day no. 14,601: much of ministry is late nights and early mornings

Psalm 134

We should often be interceding in prayer for those who pastor and minister to us. We should seek their favor from God so that they may continue to spend themselves faithfully for His glory. Their late nights and early mornings often find them ministering to others when the sun is down. And may those in ministry remember to pronounce a blessing upon those for whom they labor. It is easy to consider cursing the ox for making a mess, but the ox makes one's work more productive. Ministry would be easier without the people, but without the people there'd be no ministry. May God bless both the laborers and the partakers, the ministers and the ministered to. May He bless them both with His presence and power to persevere.

day no. 14,600: never battle so important, never crown so glorious

The following is the evening devotional from Spurgeon's classic, "Morning & Evening," for November 30th. I read this one morning (yeah, I know I read the "evening" portion in the morning) and my thought immediately turned to the future men I call my sons. My hope for us is that we would fight the good fight on the same team, side by side, following Jesus into battle and emerging victorious in His Name. This devotional inspires me to battle by digging my heels deeply into grace and my prayer is that the Holy Spirit would use its energy to do the same in the hearts of my sons in increasing degrees as they mature in wisdom and stature in the eyes of God and man.
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"Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels."
Revelation 12:7

War always will rage between the two great sovereignties until one or other be crushed. Peace between good and evil is an impossibility; the very pretence of it would, in fact, be the triumph of the powers of darkness. Michael will always fight; his holy soul is vexed with sin, and will not endure it. Jesus will always be the dragon's foe, and that not in a quiet sense, but actively, vigorously, with full determination to exterminate evil. All his servants, whether angels in heaven or messengers on earth, will and must fight; they are born to be warriors--at the cross they enter into covenant never to make truce with evil; they are a warlike company, firm in defence and fierce in attack. The duty of every soldier in the army of the Lord is daily, with all his heart, and soul, and strength, to fight against the dragon.

The dragon and his angels will not decline the affray; they are incessant in their onslaughts, sparing no weapon, fair or foul. We are foolish to expect to serve God without opposition: the more zealous we are, the more sure are we to be assailed by the myrmidons of hell. The church may become slothful, but not so her great antagonist; his restless spirit never suffers the war to pause; he hates the woman's seed, and would fain devour the church if he could. The servants of Satan partake much of the old dragon's energy, and are usually an active race. War rages all around, and to dream of peace is dangerous and futile.

Glory be to God, we know the end of the war. The great dragon shall be cast out and forever destroyed, while Jesus and they who are with him shall receive the crown. Let us sharpen our swords tonight, and pray the Holy Spirit to nerve our arms for the conflict. Never battle so important, never crown so glorious. Every man to his post, ye warriors of the cross, and may the Lord tread Satan under your feet shortly!

day no. 14,599: a band of brothers

Psalm 133

A band of brothers fighting the good fight together is a blessing to behold. Grown, competent men getting along is a gift to a family, church and nation.

day no. 14,598: the preservation of the progeny

Psalm 132

One of the primary ways we see God working to fulfill His promises in the Old Testament is in the ordinary, every day continuation of His covenant to produce a Son from the tribe of Israel, the legacy of David to sit on the throne forever as Lord and Savior. The endless genealogies contain within them the extraordinary everyday preservation of the seed of Israel. As miraculous as was the sea's parting or Jericho's walls falling, as is the preservation of the progeny. Certain mile markers were highlighted like Abraham, Jacob and David, but in between and after were links in the chain all leading up to Jesus, the son of Mary and Joseph, the promised seed of Eve, the Serpent Crusher!

day no. 14,597: a weaned soul

Psalm 131

A nursing child cannot sit in his mother's lap without wanting to be fed. The smell of mom is often enough to inspire the desire to eat. But a weaned child has been fed by milk long enough and has transitioned to eating regular table food along with the rest of the family. The weaned child can sit in his mother's lap at rest without constantly craning his neck looking for something more. He is contented by the company of his mother. So is the soul that has learned to desire God's presence over God's presents. The soul that has been nourished by God's good gifts should grow up to appreciate the power and nourishment that is in Him.

day no. 14,596: high causes and low moments

Numbers 27
Our commitment to high causes is often challenged most at our lowest moments. Moses was committed to making God known as holy and worthy of our entire lives. It was the highest cause he could imagine and he threw himself into it with all his heart. But Moses, at a low point, frustrated with people who would not heed his work of recognizing God's holiness, himself dishonored God in a moment of exasperation. Now the test of his life's work was truly at its fever pitch. What do you do when you turn on the highest good you know? How do you come back from that? When you become what you've preached against, what do you do? Your true colors come to the surface in how you respond to those questions. If your true goal and deepest desire has been to lift God up, you will lift Him up from your lowest point. Moses here proves his mettle by earnestly pleading that God would raise up another to take his place. Why? Because his most sincere desire is to see God's people led to worship Him more and more and without a shepherd, they would scatter and God's Name would suffer.

day no. 14,595: from the mount of Sinai to the plains of Moab

Numbers 26
The number of people enrolled in the plains of Moab is nearly the same as the number of those enrolled previously on the mount of Sinai, but of those now listed, only Caleb and Joshua remained from the previous count. God kept His promise and killed in the wilderness each and every one of the generation of Israelites who refused to enter into His rest. They all died, without exception. Only Joshua and Caleb, as previously set apart by God for their faith, survived the 40 years of wandering and winnowing. So too we live on the precipe of God's rest. We are told of a land of milk and honey... and giants and danger in between. But it is the land promised to the faithful. Will we like Joshua and Caleb be faith-filled fighting giants knowing the Author of giants is on our side and has promised to see us through or will we like every other Israelite hear the promise and forfeit the future because of our unbelief?