Lenten Devotional (24), Full American Moment Interview, and Satan's Defeat

Kuyperian Fullness

Throughout the ministry of Jesus, the Bible vividly portrays our Lord’s commitment to complete his earthly journey. Luke’s Gospel states that Jesus grew in wisdom, stature, and in the favor of God and man (Lk. 2:52). These descriptors were preparation for the itinerary Jesus would have: he would need wisdom to defend the kingdom against false teachers, stature to stand tall against false accusations, and favor before man to go from city to city without being killed and the favor of God to endure the cross. No matter the adversary, no matter the temptations, the same journey that began in our Lord’s earliest days will carry itself to completion on Golgotha’s cross.

Because he endured and completed His work, so too, we are called to complete our work by His strength. He who began a good work in us will complete it (Phil. 1:6), just as he finished.

Since this is the case, God has given us the means to strengthen our journey in this world. He gives us his gifts of grace in Word, sacraments, community, prayer, and many others. We do not journey with only the clothes on our backs. Lent teaches us that in Christ, all things are given for us. We journey with his gifts and wisdom and the favor of our Father in heaven.

Prayer: O merciful Jesus, your faithfulness to the end alleviated us from carrying so great burdens in our own earthly journey. Instead of misery, we live in abundant joy. Indeed there is no greater joy than knowing you, who ministered, suffered and died for our sakes, amen.

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Notations:

*My interview at the American Moment podcast is finally available. The conversation with Nick Solheim focused on the role of the Church in politics and a heavy dose of Kuyperian theology. Make sure you share this episode on your favorite platform:

**I argue that there is a distinction between what the Church taught dogmatically and what the Church did practically. The Church spoke clearly on matters of dogma, but the Church has not spoken definitively on matters of practice. In other words, her praxeology may differ externally, but her doctrine is always clear internally.

***My third episode on the Gary DeMar letter comes out today. I develop a brief theology of Satan’s defeat. Stay tuned on Spotify. The first episode has become the most listened to of all three seasons.