The temptation to go for the quick fix is nothing new. But it is certainly heightened in our day. We put a premium on rapid solutions. We have become accustomed to buying and selling with the click of a button. In such a climate, we must be aware of God’s standard pattern for growth. His normal way is little by little. He made Israel gather just enough manna for the day, any more would spoil. Christ teaches us to pray each day for daily bread. God told Israel that He would drive out the nations before them “little by little,” and this for good reason, so that the beasts of the field would not increase upon them.

We often want things the other way around. We would like to ask the Lord one day a year for yearly bread, or, better yet, once in a lifetime for life-long bread. We want to see the Philistines driven out in one battle. And you shouldn’t put it past us to try our hand at alchemy because turning base metals into gold seems to be easier and faster than working hard to earn the gold.

But Proverbs says, “Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: But he that gathereth by labour shall increase” (Proverbs 13:11).

We have a tendency to overestimate what can be done in one year, and to underestimate what can be done in twenty. So whatever field you are currently cultivating, be sure to do so with a steady hand, with patience and resolve. Don’t cut corners. Don’t give into envy or covetousness. Don’t despair when the wheat doesn’t pop out of the ground the day after your sowed the seed. The Lord calls you to labor with Him, and you must do so being steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 

Jared Longshore – January 14, 2024

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Calvin was absolutely right that man’s heart is an idol factory. And the men and women of our day seem hellbent on setting up their feelings as little deities. They offer pinches of incense to them on nearly every street corner. Even so, feelings make terrible gods. You would be far better off worshipping the gods of the Roman Pantheon. If you’re really going to turn your back on the Living God, go for Zeus, Aphrodite, or Apollo. At least then, you might have an interesting story to tell, albeit a tragic one. At least then, you could pretend to be reaching outside of yourself. All of this talk about following your heart is not only worthy of the flames of hell, it is also remarkably boring.

Your feelings are meant to be commanded. They should line up and follow you along the way. If they are being unruly, that is no worry. That is what feelings often do. Just give them a spanking and tell them to sit up straight, shut their mouths, and act right. But, says an evangelical who has joined the Philistines of our age, “What then could I write in my journal if indeed I tell my feelings to hush?” Well, you don’t have to throw the journal away. But if you are going to keep it, you should start writing Bible verses down and then use your pen to describe how you are going to trust those words more fully and obey them more diligently. As Martyn Lloyd Jones once wisely said, “Most of our problems in life come from the fact that we are listening to ourselves rather than talking to ourselves.” Control your emotions. Discipline them. This work is not too hard for you. This self-control is a fruit of the Spirit, and He has been poured out in your hearts.

Jared Longshore – January 7, 2024

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The new year brings with it the desire to lay down fresh resolutions. With this spirit comes a variety of temptations, one of which is that of lamenting what few resources we have. You want to make advancements in knowledge, but you have little education in your background. You look to grow your business, but you do not have the financial resources of that successful entrepreneur across the room. You want to bestow wisdom upon our children, but your forefathers were Barbarians and Scythians, so you have no heritage of generational faithfulness to rely upon.

What are you to do? You must not despise the day of small things. This was the word from the prophet Zechariah in the days of Zerubbabel when Israel rebuilt a broken-down Jerusalem. It is a Word we must take to heart. While a top-tier education, a successful business, and generations of faithful forefathers are all things for which to be grateful, none of them are things to trust in. Moreover, God’s pattern is to bring salvation from unlikely and insignificant places. Salvation arrives in the little town of Bethlehem. Jesus is called a Nazarene. And can anything good come from there? Jesse’s son was so small that he wasn’t even invited to the “pick the next king” committee meeting. 

We must learn not to despise God’s blessings while at the same time not despising small beginnings. The natural man must despise one or the other. But our duty is to trust that the God who has helped us to lay the foundation of the house is the God who will see to it that we finish it, even if Sanballat is carrying on over there about how vain our efforts are. Trust God and keep swinging your hammer. The clinking and clanging will drown out his taunts.

Jared Longshore – December 31, 2023

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One of the truths that will be shocking to unbelievers on the day of judgment is that they missed out on what it means to be fully human. Some of them will have heard and rejected the truth that Christ came to save sinners from hell. But most of them will have not heard that Christ came to make man truly man. This part of the good news is ours to tell and it is to our shame that we neglect it.

Our hymn Hark! The Herald Angels Sing makes the point—

Rise, the woman’s conqu’ring Seed,

Bruise in us the serpent’s head.

Now display Thy saving power, 

Ruined nature now restore

Jesus took on human nature to restore our nature. The Second Adam has come as a life-giving spirit that we might have life and have it abundantly.

Put it this way. Christians know the truest human who has ever lived. If you want to know what our race used to be before the ruin, look to Him. If you want to know what we Christians are becoming, then look to Him. 

This is why we confess our sin. 

You are not simply to kneel and tell the Lord what you did wrong as if there are marks against your clean record and you need to get them removed. We confess our sin because we are in the process of becoming more human. God made us an upright race, and though we have fallen, Mary’s Son has come to restore our nature. 

How much sin should you confess? Well, how restored do you want to be? Look at Jesus the man, and you will want to be like Him. And because He became like us, we are free to become like Him.

Jared Longshore – December 24, 2023

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Advent season brings with it a good deal of extra labor. You still have your regular work rhythms. Added to those, you have gift purchasing, party planning, meal organizing, and the sense that you should have an eye out to bless those you are able to bless. This means that advent season is a grand opportunity to learn what our Lord teaches in Luke 9:24, “Whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.”

This teaching is a mystery. An unbelieving man calls it crazy. “By definition,” he says, “if I lose my life then it shall indeed be lost, not saved!” But, we can see just how wrong this man is around this time of year. Those who are spending and being spent for others are somehow growing in merriment and greatness of heart, while those who are hedging their sacrifices are not. As the Puritans used to say, “The way down is the way up, to be low is to be high, to give is to receive.” Advent, then, is an opportunity to learn how to lose. In the language of Scripture, it is a time to learn how to be poured out. According to the paradox, if you lose, then you will gain. If you are poured out, you will not only be filled up, but you will find that your vessel has been enlarged and then filled up, so that you might be poured out again.

This often catches us by surprise. But it shouldn’t. Our Father gave His only Son. The Son gave His life. And He received it back, along with the salvation of the world. We must do likewise. Lose your life for Christ’s sake, and you will find life abundant.

Jared Longshore – December 17, 2023

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