day no. 16,444: we serve that to which we surrender

“The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself, with desire for what its monstrous laws have made monstrous and unlawful.” — Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

Oscar Wilde’a godless take on temptation testifies to the tyranny of self assessment. Let's look to another Oscar for a more godly take...

“A man’s disposition on the inside, i.e., what he possesses in his personality, determines what he is tempted by on the outside. The temptation fits the nature of the one tempted, and reveals the possibilities of the nature. Every man has the setting of his own temptation, and the temptation will come along the line of the ruling disposition. Temptation is a suggested short cut to the realization of the highest at which I aim – not towards what I understand as evil, but towards what I understand as good. Temptation is something that completely baffles me for a while, I do not know whether the thing is right or wrong. Temptation yielded to is lust deified, and is a proof that it was timidity that prevented the sin before.” — Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

We are mastered by what we yield ourselves to.

2 Peter 2:19

While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.

We serve that to which we surrender. Sin sets the hook of slavery with the bait of freedom.

day no. 16,443: duck duck gross

Duck duck gross, n. a game played by large families where one member passes their sickness along to the next member so that someone is always running and so that no one in the circle is ever safe.

Talking to a friend recently (3/12/22), I mentioned that we would be an abbreviated force on Sunday at church since some of my clan were still down and out with the crud. I mentioned how it began with me a few weeks back and then began cycling through the house from one member to the next like a game of duck duck gross.

Galatians 6:1

Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

Sin, like sickness, can be contagious and in similar fashion, masking up or sheltering in place does not slow the spread.

day no. 16,442: contabulation

Matthew 7:24-27

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

I love words. So, when I saw my friend, Josiah's, recent post, I was not only excited to learn about a new word (contabulation), but also to learn that my old friend has taken to the love of words and treasuring thereof by reading through an old dictionary. Too many words have been put out to pasture and it is high time we leave the 99 to retrieve some of them.

Contabulation, noun - the act of laying with boards, or of flooring; the floor laid. (Webster's Dictionary, 1828)

Baseboards are a baseline. They provide a foundation for other things. A contabulation is the surface on which babies will crawl, meals will be prepped, love will be made, jokes will be told, toes will be stubbed, furniture will be scratched, and milk will be spilled. Lives are built on something, days are filled somewhere. Good flooring can be taken advantage of, but bad flooring cannot be ignored. It causes more problems than it solves. Good flooring, however, is easily an after thought. It is an after thought, however, because it was thought through first. 

The traditions, customs, and culture of our lives are easy to ignore if they are in tact and engaged. They become more obvious when they are off kilter or out of whack. We need to labor to lay down solid foundations so that we can have the fun of playing games on them. You cannot dance on a damaged floor. Watching your step may be akin to dance class, but not having to watch them is the fun and freedom of movement.

day no. 16,441: colonizing the future

“Parents bring up their children to be colonists at the proper time, planting families of their own. Consequently, each family is designed to be a culture — with a language, customs, traditions, and countless unspoken assumptions. God has made the world in such a way that children who grow up in the culture of the family are to be shaped and molded by it.” — Douglas Wilson, Standing on the Promises

Parents prepare the colonists of the future. The future will be inhabited by someone doing something and parents provide the citizens and the culture that will live there. The future is a foreign land. It is uncivilized and in need of Christ. It is a mission field. It's culture will be inherited by those we bring up in our homes. It's customs and traditions will be our daily routines. It's vernacular will be based on what we are saying to our children today.

"We (must) finally recognize the importance of the time we are called to invest in our children. Because it is a long war, it crosses generations. In a very short space of time, your children will join you in the line, and a short time after that, their children will join them. This means that we begin by fighting for our children, but we must end by fighting by means of them. We must do two things simultaneously—we must fight today’s battles, and we must recruit and train tomorrow’s warriors." — Douglas Wilson, The Neglected Qualification

The future is a battlefield. Christendom is not the only one laying claim to tomorrow.  The enemy knows that the beachheads are all around the corner as well. We fight for our children in order to fight along side them in order to fight through them and their children when we enter into eternity. So, we must fight now in order to have a future and we must train and raise up tomorrow's soldiers while they're still sleeping across the hall.

The future is Christian. It's colonists are cooing in our nurseries. Let us rise to the occasion and make them our mission field in order that they may join the meek who inherit the earth.

day no. 16,440: the wrong kind of strong

Proverbs 31:17

She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.

Feminine strength is a virtue, but it is not the same as masculine strength. It flexes in different ways. It is not the broad-shouldered ability to bear up under physical weight, but the diligent-armed ability to bear up under myriad tasks. 

Ladies, do not be the wrong kind of strong. You were not meant to have a six pack and ripped forearms. You were not made to bench press your way to success. You were not made to be a fitness model. You were not designed to be spent like a man. You were not meant to live below a certain percentage of body fat. You were not made to chase gains at the gym.

The amount of time and energy required to acquire those things is time away from what ought to be your priorities. You cannot learn to be a lover of husbands and children by spending the best of your strength on Crossfit and cardio. You cannot be strong for your tasks and you will never be as strong as a man is for his.

Additionally, that type of fit often ends or disrupts the menstrual cycle. Nothing could be less feminine then eliminating your period for the sake of six-pack. The wrong kind of strong keeps your from being or doing what your strength was uniquely made for.

Women were not meant to be hard. They were made to be soft. Men were made to be hard. They were not made to be soft. Hard women are in sin just as soft men are. Hardness and softness here not being limited merely to the musculature of one's body, but extended as a principle to the infrastructure of the entire person exhibited.

So, ladies: give up on the wrong kind of strong. Stop aspiring to fruitlessness. Stop envying those who looks like they've never had children. Stop spending your time wearing your underwear in public and admiring those who look better than you doing it. Stop pursuing the wrong kind of strong. It is a glaring weakness and the more you chase it, the harder it is for you to see it. Your vision for femininity is shrinking as your biceps are growing. Stop being a gym rat and become a home insteader.

day no. 16,439: you do not better your lot by belittilng another's

“Be content with thine own lot, if thou canst not better it, but do not look upon thy neighbour, and wish that he were as thyself. Love him, and then thou wilt not envy him.” — Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Morning and Evening

Be content with what you have and work hard for what you want, but do not look long and hard at what your neighbor has as though it is what you need in order to be content. Do not go further and wish his fortune away for the sake of your envy. Your neighbor's success should not be the source of your discontent. Let God give as He sees fit and free your neighbor from your audits and your soul from its bitterness.

Romans 12:15

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

Envy turns this on its head by rejoicing when others weep and weeping when others rejoice. Envy gets miffed when its neighbors get what it wanted and gets a thrill out of seeing its neighbors deprived of what it desired. It would rather be assuaged by no one having what it wants than become grateful for a God who would give it to someone else.

All that to say, better your lot if you can and be content with the one that you currently have, but do not attempt to better your lot by belittling another's.

day no. 16,438: insufficiently selfish

“SELFISH, adj. Devoid of consideration for the selfishness of others” — Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary 

Selfish people are not sufficiently attentive to the selfishness of others. 

Philippians 2:3-4

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

In order to count others more significant than yourself, you must first consider what their selfishness would count as significant and then make sure that you don't forget to take that into account.

Ephesians 5:28-29

So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church.

A good husband is one who takes an interest in his wife's interests. He thinks about what he selfishly would desire and then seeks to provide that for his spouse. Unselfishness is not the opposite of selfishness, it is being selfish for selves other than just your own. It is knowing how to prioritize the priorities of others. It is taking an interest in someone else's interests. It is remembering what others never forget and keeping in mind what others cannot keep off theirs.

day no. 16,437: forty-five

Today, I turn forty-five years old.

Here's to hoping the band is still on the field and that I've got at least forty-five left on the clock!

"The first fact about the celebration of a birthday is that it is a way of affirming defiantly, and even flamboyantly, that it is a good thing to be alive." — G. K. Chesterton

day no. 16,436: the birthdays of the birthers

1 Corinthians 11-12

Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord. For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.

In the beginning, God made man from the dirt of the ground. He then made woman from the rib of the man and since then, He has made men and women through a man and woman coming together. Seeds are sown and then grown so that every child has a father and a mother who carried him or her. 

Genesis 3:20

Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

Adam is the only man without a mom. Eve did not have a mom, but she was mother of all the living.

Today, I celebrate the birth of my mom and the mother of my wife. If not for my mom, there would be no me. Without my wife's mother, there would be no her and none of those I now call son and daughter.

Someday my children will look back and celebrate the birth of their mom and know that if not for her, there would be no them.

Motherhood is a means of dominion. God, through moms, is subduing the earth and filling it with His image. His Kingdom comes and His citizenry grows.

Thank God for moms. It is a blessing to be born and on this day in history those who gave birth to me and to my family were both born. Praise God!

day no. 16,435: Zion over zeitgeist: prevailing upon the prisoner of the moment

2 Chronicles 13:15, 18

Then the men of Judah gave a shout: and as the men of Judah shouted, it came to pass, that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah... Thus the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied upon the LORD God of their fathers.

The God of our fathers is more than capable of conquering the idols of our neighbors. We should be shouting them down, but not before we shout out to our God. You can tucker yourself out calling other people's idols names and have no energy left to call out to your God. By the grace of God, we can and ought to do both, but we must do them in the correct order and with the proper emphasis. In other words, we must first call out to our God with all of our might and then spend our excess breath on calling out the idols of our neighbors. By relying upon our God, we will raze the false gods of our world and by depending upon the Spirit of God, we will strike down the spirit of the age. The power of God will prevail over the prisoners of the moment.

Zion over zeitgeist.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

Christianity will prevail and take captive every prisoner of the moment. He will overturn the tables in the cult of the cool.

day no. 16,434: little strokes fell lofty oaks

“Little strokes fell lofty oaks.” — Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Morning and Evening

Christian consistency and continuity will take captive every thought for Christ. It is not a question of IF, but of WHEN. Nothing that raises itself against Jesus will survive. It will be struck down and will not be resurrected to life. This end result may yet take a while to see and perhaps we are only just getting started, but each man, woman, and child manning their posts will fell the high-minded forests. Those small in their own estimation will overthrow those large in their own conceits. The ax of obedience is sharp and the shoulders of faith are fit for swinging.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

day no. 16,433: to whom belongest thou?

"NON-COMBATANT, n. — a dead Quaker.” — Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary

Enmity is inescapably infused into everything. The world is a battle ground between the seed of Eve and the seed of the serpent. Plain and simple, there will be warfare. If you are not part of the resistance, you are part of the problem. If you are not fighting for the glory of God and the good of your neighbor by grace through faith in Christ alone, you are fighting against the glory of God and the good of your neighbor by a faith in what you alone call good. Neutrality does not exist. There is no audience. Everyone is on the field. Everyone is wearing a jersey. Everyone is playing for a team whether or not they're playing an active part. In fact, only those actively engaged in fighting evil are on the side of light. God's team has no bench. Everyone is in the game or on the other side. Those who want to sit it out can only do so by being on the enemy's bench.

“No neutralities can exist in religion. We are either ranked under the banner of Prince Immanuel, to serve and fight his battles, or we are vassals of the black prince, Satan. To whom belongest thou? (1 Samuel 30:13)" — Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Morning and Evening

The land is blessed where the brothers dwell in unity under the banner of God, but woe to the world where fiends find fraternity in the infantry of the Foe.

day no. 16,432: from here until eternity; from us unto posterity

Isaiah 59:21

As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever.

The covenant of Christ is for our children and for our children's children. God has promised to place His Spirit upon us and His words into our minds and mouths from here until eternity, from us unto posterity.

Acts 2:38-40

Then Peter said unto them, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, "Save yourselves from this untoward generation."

The Good News of God is only ever getting better. Christendom goes forth from generation to generation as it prevails amidst and against the gates of untoward generations. God keeps His promises; and His promises keep.

Isaiah 65:22–23

They shall not build, and another inhabit;

They shall not plant, and another eat:

For as the days of a tree are the days of my people,

And mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

They shall not labour in vain,

Nor bring forth for trouble;

For they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord,

And their offspring with them.

Every tree is full of forests.

Each acorn is a descendant and an ancestor.

Every family tree is full of future generations.

Each Christian is a beneficiary and a benefactor.

The work we do now we owe to those who went before and we deposit for those yet to come. 

We do not feed, clothe, baptize, or catechize in vain. In the Lord, we do not labor for nothing. It isn't simply killing time and it doesn't merely come to an end after we do. It goes on. And it always will, until He returns.

day no. 16,431: the logophile's lexicon

Inspired by my ongoing maiden voyage through Ambrose Bierce's The Devil's Dictionary (3/8/22), I dreamed last night of a definition for the word, "tuition."

Tuition, n. 1. the price one pays to acquire the inability to pay back an even greater debt.

That thought experiment led me to concoct the following, related definition for, "intuition."

Intuition, n. the price one pays for a mistake prior to making it.

I've previously spent most of my wordsmithing efforts on puns, but these could be fun too. I created the tag "the logophile's lexicon" should I chase any more down or should any more come to visit me in dreamland.

Here are a few more definitions for "tuition" concocted in the course of crafting this post:

2. the sum one pays for a summary of someone else's sums.

3. the amount one must acquire and count out in order to be taught how to count your acquired tastes

day no. 16,430: a defense of smashmouth incrementalism

Exodus 23:30

By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.

Smashmouth Incrementalism differs from Abolition in strategy not in span. It advocates a different tactic, not a different target. Both aim at the ultimate abolition of all abortion. In this, they differ with much of the Pro Life industry which depends on the existence of abortion for it to exist and would rather "fight" than win.

Smashmouth Incrementalism advocates a slow march through the institutions style strategy that has been successfully employed by the Gramscian branch of socialism. It never forgets the end goal, but doesn't insist on having the end in order to move the means to get there. In other words, it was willing to forego instant gratification for the sake of making gains where it could.

Smashmouth Incrementalism has a running game. It never takes its eyes off of the end zone, but it doesn't throw shade on a four-yard gain. Every play has the end zone in mind even when the ball isn't thrown into it. The Abolitionist strategy insists that a ball thrown anywhere other than the end zone is a concession. It condemns running plays as putting points on the board for the other team. It is short-sighted though big-hearted. It wants every play to be a Hail Mary, but ends up more often than not going out on downs by doing so. They keep pushing and the bad guys keep getting the ball back and running up the score. I appreciate the push and passion of those who want abortion ended this very second. I do to and would gladly welcome its dissolution this very second. But in the meantime, I will cheer on small steps towards that end as they come in the form of four-yard runs.

To decry a heartbeat bill because it still allows some babies to be aborted is to say you'd prefer that every baby be subject to abortion until none of them are. But the Abolitionists often accuse Incrementalists of being complacent and party to the death of those the law doesn't protect. However, a difference in tactic does not necessitate a difference in target. Those employing a ground game and getting first downs are not inherently opposed to scoring touchdowns. In fact, they may be so committed to putting points on the board that they're willing to wait to do so. For them, running for five yards isn't a failure, but a step towards victory. 

To be fair, some actually like running the ball because it slows the game down and becomes more about field position instead of winning. The difference is highlighted when someone gets an unexpected break away: do they run for the end zone or run out of bounds?

Zechariah 4:10

For who hath despised the day of small things? 

The land is blessed when brothers dwell in unity. I love the Abolitionists and hope they succeed. So much so in fact, that I endorse Smashmouth Incrementalism to that end. If we win, they win, but if they waste their efforts fighting us, they hamper our ability and theirs. I have not run into any smashmouth advocates who spend any of their efforts fighting abolitionists. I have encountered many abolitionists who spend most of their time fighting incrementalists. This clearly doesn't help us work toward the common goal of the complete eradication of abortion, but I don't believe in the long run the Abolitionist's all or nothing approach would work either. That is why I am an incrementalist. I want to end abortion and I don't think abolition can abolish it. I know it wants to and I believe it. But tactically it cannot accomplish its goal. Its stated principle is in the right place, but its approach is not. It cannot get things to the point of dissolution. It is the final resolve required to put the nail in the coffin, but cannot kill the Giant Abortion and place him in one.

David was not wrong or unBiblical to hit Goliath with a rock before he could cut his head clean off. The stone gave him access to the sword. The sword made it possible to cleave the head. The stunning prepared the way for the slaying. You cannot insist on the sword while refusing David the use of a stone. 

Neither was Joshua wrong to take one side of the Jordan before taking the other. You cannot insist that it’s either Jericho or nothing when the prior battles are what pave the way to Jericho.

All that to say, incrementalism is a Biblically permissible and incredibly useful tactic for addressing sins of all kinds in all types of places. Personal sanctification, for example, is incremental in tactic and abolitionist in target. 

Leaven works slowly, but surely. If one insists that leaven must make leaps, then one must reject leaven altogether. In other words, rejecting a leaven like trajectory is like throwing all babies out with the bathwater since by that logic none should be saved unless and until all can be.

day no. 16,429 continued... Corinth Again: a poetic verse commentary of the Authorized text

O be not naive, brothers

Our fathers’ faith review

The cloud their heads went under

The sea their feet passed through

They all were baptized unto Moses

In the cloud and in the sea

They all ate bread born from aboveth

And drank wine from rocks that bleed

All of this in Christ was given

Yet their sins were unforgiven

Many of them were o’erthrown

Because they displeased God

Their case, not one that we’ve outgrown,

Is raised to give you pause

That if you after evil lusteth

Just as they rose up to play

And if you after idols rusheth

Just as thousands fell astray

Then abdication is the crime

For which destruction is the rhyme

So, let us not tempt the Lord

As some of them once did

Nor murmur lest His logs record

Our words against Him sin

And our own tongues sling accusations

Back upon our sinful heads

As serpent-sounding condemnations

Destroy all our prideful beds

All these things then are examples

For us now engaged in battle

Let the proud then understand

Take heed lest he fall short

Just because he think he stands

Does not mean he comports

No temptations will you encounter

As a maverick without model

God is faithful and the waters

Still will part if sin is battled

Though temptations threaten treason

Christ will cast out every demon

— Corinth Again

Postmillitant original rendering

*** based on 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

day no. 16,429: overattentive mothers and inattentive fathers

“Halpin being the youngest and not over robust was perhaps a trifle 'spoiled.' He had the double disadvantage of a mother’s assiduity and a father’s neglect.” — Ambrose Bierce, The Death of Halpin Frayser

A child can be spoiled just as easily by an overly attentive mother as by an inattentive father. Masculinity and femininity become toxic in inverse proportions -- femininity through excess and masculinity through absence. In other words, systems go into shock where masculinity is underappreciated and where femininity is overwhelming. Being smothered by a matriarch is just as dangerous as being abandoned by a patriarch.

Correspondingly, men worry about not being enough: strong enough, brave enough, wealthy enough, up to snuff, etc...  Men fear being too little too late. Women worry about being too much: too emotional, too needy, too intense, too clingy, too etc... Women fear being too much too soon. 

As a result, self-conscious women often withhold in order to avoid being overwhelming and self-conscious men hold on to things too long in order to avoid looking under qualified. Women don't want to come off too strong and men don't want to come off too weak. Women don't want to be overbearing and men don't want to be unable to bear up.

Proverbs 23:22

Hearken unto thy father that begat thee,

and despise not thy mother when she is old.

It is easy to be embittered about our father's absence in our childhood or our mother's presence in our adulthood. Scripture commands to our weakness and for the benefit of others. This means that we are inclined to ignore our dads in our youth and to ignore our moms once we're grown-up. But it also means that our fathers need our forgiveness for their absence and our mothers need to be forgiven for their hovering.

day no. 16,428: Moses was a Christian

Hebrews 11:24-26

By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.

Moses was a Christian.

He considered Christ a greater treasure than Pharaoh's favor. He looked for a reward from the Lord rather than from his landlord. Moses opted for mistreatment with the Messiah over and against pleasure in the palace. He did not do this for a vague sense of altruism, but for a clear faith in God's Christ. He placed his faith in the Prophet yet to come and separated himself from the profit margins right before him. He left the righteousness of might for the righteousness of meekness.

1 Corinthians 10:1-4

For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.

Moses was a Christian,

He was baptized into Christ. He followed the footsteps of Jesus. He communed with Christ. He built his life on the Rock, that was Christ, and his life endured the storms that providentially beset him. For the sake of the Son, Moses endured exile; and the Son, for the sake of Moses, endured the cross.

Hebrews 12:1-3

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

Moses looked ahead to Christ and Christ looked back at Moses. May we, like Moses, look to Christ; and like Christ, look to our brothers.

2 Timothy 2:10

Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

day no. 16,427: Christ hates a coward

Revelation 21:8

But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.

God hates cowards. He has codified His thoughts on the topic in His Holy Word. The cowardly will be kept from respite. Their fears will follow them forever. They will never feel safe since they have forsaken Security itself. The fears of the faithful, however, will be relieved. Their fears will be put to bed finally and forever in Christ. The difference between the cowardly and the courageous is not the fact of fear. Both experience that, but one recoils from what is right because of it and one continues toward the right in spite of it. The difference between babbling and bravery is not an absence of fear, but a presence of faith. The faithful are afraid and yet soldier on for King and kingdom. The faithless are afraid and step out of line for safety and security. The faithful find their King, the faithless do not find the security they sought.

2 Timothy 1:7

God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

May God forgive us our timidity and fill us with His tenacity. May we repent of our fear of man and replace it with a fear of the Lord. May we desire God's praise more than man's and work harder for His glory than we do for our own.

The question isn’t, “can cowards be forgiven?” The answer to that is, :Yes! In Christ, of course." The question is, “will the cowards confess and repent?” to which the answer is, "By Christ let it be so!"

day no. 16,426: the power of magnification

Psalm 34:3

Oh, magnify the LORD with me,

and let us exalt his name together!

Because we live in an age of science, we tend to imagine microscopes and magnifying glasses when we think of the word, “magnify.” In other words, we imagine blowing a small thing out of proportion in order to get a better look at it. So when we think about magnifying the Lord, we smuggle in the idea of making a big deal out of a rather trivial thing. We think we are making much of God by making a big deal out of His idiosyncrasies which can only be seen by those with special equipment. However, when we magnify the Lord, we are not blowing Him out of proportion, we are merely playing catch up. He is infinite and our worship is microscopic by comparison. He must squint to see it. We magnify the Lord by increasing our appreciation of the scope of His glory.

Ephesians 1:17-23

May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might that He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things under His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

day no. 16,425: strong men slain by strange women

Proverbs 7:26b

Many strong men have been slain by strange women.

Strange women often lead men astray. This is a tragic tragedy twice over. For one, it ends with a man in sin; and for two, it begins with the sin of a man being led by a woman.

In other words, if it is a sin for a man to give his strength to a woman, and it is, how much more is it a sin to give it to a strange one?

Proverbs 31:3

Give not thy strength unto women,

nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.

Samson was the strongest man alive, yet he was too weak to say, "No" to a strange woman. His submission to her wiles led him to his death. Yet, he wasn't the first, only the most famous, and he wasn't the last, merely the most notable.

If a man who could have by force whatever he wanted could not force himself to go without what he felt like having, we should take heed lest we too be overtaken.

1 Corinthians 10:12-13

Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Who you worship will inform who you marry and who you marry will inform how you worship. Do not give yourself quarter to go after strange gods or strange women. Either one will end in your destruction. By God's grace, Samson's case ended in one last manful act of recollecting his faith into faithfulness, but only after a lifetime of spreading his faithlessness at leisure.

day no. 16,424 continued... Caleb's Request: a poetic verse commentary of the Authorized text

Judah’s children came to Gilgal

Caleb, son of Jephunneh, led

Posed to Joshua a riddle,

Placing Moses in the middle,

Citing every jot and tittle,

God concerning him had said.

“Forty years was I when Moses

From Kadeshbarnea sent me

To espy out and exposeth

Honey, milk, and all that groweth

And the evil that opposeth

In the land our Lord decreed.”

“A good report my lips confessed

Nevertheless my brothers balked

They melted hearts and withered chests

By telling taller tales impressed

A people prone to second guess

The giantness of God.”

“So Moses swore to me that day

The land whereon my feet had trod

Would one day see my claim conveyed

And know therein my faith displayed

As my grandchildren keep crusade

With gratitude to God.”

“And still alive, behold, I’m here

The Lord, His promise, has upheld

I’ve wandered boldly without fear

And kept His faith forty-five years

Now eighty-five, this last frontier

Will see its giants felled.”

“I am as strong this very day

As strong I was when Moses called

I’m now well-rested for the way

And battle-tested for the fray

This land contested still today

To see my name installed.”

“Now therefore make this mountain mine

And Anakims will meet their God

Their city gates I’ll scale and climb

Their confidence to fell behind 

Their vaunted strength by God I’ll bind

And under foot be trod.”

Caleb’s request thus completed

Joshua blessed and bid him off

Haughty Hebron was defeated

Its inheritance conceded

To the holy man succeeded

For he wholly followed God

— Caleb's Request

Postmillitant original rendering

*** based on Joshua 14:6-14

day no. 16,424: build on the Rock

"It is better to trust in the Lord, than to put confidence in man." — Psalm 118:8

“Why dost thou rake the earth to find another foundation, when this is strong enough to bear all the weight which thou canst ever build thereon? Christian, mix not only thy wine with water, do not alloy thy gold of faith with the dross of human confidence. Wait thou only upon God, and let thine expectation be from him. Covet not Jonah's gourd, but rest in Jonah's God. Let the sandy foundations of terrestrial trust be the choice of fools, but do thou, like one who foresees the storm, build for thyself an abiding place upon the Rock of Ages.“ — Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Morning and Evening

Cask strength Christianity places no faith in man's water. Christendom cannot be improved by dilution. What one hopes to gain in making it more palatable, one loses in making it less potent. In seasoning it to taste, you show yourself tasteless. Do not cut your wine with water or your inheritance with arrogance.

There is no other foundation than the finished work of Jesus Christ and all attempts to rake the earth for another only tears up good ground. You will not find another resting place for your life and livelihood by digging; but you will dig your own grave.

1 Corinthians 3:10-11

Let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Forsake the rake.

Build on the Rock.

day no. 16,423: get up, get to work, and God be with you

1 Chronicles 22:16

Arise therefore, and be doing, and the Lord be with thee.

The one who hears the word of God must be moved by the word of God. If one is not moved to action, there is good reason to wonder if one heard. The hearing is manifested in the doing. If there is no doing, there is good reason to begin to question the hearing.

Ezekiel 37:4-10

Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.

Where the word of the Lord gives life, He also gives muscle. Where the Spirit moves, He provides the means to move. He sends the mettle and the muscle. He makes bones into battalions and changes the inert into action.

1 Corinthians 15:58

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

In the Lord, we live, move, and have our being. We exist and exert in Him, for Him, through Him, and to Him alone. And none of it is for naught.

So, get up, get to work, and God be with you.

day no. 16,422: frogmarch your doubts directly to God

"Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation." — Psalm 35:3

“David had his doubts; for why should he pray, ‘Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation,’ if he were not sometimes exercised with doubts and fears? Let me, then, be of good cheer, for I am not the only saint who has to complain of weakness of faith. If David doubted, I need not conclude that I am no Christian because I have doubts. The text reminds me that David was not content while he had doubts and fears, but he repaired at once to the mercy-seat to pray for assurance.” — Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Morning and Evening

David frogmarched his doubts directly to God. He did not tolerate them. He was not exempt from having them. He knew what to do with them.

Christian, it is ok to have doubts, but it is not ok to be ok with having doubts. Don’t let your doubts have you. Do like David did and haul them to the woodshed of God’s grace where they can be dealt with and disciplined to delight in His persistent presence and faithful help.

Deuteronomy 31:8

It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.

day no. 16,421: hard work heals a lack of humility

“The earnest worker soon learns his own weakness. If you seek humility, try hard work; if you would know your nothingness, attempt some great thing for Jesus. If you would feel how utterly powerless you are apart from the living God, attempt especially the great work of proclaiming the unsearchable riches of Christ, and you will know, as you never knew before, what a weak unworthy thing you are.” — Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Morning and Evening

Hard work heals a lack of humility.

Earnest efforts amend arrogance.

Vigor delivers from vanity. 

If you are tempted to think more highly of yourself than you ought, attempt something grander than your ability. Force yourself to come up short that your meekness may be lengthened. 

A life of ease makes it easy to overestimate yourself. Ease leads to pride. A life of hard work makes it hard to overestimate yourself. Hard work heads to humility. Hard work makes it easier to appreciate the work of others. Ease makes it harder to appreciate the work of others.

The comfortable path leads to conceit.

The difficult trail leads to candor.

Romans 12:3

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

Hard work makes short work of hard hearts.

Lamentations 3:27

It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.

Hard work heals a bored tongue.

"It is the empty wagon that rattles." — Donald Grey Barnhouse

day no. 16,420: worry always kills its martyrs a day in advance

Matthew 6:34

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

We often place more faith in tomorrow's troubles than we do in today's provision.

Matthew 6:11

Give us this day our daily bread

We pray for today's bread and worry about tomorrow's, but we have faith enough in tomorrow's troubles today. We lack no doubt when it comes to tomorrow's doubts. We are consumed like fire by our faith in tomorrow's trials. Worry always kills its martyrs one day in advance. 

We have more faith in tomorrow's trouble than in tomorrow's bread. We don't worry that God will forget to send trials, but we worry that He might overlook our well-being.

day no. 16,419: as long as we call even a mite our own, we cannot call salvation ours

Let our debts be what they may,

However great, or small;

As soon as we have naught to pay,

Our Lord forgives us all.

'Tis perfect poverty alone,

That sets the soul at large;

While we can call one mite our own,

We have no full discharge.

— Joseph Hart, Mercy Is Welcome News Indeed

The only thing you must have in order to be saved is the one thing most people refuse to have: nothing. Nothing is more difficult to muster than nothing. Especially when so much is at stake.

It is only natural to want to bring something to the table. To receive favor without merit is humiliating. So much so, in fact, that only humility can do it. But even then, it is easy to be proud of one's humility. Humility is not the something you use to catch grace, it is the word for having nothing to catch with. Grace is given at the expense of the Giver and the benefit of the receiver. Only empty hands can catch it. The mitts of merit will never catch divine favor, but the bare-handed can avoid catching hell.

Achievements will not get you hired in Heaven.

Only those with blank resumes need apply.

day no. 16,418: the Lord thwarts the designs of the devil

"Whereas the Lord was there." — Ezekiel 35:10

"Edom's princes saw the whole country left desolate, and counted upon its easy conquest; but there was one great difficulty in their way--quite unknown to them--'The Lord was there;' and in his presence lay the special security of the chosen land. Whatever may be the machinations and devices of the enemies of God's people, there is still the same effectual barrier to thwart their design. The saints are God's heritage, and he is in the midst of them, and will protect his own. What comfort this assurance yields us in our troubles and spiritual conflicts! We are constantly opposed, and yet perpetually preserved! How often Satan shoots his arrows against our faith, but our faith defies the power of hell's fiery darts; they are not only turned aside, but they are quenched upon its shield, for 'the Lord is there.'" — Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Morning and Evening

The enemy cannot overtake territory occupied by the Lord. It is invincible. Victory cannot be obtained when your mark is your Maker. He cannot be overwhelmed or caught off guard. He cannot be outgunned or over matched. Wherever He occupies a place, its presence is assured to be preserved.

The machinations and devices of the devil are quenched by His Spirit. They are not merely diverted or ricocheted away. A bouncing bullet can cause collateral damage, but God so absorbs the blows of Beelzebub as to render them inert. They are powerless.

The Lord thwarts the designs of the devil. They cannot succeed. They cannot outsmart or out maneuver Him. The devil cannot corrupt anything beyond God's ability to restore or create anything beyond His ability to eradicate.

The saints are God's heritage and He will defend them.

Fear not, for where He is we are safe.

Psalm 124

If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, 

now may Israel say;

If it had not been the LORD who was on our side,

when men rose up against us:

Then they had swallowed us up quick,

when their wrath was kindled against us:

Then the waters had overwhelmed us,

the stream had gone over our soul:

Then the proud waters had gone over our soul.

Blessed be the LORD,

who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.

Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers:

the snare is broken, and we are escaped.

Our help is in the name of the LORD,

who made heaven and earth.

day no. 16,417: sidestepping the sin of soft hitting

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

Run like you’re trying to win.

That means competing according to the rules and running as fast as you can.

Box like you’re trying to win.

That means fighting according to the rules and hitting as hard as you can.

"The unforgivable crime is soft hitting. Do not hit at all if it can be avoided; but never hit softly." — Theodore Roosevelt

A soft hit is a lack of assiduity incarnate.

If you know why you are doing something, then do it with all your might. If you don't know why you're doing it, don't do it at all.

Soft hitting has enough conviction to do something, but not enough to do it well or with consequence. If you believe something seriously, act in accordance with assiduity. If something is not to be taken seriously, don't get sucked into acting half-heartedly. Either hit as hard as you can or don't hit, but don’t give in to the sin of soft hitting.

This reminds me of a quote that has stuck with me from the movie, Luther (2003), "If you decide to fight, you also have to decide to win." 

This might require a punchier approach than you’re used to, but in fairness, if you're in a punching match, that's kind of the point.

Don't hit at all if it is honorably possible to avoid hitting; but never hit soft.

The Christian life is like a spear, it is best expressed when it gets to the point.

day no. 16,416: enough is as good as a feast

And his allowance was a continual allowance given him of the king, a daily rate for every day, all the days of his life. — 2 Kings 25:30

"Jehoiachin was not sent away from the king's palace with a store to last him for months, but his provision was given him as a daily pension. Herein he well pictures the happy position of all the Lord's people. A daily portion is all that a man really wants. We do not need tomorrow's supplies; that day has not yet dawned, and its wants are as yet unborn. The thirst which we may suffer in the month of June does not need to be quenched in February, for we do not feel it yet; if we have enough for each day as the days arrive we shall never know want. Sufficient for the day is all that we can enjoy. We cannot eat or drink or wear more than the day's supply of food and raiment; the surplus gives us the care of storing it, and the anxiety of watching against a thief. One staff aids a traveller, but a bundle of staves is a heavy burden. Enough is not only as good as a feast, but is all that the greatest glutton can truly enjoy." — C.H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening

Enough is as good as a feast.

You cannot satisfy tomorrow's hunger or eat tomorrow's calories.

You cannot warm tomorrow's toes or blow tomorrow's nose.

Our daily portion is all we need.

We never need tomorrow's needs.

Lamentations 3:22-23

It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, Because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: Great is thy faithfulness.

God gives grace daily.

He serves fresh mercy every day. 

We could not store it.

We could never have too much.

We could never have more than we need.

Matthew 6:11

Give us this day our daily bread.

Sufficient for the day is the need He requires us to request.

Matthew 6:34

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Enough is as good as a feast. The one who has enough has no less than the one who has more than he needs. The one with enough doesn't need any more and the one with too much cannot eat the leftovers.

day no. 16,415 continued... The End a poetic verse commentary of the Authorized text

Remember now while young at heart,

The Lord and Maker of your days

Delay it not ‘til evil’s dark

Remember now while young at heart

For years draw nigh when hope departs

As pleasures peak before they fade

Remember now while young at heart

The Lord and Maker of your days

Remember now while young at heart

The Lord and Maker of your days

While sunshine still its warmth imparts

Remember now while young at heart

While moon and stars retain their spark

Before clouds comeback after rain

Remember now while young at heart

The Lord and Maker of your days

Remember now while young at heart

The Lord and Maker of your days

Before your hands are dealt weak cards

Remember now while young at heart

Before your back is bent and hard,

Your taste is dulled and vision glazed

Remember now while young at heart

The Lord and Maker of your days

Remember now while young at heart

The Lord and Maker of your days

Before words end before they start

Remember now while young at heart

Before your appetite retards

And restless nights lay deaf and dazed

Remember now while young at heart

The Lord and Maker of your days

Remember now while young at heart

The Lord and Maker of your days

Before a fear of falls is stark

Remember now while young at heart

Before hair thins and burdens swarm

Before pallbearers pine away

Remember now while young at heart

The Lord and Maker of your days

Remember now while young at heart

The Lord and Maker of your days

While mind and motions fresh restart

Remember now while young at heart

Since souls are God’s and dust is ours,

“It’s vanity,” the preachers say

Remember now while young at heart

The Lord and Maker of your days

Remember now while young at heart

The Lord and Maker of your days

Review the proverbs' lessons taught

Remember now while young at heart

Let wise words enter every part

And hang your hopes on them today

Remember now while young at heart

The Lord and Maker of your days

Remember now while young at heart

The Lord and Maker of your days

There is one Book that reads your heart

Remember now while young at heart

This is the end, this is the start

Fear God and all His laws obey

Remember now while young at heart

The Lord and Maker of your days

Remember now while young at heart

The Lord and Maker of your days

Your every action, word, and thought

Remember now while young at heart

The light will leave no secret dark

From hidden hell to whispers prayed

Remember now while young at heart

The Lord and Maker of your days

— The End,

Postmillitant original rendering

*** based on Ecclesiastes 12

day no. 16,415: therapy-speak is the orc-talk of the moderns

“Canaan was a land filled with giants. The invasion of Canaan was a war of giant-killing, and a type of the giant-killing Gospel. Giant-killing is a motif throughout Scripture… we all know the story of David and Goliath — but it must also be seen as part of a larger, ongoing war on giants. In the New Testament, Christ bound the strong man: what we find in the life and death of Jesus Christ is not an example of a godly giant fighting a puny devil. Rather, Christ became one of us, and, as a son of David, He bound and defeated the Goliath of that age. Christ takes all the strong man’s armor (his panoply) and divides his spoil. The Christian faith is a religion of world conquest. Are the giants who confront us big enough to qualify as giants? And have we taught our sons what they are supposed to do when they grow up? Part of fulfilling the Great Commission involves climbing the beanstalk.” — Douglas Wilson, Future Men

There is good reason for our long-standing literary tradition of giant-killing and dragon-slaying. These motifs are common in Christian writing because they are anchored in ancient, sacred Scripture. We were made to slay serpents and to cut giants down to size. God raises up Grendels as He raises up Beowulfs. He writes a dragon into the story, but never without a St. George to slay him.

“Christians are a race of dragon-fighters. Our sons are born to this. Someone ought to tell them.” — Douglas Wilson, Future Men

We need to tell our children these stories, not because we need them to believe in dragons and giants, but because we need them to believe in dragon-slayers and giant-killers.

"Fairy tales do not give the child his first idea of bogey. What fairy tales give the child is his first clear idea of the possible defeat of bogey. The baby has known the dragon intimately ever since he had an imagination. What the fairy tale provides for him is a St. George to kill the dragon.” ― G.K. Chesterton, Tremendous Trifles

Without the legends, we are left with just the dragons. We know the dragon from birth from within and without, but we have no hope of seeing either dethroned. Unless, we’re told the stories. Tyranny is understood intuitively; liberty is only learned through story-telling.

“Dragon-lore is truer than therapy-speak.” — Douglas Wilson, Future Men

Fairy tales have a firmer grasp on reality than Freud. If we don't read the right kind of stories, we will lose our place and page. We won't find truth within, but we can find it up a beanstalk. Lounging on a couch has nothing on Logres and if you only have an hour, spend your time with the Pendragon instead of with positive thinking. Therapy-speak is merely the orc-talk of the moderns.

day no. 16,414: well-versed in shirk

"This pattern of fending off a threat of wounded pride through excuse-making is typical of males in sin, and yet is thoroughly unmasculine. A refusal to make excuses is right at the heart of scriptural masculinity." — Douglas Wilson, Future Men

This has been a tough lesson for me to learn. I was well-trained in the unmasculine art of making excuses. I was well-versed in the ways of shirk instead of work, but by grace of God and through faith in His Son, His Spirit is helping me take more responsibility and make fewer excuses. 

1 Timothy 4:15-16

Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.

May God help my sons to see the progress He has provided for me and continues to work out in me that they may go and do likewise.

Men were made to take responsibility, not to make excuses.

Easier said than done, but rarely done if never said.