Labor – Dobra Family Ministry

Household Prayer: investing in Gospel dominion

“For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.” 2 Thessalonians 3:10 NASB2020 https://bible.com/bible/2692/2th.3.10.NASB2020

Brothers meditating on several passages based on some comments from the FLF conference. First, “Do not outsource or subcontract the discipline and instruction of your children in the Lord.” by Larry Taunton. A paraphrase, “Education is a product that costs money to develop and distribute. If you want a quality education product delivered in a loving community, then it will have a cost.” And “Money is bullets to be aimed at the enemy in the fight.”

In a time of entitlement, when many want or feel they deserve everything provided for free and often from the government (like ‘school choice’ handouts), I’m meditating on Gen. 3:19, 2 Thess. 3:10, and 1 Tim. 5:8 and praying we heads of households depend on God’s provision and work hard to provide all the tools, resources, and means for our wives and ministry of our children’s education. I pray we not fall into the traps of entitlement and demand a handout “like the nations” (1 Sam. 8:10-20). And whatever our lot, I pray we give all glory and thanks to God the provider of all good gifts! (Psalm 103) May God establish the work of our hands. (Psalm 90:17)

Take dominion. Make disciples. By faith (Heb. 11:1-3,4,5…), get to work subduing and ruling, working and keeping, being fruitful and multiplying (Gen. 1:26-28; 2:15), and making disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:18-20) for “we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10)

Rule yourself well, rule your household well, and bring God’s truth and grace into every sphere of life that you enter into until every nation proclaims “Jesus is Lord!” – Amen

Take Dominion

“There is an obvious way to take dominion of the earth, then, and it is simply through obeying God… One simple act of obedience, which Knox fulfilled, is marriage and child-rearing… Those who are committed to raising and nurturing godly families are doing some of the greatest kingdom work imaginable… When you raise godly children, they eventually raise godly children of their own, who raise godly children of their own, and on it goes… God commands us to take dominion of the earth by ruling over it for His glory. He reveals that the best way to take dominion is through the fulfillment of the Great Commission… As we do this, entire nations will eventually be Christianized for Christ… You need to study the Scriptures to learn doctrines. Then, by applying the doctrines, we take dominion. The movement is always from doctrine to dominion.” Resist Tyrants, Obey God: lessons learned from the life and times of John Knox https://press.founders.org/shop/resist-tyrants-obey-god/

“Paul fundamentally admonishes parents—specifically fathers—to raise their own children… The job of raising children does not belong directly to the school, society, church or the youth group. It belongs to parents. According to the Apostle Paul, it doesn’t take a village to raise a child. It takes a dad.” Discipline In The Home https://founders.org/articles/discipline-in-the-home/

“Parenting has consequences. Every word, every habit, every moment — it all shapes the soul of your child.” https://youtu.be/vIThYlPNKws?si=lq0yLNawd96AMDSH

“By the sweat of your face You shall eat bread, Until you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.”” Genesis 3:19 NASB2020 https://bible.com/bible/2692/gen.3.19.NASB2020

“But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” 1 Timothy 5:8 NASB2020 https://bible.com/bible/2692/1ti.5.8.NASB2020

“Bless the Lord, my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, my soul, And do not forget any of His benefits… Bless the Lord, all you works of His, In all places of His dominion; Bless the Lord, my soul!” Psalm 103:1-2, 22 NASB2020 https://bible.com/bible/2692/psa.103.1-22.NASB2020

“May the kindness of the Lord our God be upon us; And confirm for us the work of our hands; Yes, confirm the work of our hands.” Psalm 90:17 NASB2020 https://bible.com/bible/2692/psa.90.17.NASB2020

“And he said, “This will be the practice of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and put them in his chariots for himself and among his horsemen… He will also take your daughters and use them as perfumers, cooks, and bakers. He will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. And he will take a tenth of your seed and your vineyards and give it to his high officials and his servants. He will also take your male servants and your female servants, and your best young men, and your donkeys, and use them for his work. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his servants. Then you will cry out on that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you on that day.” Yet the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but there shall be a king over us, so that we also may be like all the nations, and our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”” 1 Samuel 8:10-20 NASB2020 https://bible.com/bible/2692/1sa.8.10-20.NASB2020

THE GOOD NEWS

There is a God that created the heavens and the earth. We humans are created in His image.

We are sinners, we have rebelled against Him, our Creator. Our rebellion has brought “all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice… envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness” to the world. Romans 1:29-31 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.1.29-31.ESV

Therefore we justly deserve our due punishment of death and damnation, “as it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.’” Romans 3:10-12 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.3.10-12.ESV

But good news! God is merciful and loving. Jesus is God the only begotten Son and He took our punishment upon Himself in our place. Jesus rose from the dead, defeating death and securing the hope of our salvation.

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.” 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1co.15.3-8.ESV

““Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”” Acts 2:36-38 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/act.2.36-38.ESV

We need only repent and believe it. Repent: turn away from our sins, proclaim Jesus is lord and savior, and we will be forgiven our sins and have life ever after! “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”” Romans 10:9-11 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.10.9-11.ESV

There is hope. Believe in Jesus! ““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.3.16.ESV

It doesn’t matter who you’ve been or what you’ve done, God stands with arms wide open, ready to forgive you. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1jn.1.9.ESV

Household Prayer: labor in faith as a husband and father

“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me…” Philippians 1:21-24 NASB2020 https://bible.com/bible/2692/php.1.21-24.NASB2020

Brothers, meditating on morning reading Philippians 1:21-24 and Thursday’s Advent reading Matt. 1:20 led me to this prayer… when it is my time, take me Lord, but if it is Your will that I live another day, may I labor to bear fruit, and as a husband and father to provide, protect, proclaim, instruct, and disciple to the glory of God forevermore – Amen!

Get to work subduing and ruling, working and keeping, being fruitful and multiplying (Gen. 1:26-28; 2:15), and making disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:18-20) for “we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10)

“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sakes.” Philippians 1:21-24 NASB2020 https://bible.com/bible/2692/php.1.21-24.NASB2020

“But when he had thought this over, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 1:20 NASB2020 https://bible.com/bible/2692/mat.1.20.NASB2020

“God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”” Genesis 1:28 NASB2020 https://bible.com/bible/2692/gen.1.28.NASB2020

“Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and tend it.” Genesis 2:15 NASB2020 https://bible.com/bible/2692/gen.2.15.NASB2020

Fire Pit Friday: the sins of secularism and silence

Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.” I Peter 3:8-9 NKJV https://bible.com/bible/114/1pe.3.9.NKJV

Fire Pit Fridays – first three Fridays of November 6pm – watch No Quarter November blog post, have a drink if desired, and some theological and applicational discussion. https://noquarternovember.com

Love in unity of the essentials.
Love in discussion of the practical lived out faith.
Love in rejoicing together in our Savior.
Love in growing in the faith.

May it be in love, fruitful, edifying, and a blessing. “Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.” I Peter 3:8-9 NKJV https://bible.com/bible/114/1pe.3.9.NKJV

Nov. 17 NQN Fire Pit Friday 6pm – Man, no qualifications can sting! This issue reminded me of Isaiah 8. Calling us to ignore the “mediums and wizards”, or the voice of secularism and silence of the pulpits, and return to God’s word. So some questions for discussion, how do we live out our faith in a way to reject and cast down the secular “arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God” (II Cor. 10:4-5) How do we encourage our pastors to preach on the “untouchable” topics?

Video: https://youtu.be/9cPswFkQlgo?si=-50OAsMLtEjia-9R
Blog: https://dougwils.com/books-and-culture/s7-engaging-the-culture/a-pinch-of-incense-to-the-genius-of-democracy-2-2.html

“The Lord of hosts, Him you shall hallow; Let Him be your fear, And let Him be your dread… Bind up the testimony, Seal the law among my disciples… And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isaiah 8:13, 16, 19-20 NKJV https://bible.com/bible/114/isa.8.13-20.NKJV

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,” II Corinthians 10:4-5 NKJV https://bible.com/bible/114/2co.10.4-5.NKJV

“This last week, the voters of Ohio enshrined a right to abortion in their state constitution, in what might be called Ohio’s suicide note. In the heady days after the Jericho of Roe fell, this was the gut punch that we might call the first battle of Ai… The foundational issue is that our entire nation is riddled and shot through with the pox-ridden disease of secularism, and we have gone so far as to trick it out as some kind of a virtue… And this relates to a secondary disease in the pulpits of our land, one which absolutely refuses to confront this problem, or to name the sin in any way… Prophetic denunciation is right and proper, but our muddled and confused murmuring and fearful complaining is not the same thing as clear-headed prophetic denunciation. In a time when our nation has declared open war on the God of heaven, despising His law/word, we, ostensibly His people, have responded with a farrago of lame theological excuses… We have struck down Roe, and thank God for that. But have we received forgiveness for Roe? Has there been atonement? We still have the blood of innocents on our hands, up to the elbows. Doesn’t anybody realize we still need to seek forgiveness? We, in the name of a demented constitutionalism, have dashed out the brains of far more infants than Hamas could ever dream of… And so here we are. America is currently acting the part of Gollum falling backward into the crevasse, holding his ring, and savoring his moment of triumph. We laugh as though we had just proven that there is no such thing as judgment, and we do this while clutching at the judgment itself. The cackling is hard to listen to, but it is over soon enough… And so all of this has happened in a country that is the home to tens of millions of evangelical Christians. What has our response been? Well, we dither… The foundational disease is in our pulpits, which have gone largely silent when it comes to the Word of Jehovah on any of these subjects, or on any topic that seems remotely connected to them. It sounds noble to say that you want to stay focused on the gospel of Christ and Him crucified. It is less noble to refuse to mention any of the high-handed sins that made such a crucifixion necessary. The New Testament message of repent and believe has been transformed into believe if you would like. to. And so now all the godless have to do to get evangelicals to lay off is deck their rebellions out in the camouflage of public square neutrality… The lie of secularism is that we have the right to make decisions like the people of Ohio just did… So evangelicals believe in democracy, do they? So what did democracy do in Ohio last week? Can democracy sin? And, if democracy can sin, can democracy be forgiven? The only way to answer that question properly is to acknowledge the authority of the risen Lord Jesus Christ over the nations, including ours, and that would run the risk of being labeled a Christian nationalist by the cool kids. No, no! Anything but the disapproval of the cool kids. Ah, cool shame . . . thy name is craven evangelical… Secularism is the delusional pretense that there is no transcendent authority above us. It is the daydream that there is no divine voice that could ever tell the majority of the American people no. Faith in democracy amounts to the implicit claim that 55% have the right to vote on whether or not the 45% are persons. Faith in Christ amounts to the explicit claim that we have no right whatever to autonomous law. And by autonomous law, I mean bloody law. I mean murderous law. I mean anti-fertility law. I mean death-wish law… And this is why the evangelical sheepdogs didn’t bark. The intelligensia of the evangelical movement, some of them educated well beyond their intelligence, and many of them educated in such a way as did not erase their aching insecurities, are deathly afraid of being called out for their lack of sophisticated and/or sophistical academic cred. They try very hard to fix it.” https://dougwils.com/books-and-culture/s7-engaging-the-culture/a-pinch-of-incense-to-the-genius-of-democracy-2-2.html

Household Prayer: Joyful Labor for a Thousand Generations

[24] The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it…
[26] and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it;
Revelation 21:24,26 (NASB)

Brothers I’m praying we experience joy as we labor in love. I’ve been meditating on the things of glory and honor in the nations that will be brought into the new Jerusalem (Rev. 21:26). What joy we have in our salvation. Joy that we didn’t have to earn it by works of the law. Joy that we are now free to work for/in the glory and honor of our Savior to fulfill our purpose and mission. Jesus warns the church, ““I know your WORKS” (Rev. 3:2,15) We do not know the hour of Jesus’ return and should continue working in joy and the power of the gospel for the good and future propagation of the gospel and discipleship of nations in this world for a thousand generations!

Whatever you do, “do all to the glory of God.” (I Cor. 10:31) Whatever our calling and vocation, building or supporting schools, healthcare clinics, farms, and businesses, whatever, our purpose is for the love of our neighbor and the discipleship of the nations. These good works, when motivated by love of God and neighbor, are good things. These things educate, disciple, employ, and care for neighbors, loving them as Christ commanded and can be used to point people to the gospel. The things of glory and honor in the nations will be brought into the new Jerusalem (Rev. 21:26). Rejoice in your labor brothers!

5 Important Christian Political Acts

Thread:
The most important political act Christians do is gather on the Lord’s Day to worship God according to His Word. If you gather for a rock concert, comedy hour, or pep rally, you’re part of the problem. There are no quick fixes in politics, and Jesus is not your quick hit.

The second most important political act Christians do is get married, keep covenant with their spouse till they die, and raise a troop of children who love their parents’ God, hate the devil & all his works, and are sharp & dangerous to all unbelief with their joy & creativity.

The third most important political act Christians do is build Christian schools & colleges. These are not worldly institutions with pinches of Bible. These are covenantal boot camps training our kids in the Lordship of Jesus over all things. Classical Protestantism built the West

The fourth most important political act Christians do is start businesses & services producing real goods long term for all, especially the family of God. Those who don’t start their own join others & work for Kingdom minded entrepreneurs, building generational wealth & wisdom.

The fifth most important political act Christians do is participate in the political process, starting locally and then more broadly as opportunities and gifts align. The last 2 years have woken many up to just how rotten our system has gotten; it will take generations to reform.

None of this will work if we are not saturated in all of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation applied to all of life. Secular neutrality is a myth: Christ or nothing, Christ or chaos, Christ or tyranny. And that means the forgiveness of His bloody cross at the center of it all.

Originally tweeted by Toby Sumpter (@TJSumpter) on November 9, 2022.