no faith in their allegiance, only fear or fastidiousness. They would never step out or step away from their marriage, but neither do they show much interest in learning the dance steps of actually being married. Fidelity is at its core, faith. It is the belief in the unseen value of what one sees immediately in front of them, it is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
FERTILITY is merry multiplication. It is building and nourishing a culture of life. It produces new life and revives the life of things that wilt. It brings forth fruit and brightens the berries already on the branches. It feeds on God and produces godly jocundity. This, of course, can be accounted for by head counts. A merry marriage will produce more members. Children will be added to the family. More will have the last name and partake in the culture. And the more, the merrier! But it also produces an infectious evangelical desire to spread, to share, to give away what is being so enjoyed. It isn't a 'tight knit, doors locked, lest someone come and ruin our fun' kind of situation, but a 'doors open, invitations sent, table set' kind of hospitality. It wants more children because it means more sharing. It wants to grow in influence and outward expansion because it wants to make more of what it has found so satisfying.
FESTIVITY is godly good will. It is 'feastivities,' enjoying the overflow and flowing over with charity to its spouse. It does away with long lists of grievances and instead finds more opportunity to delight and compliment. by complementing Rather than dwelling on what wants are going unmet, it sees needs it could fill and does its best to meet them. God uses marriage to bring comfort to both spouses, not opportunity for both spouses to be accomplices in each other's sinful selfishness.
Marriage is God's place for practical fidelity, productive fertility and prolific festivity.
God's design for marriage is fullness in the forms of fidelity, fertility and festivity.
FIDELITY is faith-filled faithfulness. It is, of course, the idea of remaining faithful to your covenant vows by reserving your eyes, body, mind, aspirations and attentions for your spouse. This obviously precludes giving any of that to any other. But fidelity is more than merely remaining loyal to your spouse, it is the fuel which makes loyalty the aim, not just the consequence. It makes "being married" something to strive for rather than merely settling for "staying married." Many people do not commit adultery or seek divorce, yet 'fidelity' would not be the word that best describes their situation... there is no faith in their allegiance, only fear or fastidiousness. They would never step out or step away from their marriage, but neither do they show much interest in learning the dance steps of actually being married. Fidelity is at its core, faith. It is the belief in the unseen value of what one sees immediately in front of them, it is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
FERTILITY is merry multiplication. It is building and nourishing a culture of life. It produces new life and revives the life of things that wilt. It brings forth fruit and brightens the berries already on the branches. It feeds on God and produces godly jocundity. This, of course, can be accounted for by head counts. A merry marriage will produce more members. Children will be added to the family. More will have the last name and partake in the culture. And the more, the merrier! But it also produces an infectious evangelical desire to spread, to share, to give away what is being so enjoyed. It isn't a 'tight knit, doors locked, lest someone come and ruin our fun' kind of situation, but a 'doors open, invitations sent, table set' kind of hospitality. It wants more children because it means more sharing. It wants to grow in influence and outward expansion because it wants to make more of what it has found so satisfying.
FESTIVITY is godly good will. It is 'feastivities,' enjoying the overflow and flowing over with charity to its spouse. It does away with long lists of grievances and instead finds more opportunity to delight and compliment. by complementing Rather than dwelling on what wants are going unmet, it sees needs it could fill and does its best to meet them. God uses marriage to bring comfort to both spouses, not opportunity for both spouses to be accomplices in each other's sinful selfishness.
Marriage is God's place for practical fidelity, productive fertility and prolific festivity.
Thursday, June 18, 2020
day no. 15,214: partners in crime
"There are two types of women to whom men are attracted. One is ‘readily mixed with charity, readily obedient to marriage, coloured all through with that golden light of reverence and naturalness which we [the demons] detest. The other type is the ‘infernal’ Venus. One whom he desires brutally, and desires to desire brutally, a type best used to draw him away from marriage altogether but which, even within marriage, he would tend to treat as a slave, an idol, or an accomplice. -- C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
Many men are not merely looking for sexual partners, they are looking for partners in crime. They aren't interested in relationships as much as they are interested in accomplices. They want an agreement by which both parties are allowed to rob something from the other in order to give the other some cheap, fleeting trinket.
1 Corinthians 13:11
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.
Lust consumes. It delights only in devouring. It does not blush when it licks the plate. It happily undoes whatever good it finds in order to suck it up momentarily. It would rather consume than construct.
Love builds. It invests and sacrifices in order to see something else thrive. It goes without. It delays. It finds gratification and gain in seeing something else satisfied. It cheerfully gives away and contentedly possesses what's left.
Many men are not merely looking for sexual partners, they are looking for partners in crime. They aren't interested in relationships as much as they are interested in accomplices. They want an agreement by which both parties are allowed to rob something from the other in order to give the other some cheap, fleeting trinket.
1 Corinthians 13:11
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.
Lust consumes. It delights only in devouring. It does not blush when it licks the plate. It happily undoes whatever good it finds in order to suck it up momentarily. It would rather consume than construct.
Love builds. It invests and sacrifices in order to see something else thrive. It goes without. It delays. It finds gratification and gain in seeing something else satisfied. It cheerfully gives away and contentedly possesses what's left.
Wednesday, June 17, 2020
day no. 15,213: refusing to pay the feeling tax
Q: How can I stop doing whatever I feel like and start doing what God commands?
Feelings are despots. They rule fanatically, flippantly and without foresight. They live in the moment and in those moments they demand every atom pay them attention. They exact taxes from their citizens without restriction. But what if you're tired of their tyranny and plotting a hostile takeover? What is the best way to storm the castle, kill the king and restore the rightful heir to the throne? Begin by refusing to pay the feeling tax. Start there and with the savings begin assembling a rebel army.
James 4:6-8
But God gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
At first, every one of us is ignorant of how much our feelings are driving our lives, decisions, dilemmas, etc... By God's grace, His Spirit begins by revealing to us this reality. This is helpful because previously we didn't even know our hearts weren't trustworthy. But once we realize this is true, we still have a deceitful heart trained by years of habits to contend with and we feel worse, not better. Again, God in His grace, enters in and helps us begin to see in hindsight situations where our hearts were driving and begins revealing to us what we should have done in retrospect. But this only makes us better at repenting of sin, which is another step in the right direction, but not all the way to where we want to be yet. The next step is realizing that you're listening to your heart in the very same moment that you're doing it. This is an improvement chronologically speaking over the previous progress because now you realize you're doing it WHILE you're doing it. But this, again, is not yet the end. It is, in that moment, the ability to trust in God and say, "Yes" to Him and, "No" to self while your self is looming large and at its strongest. This is the place we want to be. To be in temptation, hearing self whisper deceptive sweet nothings and endure the attack by responding, "“Be gone, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.’" When we do this, the devil leaves us like he left Jesus and angels minister to us as they did Him.
Hebrews 1:14
Are angels not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?
Feelings are despots. They rule fanatically, flippantly and without foresight. They live in the moment and in those moments they demand every atom pay them attention. They exact taxes from their citizens without restriction. But what if you're tired of their tyranny and plotting a hostile takeover? What is the best way to storm the castle, kill the king and restore the rightful heir to the throne? Begin by refusing to pay the feeling tax. Start there and with the savings begin assembling a rebel army.
James 4:6-8
But God gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
At first, every one of us is ignorant of how much our feelings are driving our lives, decisions, dilemmas, etc... By God's grace, His Spirit begins by revealing to us this reality. This is helpful because previously we didn't even know our hearts weren't trustworthy. But once we realize this is true, we still have a deceitful heart trained by years of habits to contend with and we feel worse, not better. Again, God in His grace, enters in and helps us begin to see in hindsight situations where our hearts were driving and begins revealing to us what we should have done in retrospect. But this only makes us better at repenting of sin, which is another step in the right direction, but not all the way to where we want to be yet. The next step is realizing that you're listening to your heart in the very same moment that you're doing it. This is an improvement chronologically speaking over the previous progress because now you realize you're doing it WHILE you're doing it. But this, again, is not yet the end. It is, in that moment, the ability to trust in God and say, "Yes" to Him and, "No" to self while your self is looming large and at its strongest. This is the place we want to be. To be in temptation, hearing self whisper deceptive sweet nothings and endure the attack by responding, "“Be gone, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.’" When we do this, the devil leaves us like he left Jesus and angels minister to us as they did Him.
Hebrews 1:14
Are angels not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?
Tuesday, June 16, 2020
day no. 15,212: feeeeeelings should be allowed a seat on the bus; just not the driver's seat
"We live in a time where feelings are something we’re extremely obsessed about. And we look at this scene with Christ and we see Him feeling intensely. He’s feeling incredibly intensely. Our feelings should given to God to be confirmed by Him or thrown down! By all means, tell God exactly how you feel, just like Christ does here. Be raw and completely honest. And then add the same phrase, ‘Yet not what I will, but what You will.’ No matter what, no matter how mature you may be, your feelings should never be given the steering wheel. Not even Christ’s feelings in the garden were given control. Christ DID NOT FEEL like going to the Cross. So much that He was weeping tears like blood and begging His Father to spare Him from it… and yet He said, ‘Yet not what I will, but what You will.’ Given that Christ's feelings in a place of difficulty were not given control, why should yours ever be? Why would you ever give your emotions free reign when Christ in this situation didn't? His feelings submitted to the will of God." - N.D. Wilson
Monday, June 15, 2020
day no. 15,211: half and half
Half of our country lives in most of the country while the other half lives in a few cities.
 |
| 'merica: she's a little bit country; she's a little a rock n' roll. |
The country covers the land while the rock n' roll floods the clubs.
Sunday, June 14, 2020
day no. 15,210: hanging there soberly
Hebrews 4:14-16
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Note, Jesus did not EMPATHIZE with our weakness. If He had done that, we all would be done for. But because He sympathized with us, we are saved. He kept one foot on solid ground and then entered into our sin to retrieve us. If He had surrendered the solid ground (empathy), we all would have drowned and no one would be saved.
So Jesus became like us, but not completely, but enough to SYMPATHIZE with us.
Hebrews 2:14-18
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, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that He helps, but He helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore He had to be made like His brothers in every respect, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because He Himself has suffered when tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.
If Jesus had merely shouted advice from His solid ground, we would continue to sink in quicksand... quickly. But because He entered into the quicksand with us to make propitiation for our sin, we can be saved. But only because He entered in without abandoning His solid ground. His help truly helped precisely because He had solid ground to return us to. His solid ground became OUR solid ground because He entered in to our situation without abandoning the only situation which could save us. He entered into in without Himself sinning. He related to sinners without sinning in order to relate. He adopted rebels by bringing us into His family, not by hating His Father along with us in rebellion.
"One last point. Remember that, as I said, the right direction leads not only to peace but to knowledge. When a man is getting better he understands more and more clearly the evil that is still left in him. When a man is getting worse, he understands his own badness less and less. A moderately bad man knows he is not very good: a thoroughly bad man thinks he is all right. This is common sense, really. You understand sleep when you are awake, not when you are sleeping. You can see mistakes in arithmetic when your mind is working properly: while you are making them you cannot see them. You can understand the nature of drunkenness when you are sober, not when you are drunk. Good people know about both good and evil: bad people do not know about either.” ― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
Jesus did not become drunk in order to save drunkards, but He was willing to be accused and killed as a drunkard though He hung there soberly. He did not rebel against God in order to save rebels, but He was willing to be accused of treason and murdered by capital punishment as a traitor though He bled there in obedience, not defiance. He did not become bad in order to save bad people, but He was willing to be accursed as a bad man though He died the only good man the world had ever known.
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Note, Jesus did not EMPATHIZE with our weakness. If He had done that, we all would be done for. But because He sympathized with us, we are saved. He kept one foot on solid ground and then entered into our sin to retrieve us. If He had surrendered the solid ground (empathy), we all would have drowned and no one would be saved.
So Jesus became like us, but not completely, but enough to SYMPATHIZE with us.
Hebrews 2:14-18
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, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that He helps, but He helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore He had to be made like His brothers in every respect, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because He Himself has suffered when tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.
If Jesus had merely shouted advice from His solid ground, we would continue to sink in quicksand... quickly. But because He entered into the quicksand with us to make propitiation for our sin, we can be saved. But only because He entered in without abandoning His solid ground. His help truly helped precisely because He had solid ground to return us to. His solid ground became OUR solid ground because He entered in to our situation without abandoning the only situation which could save us. He entered into in without Himself sinning. He related to sinners without sinning in order to relate. He adopted rebels by bringing us into His family, not by hating His Father along with us in rebellion.
"One last point. Remember that, as I said, the right direction leads not only to peace but to knowledge. When a man is getting better he understands more and more clearly the evil that is still left in him. When a man is getting worse, he understands his own badness less and less. A moderately bad man knows he is not very good: a thoroughly bad man thinks he is all right. This is common sense, really. You understand sleep when you are awake, not when you are sleeping. You can see mistakes in arithmetic when your mind is working properly: while you are making them you cannot see them. You can understand the nature of drunkenness when you are sober, not when you are drunk. Good people know about both good and evil: bad people do not know about either.” ― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
Jesus did not become drunk in order to save drunkards, but He was willing to be accused and killed as a drunkard though He hung there soberly. He did not rebel against God in order to save rebels, but He was willing to be accused of treason and murdered by capital punishment as a traitor though He bled there in obedience, not defiance. He did not become bad in order to save bad people, but He was willing to be accursed as a bad man though He died the only good man the world had ever known.
Saturday, June 13, 2020
day no. 15,209: wage war as it was once waged in heaven
Jesus taught us to pray by asking that the Father's kingdom would be made manifest on earth as it already is in heaven.
Matthew 6:10
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
So this begs the question: what is His kingdom like there? Is His kingdom one of ethereal cloud-like bliss? Is it where all good harps go when they die?
One thing we do know about heaven, it hasn't always been a peaceful place.
Revelation 12:7-12
Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 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. 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!”
There was a time when war arose in heaven. The angels had the ability to reject their Lord and God and some took advantage of the opportunity. These angels numbered one out of every three of the entire angelic realm and their effort was spearheaded by the dragon. The remaining two out of three of the angels, headed by Michael, fought against the dragon and prevailed, throwing the dragon and his coterie out of heaven.
So when Jesus teaches us to pray for God's kingdom to be manifest here as it is already in heaven, He is giving His elect the charge to elbow the devil out, to fight him back and finish the work of following through on the eviction notice already published by the land Lord.
In other words, when we pray for God's kingdom to come here on earth as it is in heaven, we are praying to be deployed upon the front lines. We are praying that God would bless our battles and bring about the same resolution that heaven has already achieved. We are praying that we would see demonic strongholds thrown down and God's victory proclaimed.
Those who conquer here do so the same way they did in heaven -- by fighting in faith for God against evil until all who remain there rejoice in Jesus alone.
Matthew 6:10
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
So this begs the question: what is His kingdom like there? Is His kingdom one of ethereal cloud-like bliss? Is it where all good harps go when they die?
One thing we do know about heaven, it hasn't always been a peaceful place.
Revelation 12:7-12
Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 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. 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!”
There was a time when war arose in heaven. The angels had the ability to reject their Lord and God and some took advantage of the opportunity. These angels numbered one out of every three of the entire angelic realm and their effort was spearheaded by the dragon. The remaining two out of three of the angels, headed by Michael, fought against the dragon and prevailed, throwing the dragon and his coterie out of heaven.
So when Jesus teaches us to pray for God's kingdom to be manifest here as it is already in heaven, He is giving His elect the charge to elbow the devil out, to fight him back and finish the work of following through on the eviction notice already published by the land Lord.
In other words, when we pray for God's kingdom to come here on earth as it is in heaven, we are praying to be deployed upon the front lines. We are praying that God would bless our battles and bring about the same resolution that heaven has already achieved. We are praying that we would see demonic strongholds thrown down and God's victory proclaimed.
Those who conquer here do so the same way they did in heaven -- by fighting in faith for God against evil until all who remain there rejoice in Jesus alone.
Friday, June 12, 2020
day no. 15,208: was Jesus breakable?
John 19:33-37
But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe. For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken.” And again another Scripture says, “They will look on him whom they have pierced.”
God promised that none of His Son's bones would be broken. He fulfilled this promise by keeping his legs from being broken while He hung dying on the cross. In other words, Jesus surrendered His spirit without having it forcibly removed from Him. God could have kept His Son's legs unbroken by making them out of adamantium. He could have simply made Him unbreakable. But God did not keep His promise by making a stainless steel Jesus, but by making Jesus completely human... breakable and yet, not broken.
John 10:35
Scripture cannot be broken
Jesus' legs were breakable. They could have been broken by clubs, but in another sense they could not have been broken, because God's Word promised that they wouldn't be. The Bible cannot be broken. God's Word is unbreakable. It is impossible to successfully thwart. God kept His Word by keeping His Son safe, not making Him indestructible. The Word cannot be broken in its office as the Word, but the Word made flesh was breakable in its office as the incarnate.
While Jesus' bones were protected by God's promises, His soul was crushed according to that same promise. His body could be pierced and it was promised beforehand that this quality is what makes for our peace.
Isaiah 53:4-5
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
There is no salvation in a stainless steel Jesus. There is salvation because God keeps His Word, Jesus kept His bones in tact by keeping His Word, though the Word made flesh received many blows.
But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe. For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken.” And again another Scripture says, “They will look on him whom they have pierced.”
God promised that none of His Son's bones would be broken. He fulfilled this promise by keeping his legs from being broken while He hung dying on the cross. In other words, Jesus surrendered His spirit without having it forcibly removed from Him. God could have kept His Son's legs unbroken by making them out of adamantium. He could have simply made Him unbreakable. But God did not keep His promise by making a stainless steel Jesus, but by making Jesus completely human... breakable and yet, not broken.
John 10:35
Scripture cannot be broken
Jesus' legs were breakable. They could have been broken by clubs, but in another sense they could not have been broken, because God's Word promised that they wouldn't be. The Bible cannot be broken. God's Word is unbreakable. It is impossible to successfully thwart. God kept His Word by keeping His Son safe, not making Him indestructible. The Word cannot be broken in its office as the Word, but the Word made flesh was breakable in its office as the incarnate.
While Jesus' bones were protected by God's promises, His soul was crushed according to that same promise. His body could be pierced and it was promised beforehand that this quality is what makes for our peace.
Isaiah 53:4-5
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
There is no salvation in a stainless steel Jesus. There is salvation because God keeps His Word, Jesus kept His bones in tact by keeping His Word, though the Word made flesh received many blows.
Thursday, June 11, 2020
day no. 15,207: covenant as a literary structuring device
This morning (12/3/19), I was reading Doug Wilson's Tuesday letters to the editor posts (HERE) and came across THIS interesting resource on Leviticus and Deuteronomy discussing the Decalogue and covenant as a literary structuring device of Leviticus in its lay out and Deuteronomy in its sermon-esque commentary.
This pointed out the importance of 5 in covenant making.
1. God’s transcendence
2. New order and hierarchy
3. Stipulations
4. Sanctions (blessings and curses)
5. Succession arrangements
The Decalogue can be broken into 2 sets of 5 with the each complementing the other.
I. God is transcendant
II . God is immanent
III. God's name should not be taken lightly
IV. God's rest should not be forsaken
V. God's authorities are good
VI. Do not play God and murder
VII. Do not forsake the one immediate to you (spouse) and commit adultery
VIII. Do not take lightly that which does not belong to you
IX. Do not witness falsely against God's provision
X. Do not disinherit or despise your neighbor
Here is how the author framed it:
1. Initiation, announcement, transcendence, life and death, covenantal idolatry.
2. Restructuring, order, hierarchy, liturgical idolatry, protection of the bride.
3. Distribution of a grant, incorporation, property, law, generally, as maintenance of the grant
4. Implementation, blessings and curses, witnesses, sabbath judgments.
5. Succession, artistic enhancements, respect for stewards, covetousness.
Outlining the sermon structure of Deuteronomy as such:
Covenant/Re-creation Pattern in Deuteronomy
Taking Hold–Transcendence – Initiation, 1:1-5
Historical Overview – Breakdown and Renewal of Order, 1:6-4:43
Stipulations – Given with view to the coming Distribution of the Land, 4:44-26:19
Sanctions – Witnesses, 27-30
Succession – Rest – Enhancements– Continuity, 31-34
This pointed out the importance of 5 in covenant making.
1. God’s transcendence
2. New order and hierarchy
3. Stipulations
4. Sanctions (blessings and curses)
5. Succession arrangements
The Decalogue can be broken into 2 sets of 5 with the each complementing the other.
I. God is transcendant
II . God is immanent
III. God's name should not be taken lightly
IV. God's rest should not be forsaken
V. God's authorities are good
VI. Do not play God and murder
VII. Do not forsake the one immediate to you (spouse) and commit adultery
VIII. Do not take lightly that which does not belong to you
IX. Do not witness falsely against God's provision
X. Do not disinherit or despise your neighbor
Here is how the author framed it:
1. Initiation, announcement, transcendence, life and death, covenantal idolatry.
2. Restructuring, order, hierarchy, liturgical idolatry, protection of the bride.
3. Distribution of a grant, incorporation, property, law, generally, as maintenance of the grant
4. Implementation, blessings and curses, witnesses, sabbath judgments.
5. Succession, artistic enhancements, respect for stewards, covetousness.
Outlining the sermon structure of Deuteronomy as such:
Covenant/Re-creation Pattern in Deuteronomy
Taking Hold–Transcendence – Initiation, 1:1-5
Historical Overview – Breakdown and Renewal of Order, 1:6-4:43
Stipulations – Given with view to the coming Distribution of the Land, 4:44-26:19
Sanctions – Witnesses, 27-30
Succession – Rest – Enhancements– Continuity, 31-34
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
day no. 15,206: preaching according to its kind
“The kind of God we believe in determines the kind of sermons we preach.” - John Stott, The Challenge of Preaching
Who we think we're talking about affects how we talk about them. It affects the words we choose, the tone we use, the urgency we stress, the volume we flex, the pace we provide, the tempo we employ, the tenacity by which we insist and the ferocity in which we persist.
For example, the way a man talks about the woman he loves is different than the way he talks about a lady he knows. The kind of relationship he has affects the kind of words he uses... things he would never say and things he makes sure to say, etc...
Like any good principle, it also works in the other direction. Math equations work both ways: i.e. 2 + 2 =4 and 4 = 2 + 2. In this case, the kind of sermons we preach tells us what kind of God we think we're talking about. It is not just that our vision of God informs our preaching, but that our preaching reveals what kind of God we have envisioned.
Who we think we're talking about affects how we talk about them. It affects the words we choose, the tone we use, the urgency we stress, the volume we flex, the pace we provide, the tempo we employ, the tenacity by which we insist and the ferocity in which we persist.
For example, the way a man talks about the woman he loves is different than the way he talks about a lady he knows. The kind of relationship he has affects the kind of words he uses... things he would never say and things he makes sure to say, etc...
Like any good principle, it also works in the other direction. Math equations work both ways: i.e. 2 + 2 =4 and 4 = 2 + 2. In this case, the kind of sermons we preach tells us what kind of God we think we're talking about. It is not just that our vision of God informs our preaching, but that our preaching reveals what kind of God we have envisioned.
Tuesday, June 9, 2020
day no. 15,205: unspeakable
"We have somehow got hold of the idea that error is only that which is outrageously wrong; and we do not seem to understand that the most dangerous person of all is the one who does not emphasize the right things." - Martyn Lloyd-Jones
The most dangerous heretic is not the one publishing books promoting unorthodox belief, it is the one refusing to publish books promoting orthodox belief. It is the heretic hiding under the banner of creeds and doctrinal statements signed years ago who has ceased to speak them boldly now. Failing to emphasize what is right and true is an error far more dangerous than emphasizing falsehood. Those heretics show themselves for what they are while the others conceal the fact that they have drifted away from their confession. This is observed in their reluctance to confess it openly. It takes longer to note the data points of omission than it does to note one dramatic point of commission.
In other words, emphasis is inescapable. If someone is not openly emphasizing anything, they are secretly emphasizing something unspeakable. This does not mean that all silence is violence. Not speaking is not necessarily speaking. I am referring to those who have spoken before, signalling their allegiance to the creeds, but now seem shy in associating with what they say they believe.
The most dangerous heretic is not the one publishing books promoting unorthodox belief, it is the one refusing to publish books promoting orthodox belief. It is the heretic hiding under the banner of creeds and doctrinal statements signed years ago who has ceased to speak them boldly now. Failing to emphasize what is right and true is an error far more dangerous than emphasizing falsehood. Those heretics show themselves for what they are while the others conceal the fact that they have drifted away from their confession. This is observed in their reluctance to confess it openly. It takes longer to note the data points of omission than it does to note one dramatic point of commission.
In other words, emphasis is inescapable. If someone is not openly emphasizing anything, they are secretly emphasizing something unspeakable. This does not mean that all silence is violence. Not speaking is not necessarily speaking. I am referring to those who have spoken before, signalling their allegiance to the creeds, but now seem shy in associating with what they say they believe.
Monday, June 8, 2020
day no. 15,204: mute-opia
Isaiah 56:10
His watchmen are blind;
they are all without knowledge;
they are all silent dogs;
they cannot bark,
dreaming, lying down,
loving to slumber.
The wrath of God is revealed in leaders who refuse to speak, guardians who have a gag order placed upon them, watchmen who do not watch, lookouts who do not look, sentries who are silent and basset hounds who cannot bark.
Some see this as a mute-opia: a land where no one raises their voice, no one shouts, no one barks, no one argues or gets in a huff and everyone lies down (and stays down) and sleeps.
But the Kingdom of God is ushered in by heralds shouting from the rooftops what God has done, is doing and has yet to do. It is characterized by warnings to turn to Jesus before secret deeds are articulated clearly from those same rooftops -- the ones under which we'd prefer to spend our days silently in slumber.
Pastors who refuse to proclaim are dumb dogs lazily losing their days drifting in and out of sleep as they drift downstream wherever the current dumps them.
His watchmen are blind;
they are all without knowledge;
they are all silent dogs;
they cannot bark,
dreaming, lying down,
loving to slumber.
The wrath of God is revealed in leaders who refuse to speak, guardians who have a gag order placed upon them, watchmen who do not watch, lookouts who do not look, sentries who are silent and basset hounds who cannot bark.
Some see this as a mute-opia: a land where no one raises their voice, no one shouts, no one barks, no one argues or gets in a huff and everyone lies down (and stays down) and sleeps.
But the Kingdom of God is ushered in by heralds shouting from the rooftops what God has done, is doing and has yet to do. It is characterized by warnings to turn to Jesus before secret deeds are articulated clearly from those same rooftops -- the ones under which we'd prefer to spend our days silently in slumber.
Pastors who refuse to proclaim are dumb dogs lazily losing their days drifting in and out of sleep as they drift downstream wherever the current dumps them.
Sunday, June 7, 2020
day no. 15,203: when we try to do everything, we wear out and others never grow up
Leading in the Christian world is not about doing everything. You do not lead by doing the brunt of the work. You lead by getting other people involved. You call on other jersey numbers and entrust real ministry to them.
Remember that and you'll be fine.
Ephesians 4:11-13
God gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 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
When we try to do everything, others do not grow up and we wear ourselves out.
When we all do our own parts, everyone grows in maturity as we bear each other up.
Remember that and you'll be fine.
Ephesians 4:11-13
God gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 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
When we try to do everything, others do not grow up and we wear ourselves out.
When we all do our own parts, everyone grows in maturity as we bear each other up.
Saturday, June 6, 2020
day no. 15,202: better to be accused with Him by culture than acquitted by culture and condemned by Him
"Then there are Christians who are acutely sensitive to any charges the world might level at them, however absurd. The last thing in the world they would ever want to be called is a racist, and so the world steers these Christians where they “ought to be” by threatening to call them racists. They tremble at the thought of being called homophobic, so the world draws itself up to full height and calls them homophobic. These Christians are full of cowardice. The fear flows over the lip of their emotional cup, and they are standing in the slop. They have ceded complete authority to the world to define righteousness and unrighteousness for them. This is how it can come to pass that after Jesus picks a fight with the respected religious leaders of the day in John 8, the response of the contempo-Christian is to call such behavior un-Christlike. Fine. Folly is identified by her children, and all of them are pretty ugly and really stupid." - Douglas Wilson, Same-Sex Mirage: Phantasmagoria at the Altar & Some Biblical Responses
There are good reasons to be called a racist, a homophobe, sexist, etc... There are obviously bad reasons to be labeled or accused of being any of these, but it isn't necessarily a statement on your standing before God to be called any of these. It all depends on who is calling you that and why.
If you declare the God grants dignity to all men regardless of their color, this may land you labeled a racist by those who insist that whiteness be included in Paul's laundry list of sins in Romans 1:29-32.
If you declare that God defines morality and marriage, including which parts go where, with whom and how often, you may be called homophobic by those who insist that two screws can turn into each other without turning into something else and that two nuts, if rubbed together, can become one mechanism.
If you declare that God made men and women in His image, but made one from the ground for the ground and one from the man for the man, this may get you shrieked down as a toxic masculinity mongering sexist by those who insist man made himself out of the muck and can become whatever he so determines by might.
In those circumstances, deal me in with the racist, homophobic misogynists. If by those definitions, God is declared racist, homophobic, and chauvinistic, then count me in His company. Better to be found in Him accused of that than acquitted by a culture under His condemnation.
There are good reasons to be called a racist, a homophobe, sexist, etc... There are obviously bad reasons to be labeled or accused of being any of these, but it isn't necessarily a statement on your standing before God to be called any of these. It all depends on who is calling you that and why.
If you declare the God grants dignity to all men regardless of their color, this may land you labeled a racist by those who insist that whiteness be included in Paul's laundry list of sins in Romans 1:29-32.
If you declare that God defines morality and marriage, including which parts go where, with whom and how often, you may be called homophobic by those who insist that two screws can turn into each other without turning into something else and that two nuts, if rubbed together, can become one mechanism.
If you declare that God made men and women in His image, but made one from the ground for the ground and one from the man for the man, this may get you shrieked down as a toxic masculinity mongering sexist by those who insist man made himself out of the muck and can become whatever he so determines by might.
In those circumstances, deal me in with the racist, homophobic misogynists. If by those definitions, God is declared racist, homophobic, and chauvinistic, then count me in His company. Better to be found in Him accused of that than acquitted by a culture under His condemnation.
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