“My prayer is that this book will lead God’s people to pray more fervently and believingly: “Thy kingdom come; thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Mt 6:10). And in better understanding and praying that, they might more diligently labor to “make disciples of all the nations” (Mt 29:19), knowing that “he shall have dominion” (Ps 72:18 KJV)” (Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr., He Shall Have Dominion: A Postmillennial Eschatology, xxiv).

Christ Shall Have Dominion

From The Psalter, 1912

Based on Psalm 72

(Tune: ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’)

Recently Peter Leithart plays sounding board for Pastor Rich Lusk, who “points out that in the feeding of the five thousand, the disciples gather up more food than they started with. They spend resources, but their reserves increase rather than decrease.” Leithart briefly reflects on the implications of the economy of the kingdom of Heaven, suggesting — “This is the economy of the kingdom: The Father rewards generous service, so that our expenditures of time, energy, and resources don’t deplete but add. We find more time, energy, and resources to expend on further generous service.” Leithart continues with the conclusion that “The economy of the kingdom is magical because creation is magical.”

In the final analysis, the kingdom is not limited by economic’s norm-of-thought, i.e., the (heretical?) doctrine of “limited resources.” God’s resources are abundant. How do we know? God is the omnipotent Creator. And Miracles are for reals, duh. Also, if you want to be a Christian economists, how about reading 1 Kings 17 everyday for a decade. God feeds the prophet with bread from ravens. That is cool. However, I am well aware that it is difficult to quantify that sort of thing, but if your economic theory doesn’t take it into consideration . . . well, what can I say–if that is the case, then your theory is as broken as a kitten pet-to-death. It is cute, but, alas, d.e.a.d.

Thus, fecundity: the economy of the kingdom.

From WSJ in 2011.

If you want to understand better why so many states—from New York to Wisconsin to California—are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, consider this depressing statistic: Today in America there are nearly twice as many people working for the government (22.5 million) than in all of manufacturing (11.5 million). This is an almost exact reversal of the situation in 1960, when there were 15 million workers in manufacturing and 8.7 million collecting a paycheck from the government. . . . Don’t expect a reversal of this trend anytime soon. Surveys of college graduates are finding that more and more of our top minds want to work for the government. Why? Because in recent years only government agencies have been hiring, and because the offer of near lifetime security is highly valued in these times of economic turbulence. When 23-year-olds aren’t willing to take career risks, we have a real problem on our hands.

 A real problem, indeed.

“One of the last American Congressmen to argue for a reduced role for the state retired in 2012. In his farewell address, Congressman Ron Paul stated, ‘Expect the rapidly expanding homeschooling movement to play a significant role in the revolutionary reforms needed to build a free society with Constitutional protections. We cannot expect a Federal government controlled school system to provide the intellectual ammunition to combat the dangerous growth of government that threatens our liberties'” (Kevin Swanson, Apostate: The Men Who Destroyed the Christian West, 115).

“Every day is an opportunity to listen and to learn–and to pass along what we learn that might be helpful to others” (Quentin Schultze, An Essential Guide to Public Speaking: Serving Your Audience with Faith, Skill, and Virtue, 46).

Reading Notes for Introduction and Chapters 1-5.

Reading Notes for Chapters 6-9.

Reading Notes for Chapters 10-13.

Reading Notes for Chapters 14-18.

Reading Notes for Chapter 19.

Reading Notes for Introduction and Chapters 1-5.

Reading Notes for Chapters 6-9.

Reading Notes for Chapters 10-13.

Reading Notes for Chapters 14-18.

Chapter 19 – Grace of Discipline

• The author talked about the “rich etymology” of the word “discipline” — that it includes both divestment (casting off) and investment (see page 223). The dynamic discipline of divestment-and-investment is a life-long practice as the Lord progressively sanctifies us.
• Christian Living from start to finish is a matter of grace – Sola gratia. “Salvation is by grace alone, and living the Christian life is by grace alone also. . . . As we tackle the disciplines of a godly man, we must remember it is a matter of grace from beginning to end” (p. 227).
• Thus, “there is no contradiction between grace and hard work” (p. 228).
• The author has been helpful and practical throughout the book with the constant refrain that “training in righteousness” is not a passive affair: godliness requires that we work hard, that we break a spiritual sweat, and this means we need to pro-actively assess our spiritual condition.
• One way the author recommends to assess our spiritual condition and to discipline ourselves without being legalistic (see quote below and the table): 

Review the seventeen disciplines studied in this book [divide them into separate lists–a list of those areas in which you are doing well (“+”) and another list of the areas where you need help (” – “)], then prioritize them in relation to your own life — the abilities and interests God has given you, the opportunities before you, your own level of spiritual understanding and maturity, your willingness to move forward (p. 229).

“A mind on wheels knows no rest; it is as a rolling thing before the tempest. Struggle against the desire for novelty, or it will lead you astray as the will-o’-wisp deceives the traveler. If you desire to be useful, if you long to honor God, if you wish to be happy, be established in the truth, and be not carried about by every wind of doctrine in these evil days, ‘be ye steadfast, unmovable’ (Spurgeon’s Sermon Illustrations, 78).

Right. And a will-o’-wisp is this.