Very crunchy underfoot this morning. Cold start but great riding. The Namoi River is looking splendid.
Today’s Bike Ride
Quote for the Day
But since then, technology has assumed a key role in the more radical context of making plausible the separation of biological sex and the concept of gender. This separation is now basic to much of the modern social imaginary and that clearly rests on the psychologized notion of self that emerged in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and now dominates our contemporary world. Carl Trueman
Quote for the Day
Consumerism makes us believe we can be whoever we want to be, but the market always places limits on that in reality. Carl Trueman
Reflection on Judges 9:1-21
Scripture
He went to his father’s home at Ophrah, and there, on one stone, they killed all seventy of his half-brothers, the sons of Gideon. But, the youngest brother, Jotham, escaped and hid.
Observation
Gideon’s son Abimelech goes to Shechem to visit his uncles. He asks them to ask the elders of Shechem whether they want to be ruled by seventy sons of Gideon or by one man.
The men of Shechem decide that Abimelech should be their king. Abimelech hires some henchmen to go to Ophrah to kill all of Gideon’s sons. One of them, Jotham, escapes.
Jotham tells a parable to the elders of Shechem. He accuses them of betraying Gideon’s heritage. He challenges them to consider if they have acted honourably in making Abimelech their king. If they have not acted honourably, may they all be devoured by fire.
Application
The NLT Study Bible heads this section with “Abimelch: The Anti- Judge.” Whereas the previous judges were raised by God to meet a particular threat, Abimelech imposes himself with violence to be a king. His ambition was to rule over, not just Shechem but the whole of Israel. To meet that ambition, he had all seventy of his half-brothers, except one who escaped, put to death.
Whenever God is at work, we can always expect satan to produce a counterfeit. He fakes spiritual gifts to deceive the elect. He produces false gospels to lead us away from true faith in Christ.
These things ultimately show themselves by their fruit – death, destruction, misery, bondage and so on. But we need to practise discernment so that we are always aware of what is truly God and what is merely satan’s distractions.
Prayer
Father, grant me wisdom and discernment in all that I do. Please help me to stay close to you and to not fall prey to satan’s traps. Amen.
Today’s Bike Ride
A very cold morning but glorious sunshine.
Quote for the Day
Most people have not read Freud, but many find appealing the message preached in myriad movies and soap operas that life is about finding individual sexual satisfaction and that one’s sexual appetites lie at the very center of who one actually is. Carl Trueman
Reflection on Judges 8:22-35
Scripture
Gideon made a sacred ephod from the gold and put it in Ophrah, his home town. But soon all the Israelites prostituted themselves by worshipping it, and it became a trap for Gideon and his family.
Observation
The Israelites want to install Gideon and his family as king so that he, his son and his grandson will rule over them. Gideon refuses because the Lord is their king.
Gideon requests that each person gives him an earring from the loot of the Midianites. This is freely given, along with other jewellery. Gideon uses this gold to make an ephod. But the Israelites soon start to worship this item.
Gideon returns home and has seventy sons. He dies at an old age, and there is peace in the land for as long as he lives. After his death, the Israelites quickly start worshipping Baal, displeasing the Lord.
Application
People have an inherent desire to worship idols. Gideon makes a ”sacred ephod” out of the gold plundered from their enemies, and pretty soon people are worshipping it. Prior to this, they had wanted to make Gideon into a kind of idol because he had rescued the nation.
We can so easily turn what God intends for good into a replacement for Him.
There are people who effectively worship Government, thinking that it will keep them safe. Some people hysterically demand that masks be made compulsory so that they can be safe from viruses.
People dedicate their lives to the pursuit of money, power, influence, sex, or pleasure. None of these things bring lasting happiness or security.
We have been created to worship God alone. He is invisible and will tolerate no rivals in the form of manufactured gods.
Because we are hard-wired for worship, we must always ensure that we are worshipping the one and only true God.
Prayer
Lord God, I praise you. I give you glory. There is no god but you. Please keep me safe from idolatry. Amen.
And what happens when that renewable drought is 1 terawatt hour?
From Jo Nova and Matt Canavan
And what happens when that renewable drought is 1 terawatt hour?
Australia has added more unreliable wind and solar than anywhere on Earth but when an energy crisis strikes, and those prices are still on fire, the solution is more of the same.
Senator Matt Canavan, The Australian
As rest of the world wakes up on coal, we’re closing it down
Perhaps Australia’s broken electricity system is due to this mad rush towards renewable energy? No, according to our energy regulator, “Recent international events and Australian market events have further strengthened the case for the shift to renewables.”
The renewable energy investments must continue until morale improves.
[The energy regulator’s] recent analysis shows that Victoria could experience a “renewable drought” of 1 terawatt hour of electricity over just one week in the future.
How much is 1TWh? Well, the South Australian big battery can produce 130 megawatt hours, so we would need more than 7500 of these to keep the Victorian lights on. At about $100m a pop, that is a total cost of more than $700bn, or more than Victoria’s total annual economic output.
This winter’s energy shortfalls came just after the Liddell coal-fired power station in NSW’s Hunter Valley shut a 400MW unit in April. Its other three units (a total of 1200MW) will shut next April. Then, in 2025, Australia’s largest coal-fired power station, Eraring, also in the Hunter, is due to shut.
By the end of the decade, our energy regulators warn, almost two-thirds of our coal-fired power could shut.
And Victoria is just one state.
Indeed, across the world there are 345 new coal-fired power stations being built. What is the argument against Australia building just a few to guarantee our energy supplies?
A new ultra-supercritical coal-fired power station built in Australia would increase our emissions by about five million tonnes a year. That would mean global emissions would go up by 0.014 per cent. The world has warmed around 1C after 600 billion tonnes of emissions. So this new coal-fired power station may increase the temperature by 0.0001 of a degree over its life.
Yet we are told a new coal-fired power station would worsen climate change and create more bushfires, floods and all manner of other natural disasters. These arguments are nonsensical yet go unchallenged in polite society.
Matt Canavan is a Liberal National Party senator for Queensland and deputy leader of the Nationals in the Senate.
Quote for the Day
The idea that Christian sexual codes prevent people from living free and happy lives—from being true to themselves—is not of recent vintage. Carl Trueman
Reflection on Judges 8:1-21
Scripture:
“God gave you victory over Oreb and Zeeb, the commanders of the Midianite army. What have I accomplished compared to that?” When the men of Ephraim heard Gideon’s answer, their anger subsided.
Observation:
The people of Ephraim argue with Gideon, demanding to know why they weren’t invited to the battle against the Midianites. Gideon answers with humility, and points out that it was God not Gideon who gave them victory.
Gideon then leads his arm in pursuit of Zebah and Zulanna and their warriors. They stop at Succoth and at Peniel to ask for food for their exhausted warriors. At both places they are told to bring back the heads of these men and then they will feed the army. Gideon vows to punish both of these towns.
Gideon moves onward, capturing Zebah and Zalunna, along with their warriors. As promised, he returns to Succoth and Peniel to punish them for refusing to help him.
Application:
The Lord makes it clear all along that He was the one who was giving Israel the victory over their enemies. The Lord had sent away most of the army in order to demonstrate His sovereignty. Now, after the victory has been won, the people of Ephraim complain that they were never invited to the party.
Gideon wisely responds to their complaints with humility. “The Lord gave us this victory,” he says. “This is not about who fights and it is not about me.”
When we are faced with opposition and complaints, we should never be defensive. The way forward is to point our opponents to Jesus. As a follower of Jesus, anything I might do is for His glory; my achievements are His victory.
It is never about me. It is all about Jesus.
Prayer:
Lord, please help me to maintain my focus on you. You are the one who deserves glory today and every day. Amen.
