Pull ups are arguably the best exercise for your upper body.
This exercise targets practically your whole back.
I've done these for the past year or so and it's a huge reason why my back is my strongest muscle group. Don't feel embarrassed if you still struggle to do even a single pull up. Start with a modification of the exercise you can do and work it until you're strong enough to move on!
Every family deserves a dad or a granddad who works hard at his health and fitness. They realize as much as you do that someday you're going to pass away. Your body is going to fail you bigtime. You're going to become ill or sick. Things are going to happen that you have no control over. And the only way you can prepare yourself for the future is by the decisions you make today.
If you have to drum up motivation to go to the gym, you don't want it hard enough. You have to want to be fit. If you really want to do it, what's going to stop you? It's your next move that counts. Something has to get you out of your apathy, and you have to create it.
Your children and grandchildren deserve it.
If you keep driving forward and never quit, you will succeed. No matter how old you are.
My personal question to you is, why not? You can change your life. You can grow immeasurably in the new year.
Why not you?
It's a very simple concept. If you want it, you've got to go and get it.
I quietly put in the work, the effort. In 2026 I will start to shut up and let the results speak for themselves. No more promises. Just actions. Just start showing results.
God give me the grace and the strength to do what I know I have to do.
My friend, you have to fight.
Nobody can do it for you.
You HAVE to fight.
So fight.
It doesn't matter how much money you have or how much success you have. The only thing that matters is when the commitment rises to the effort.
Guess what? I have children and grandchildren. That's why I work out so hard. Anything worth doing is hard. You're not going to succeed in life until you accept maximum responsibility.
It's time to decide.
You have to fight for your health.
Nobody can do it for you.
You have to fight.
So fight.
This evening I drove down to Durham for some Ethiopian food and a Christmas concert. I love nothing more than eating and music! I hope your day went well for you. If you play your note and I play mine, together it will create a beautiful song that sounds a lot like grace.
A few pix. Have a great week!
I am friend-rich and I know it. Some of my best friends live in Israel. One of them is the provost at the Israel College of the Bible. I taught a Greek class for him during Covid. The ICB is the only evangelical Hebrew-speaking seminary in the world. They offer courses online and in person ranging from certificate programs to advanced courses for pastors and ministry leaders. Messianic Jewish and Arabic leaders study side by side.
Well, today I received an email from my provost friend that had me crying tears of joy. It read, in part, "The first Hebrew textbook to learn New Testament Greek is done!" He sent me this picture of the cover with an assurance that a printed copy of the book is coming in the mail.
I don't even know how to thank the Lord. Life, they say, goes through periods. Mine just went through an exclamation point. I could not be more grateful. The title literally reads Learn to Read the Greek of the Septuagint and the New Testament. Hopefully the book will be adopted not only in Bible schools but also in the Bible departments of Israeli universities.
For 5 decades I have cultivated a love for the New Testament and have pursued an understanding of it. My purpose in writing all my books on Greek is to help others do the same. My interest in Greek can be traced in large part to the teaching ministry of Dr. Harry Sturz of Biola University, who was my instructor for two years then my colleague in the Greek Department for many years thereafter.
Thanks to what I learned from this man of God and humble Greek scholar, I finally discovered how to engage in a meaningful and reliable process of searching the Scriptures and teaching them to others. More important, the study of Greek has transformed my own life. For me, teaching Greek has been a dream come true. Harry Sturz's creative mind and skillful hands were of inestimable value in assisting me as I have honed my classroom and writing skills. Little did he know when he hired me to teach Greek at Biola in 1976 that I would go on to write a beginning Greek grammar and that this book would one day become available not only in English but in Spanish, Chinese, and Modern Israeli Hebrew. My gratitude to him -- and to the Lord -- knows no bounds.
May your journey through the Bible never end, my friend. May your walk with the Lord continue to deepen as you grow in knowledge and discernment. And may God's word, by the grace and power of the Holy Spirit, transform lives all around the world, including Israel.As you know, the Freight Train 50K was moved from December to May because of the weather. Seriously. Who wants to run 32 miles on ice? I think May will be the perfect month to do a 50K. There's no turning back now. I figure if I slowly up my weekly mileage without upping my speed or frequency, I should be okay. You know, I'm all about the 10 percent rule nowadays. I just couldn't resist doing 10 miles at the Tobacco Heritage Trail today.
This is how running has taken over my life. Without even trying or thinking about it, my Christmas has turned into training runs. But it was worth every mile.
One of the greatest feelings in life has to be working toward some goal, giving it your all, feeling the pain, but persevering and eventually reaching your goal. When I finished my run today, it truly felt like a celebration. One last note. Yesterday I had my annual physical and the doc tells me I am AOK to pursue my summer goals of climbing the alps and surfing in Hawaii again.
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| Moi aujourd'hui. |
What, if anything, are you currently doing to make your life exactly what you want it to be right now? Make the life you want happen. This means being very selective about the people you spend time with, the emails you answer, how you talk to people you love, and where you are investing your limited mental, physical, and spiritual energies. Be very careful about your choices in life. Make each one count. I'm going to try to.
Have a great Lord's Day tomorrow!
You can lose weight without exercising.
But if you want to lose fat and little or no lean tissue, you have to train your muscles.
This is possibly the best defence of biblical inerrancy from a Lutheran perspective I've ever seen.
The speaker concludes:
On the basis of this conviction of the total reliability and dependability of the Bible as God's divinely revealed word, the AALC believes that Christians and especially those of our beloved Lutheran family are faced with a critical decision. It is of the same order of magnitude and importance as Elijah's challenge to Israel of old: How long will you go limping with two different options? If the Lord is God, follow him. But if Baal, then follow him (1 Kings 18:21). For our day the challenge of Elijah may be paraphrased thus: Why do you go limping between two different options of the Bible? If the scientific critical view is true, give yourself to it.... [S]piritual renewal within the Lutheran family can take place only where there is an unwavering commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in his totally dependable and reliable word, the Bible.
Today we have two schools of thought where there should be only one. Our Lord made it clear that the Bible is the inerrant word of God. The basic trouble is the old self life that does not consent to identification with Christ. Christians do not dodge issues. The apostle Paul met them head-on, and there were plenty of them (as at Corinth). We cannot wash our hands of the debate over biblical inerrancy. Christ's view of inerrancy is what really matters, and everything else is judged in the light of that. Our eternity is wrapped up in it.
If you read my blog regularly, you know that I think running is absolutely amazing for you physically, mentally, and even spiritually. It's a wonderful antidote to growing older. My philosophy has always been that, despite my aging, running is a gift from God and far better than merely hanging out on the couch. The same is true for walking. Here is how I spent my day.
And here are the results.
Start where you are. And for God's sake don't compare yourself to others. Just because some people you know run marathons and ultras doesn't mean you have to shoot for those goals. This is YOUR journey. Do what is right for you. Which might mean taking baby steps. My mantra is,"Do what you can, when you can." Run or walk at a relaxed, comfortable pace and enjoy the experience. This will increase your motivation for the next run or walk!
If you're planning on joining a gym in the new year, please don't hesitate to use a trainer to help you get started. Some gyms even offer 2-3 free sessions with a trainer as a sign-up bonus. A good trainer can teach you proper form on all your lifts as well as show you what each machine is and how to use it properly. I have been lifting for some time now and have never hired a trainer, but I have gotten to know our trainers pretty well and they are always eager to help me should I have an occasional question. For example, I've long suspected that I was pulling way too low on my lat pulldowns, so today I asked one of our trainers to give me his advice. He did so and also demonstrated for me what he was talking about.
Then, as he videoed me, I gave it a try myself. He approved of my form 😉
In the past I've gotten some very helpful advice about other exercises as well. These include the dumbbell curl.
As well as the pull up.
Now, you can definitely figure out all of this on your own. There's a lot of free advice and guidance online. That said, if you can, it might be a good idea to use a trainer to get a fresh perspective and new ideas. Hopefully that will help you stay injury-free and achieve your goals way faster.
Have a wonderful day!
My thanks to Elgin Hushbeck and Larissa Munz for inviting me to be on their podcast to discuss the release of a new audio version of my book Why Four Gospels?
It was a stimulating conversation, and I am grateful to have had a part in it. Elgin and Larissa are doing a great job and producing some really helpful content. I hope you will consider checking out their books and subscribing to their podcast.
For the Audible version of Why Four Gospels?, click here.
So the Steelers crush the Dolphins. A-Rod has still got it. He was 23 of 27 on a really nasty night. I am rooting for you, old man!
Questions for you:
Does the expression "flexible inerrancy" trouble you?
What do you do with people who say the Bible is largely true but then deny complete inerrancy?
If you're a pastor, how can you preach from the Gospels when you can't even be sure what Jesus said?
Why aren't more leading evangelicals bringing the issue of "flexible inerrancy" to the forefront?
These questions (and more) are answered in this interview by Dallas Seminary's Paul Weaver with scholar David West, author of Stockholm Syndrome Christianity. Anyone interested in the subject of biblical inerrancy will find this interview illuminating.
Let's assume, just for fun, that something I said on this blog has piqued your curiosity about starting to exercise on a regular basis. You're thinking about jumping in, maybe even on Jan. 1. The question naturally arises, What shall I do? Where do I start?
Well, let me say this. It makes a lot of sense to join a gym. It doesn't have to be Gold's Gym by any means. Nothing fancy is necessary. Your local Y is fine.
Make believe you are starting a new "job" and the Y is your new "office." This will give your exercising some structure. Write your exercise "appointments" in your calendar and don't let anything get in the way. Learn to operate on "automatic." This is what I have done, and it's the habit and routine of it all that has led to many of my successes.
Just a thought!
When you learn a foreign language, especially a language that doesn't belong to your own language family, one of the things you discover is that languages work in different ways. In some languages (like Biblical Hebrew), the verb needs to come at the beginning of the sentence. In other languages (like Korean), the verb is delayed to the end. If you don't have a grasp of the way language works -- what we call its grammar -- you will never be able to speak that language properly.
Now, in my beginning grammar of New Testament Greek, we cover the entire indicative mood before we move on to the imperative mood. Moods are grammatical features of verbs that express the speaker's attitude toward the action. Two primary moods in language are the indicative and the imperative moods. The indicative mood is used to convey facts or opinions, such as "He's reading a book." In contrast, the imperative mood is used to give commands or requests, like "Read the book." Generally speaking, the majority of verbs in language are in the indicative mood. People tend to state information as facts more than they give commands, instructions, or directives.
Just as there are certain fundamental patterns in languages, so there are certain fundamental elements of the language of the gospel. Every important imperative of the gospel that tells us to obey is rooted in the indicatives of the gospel.
In other words, the Christian life is lived on the foundation of grace. It's because we've been justified in Christ that we begin to do things for Christ. The book of Ephesians is a good example. For 3 chapters Paul has been describing the new society (called the church) that God has brought forth through Jesus Christ, who died for sinners and was raised from death. But in chapters 4-6 Paul moves on from the reality of the new society to the new standards expected of it. He turns from exposition to exhortation, from indicatives (what Christ has done for us) to imperatives (what we must do in response). Theology moves from theory to practice. Thus in Eph. 4:1, Paul calls on the Ephesian believers to lead lives that are worthy of the calling to which God has called them. Any complacency when it comes to obedience is unworthy of the church's high calling.
Likewise, in his letter to the Romans, Paul moves in chapter 8 from Christian doctrine to Christian behavior, from people who believe in the gospel to people who live and adorn it. Indeed, the purpose of Christ's death was that "the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us" (Rom. 8:3). In Romans, Paul teaches not only the essense of the good news but also the essence of the good life. He never stops with mere knowledge. He gives people plain, practical, ethical teaching. The new life in Christ is a holy life, a life determined to please God by obeying his commandments.
We need to keep this biblical pattern clearly before us. In the Christian life, obedience is required. But it is also enabled. The Scriptures call us to hold the two together, which should not be difficult for Spirit-filled believers since the Holy Spirit himself is "the Spirit of truth" (John 14:17), and his firstfruit is "love" (Gal. 5:22).
Ask people what it's like to be getting older and they will give you the standard gloomy "Aging is so hard, full of aches and pains." There's a lot of truth to that, of course. But I've got good news! Turns out that the last quarter of life can be every bit as dynamic and full of potential as the first 3 quarters, and in some ways even more so! Aging is not the problem. Decaying is! And the fact of the matter is, it is optional. Sadly, decay has become the standard for the majority of people over 70. But some of us are determined to rewrite the rule book!
Believe it or not, even at 73 I am able to regain an amazing amount of the playfulness, coordination, balance, and fitness I had when I was in my 40s. The energy that comes with a fit body can be a powerful thing as you navigate the final years of your life. Friend, may the Lord give you the drive, the energy, and the sense of purpose to live your life on your terms for decades to come!
P.S. Today I lifted at the gym and then got in my steps for the day.
Some of us will live well into our 90s. How we live those years is largely under our control!
In Athens, Paul made it clear to his audience that none us can live, move, or even exist apart from the motive power of God. Every single step I've taken as a runner, not to mention every ultramarathon I've run, would be completely impossible without God's power of motion. God is the source of all life, energy, and motion. Nothing you and I ever do can happen apart from his power. In essence, the ability to be active is a gift from God. In a fallen world, it is a wonder to have hands and feet and lungs that work.
Let's steward well what God has given us, shall we? God made these mortal bodies of ours to move. We believers want to be the kind of people who are known for our discipline in areas like food, exercise, and proper sleep. Why, then, should we allow ourselves to be encumbered by a sedentary lifestyle?
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| Running at Ala Moana Beach Park in Hawaii. |
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| Competing in the Bolder Boulder 10K race in Colorado. |
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| Jogging on Hancock Avenue in Gettysburg. |
Cambridge professor C. H. Dodd wrote in the preface to his Romans commentary, "Sometimes I think I Paul is wrong, and I have ventured to say so."
Sorry. We have no liberty to think or act this way. I may err. You may err. But the authority of the apostles of Jesus Christ was the authority of Christ himself.
You can't affirm the truthfulness of the text without affirming the historicity of the event.
As long as you have those in our seminaries who continue to use the term inerrancy while eviscerating the word of its meaning, the Bible is safer in the hands of the people in the pew than in the hands of scholars.
Becky and I lived in Switzerland for 3 years. Almost nobody in Switzerland has a gym membership. The Swiss eat bread, drink wine, and enjoy pasta. Yet they have one of the lowest obesity rates in Europe.
Compare that with the U.S.
In the U.S., the percentage of adults with a BMI of over 30 is 42.9 percent.
In Switzerland, the percentage of adults with a BMI of over 30 is 13.7 percent.
How?
The Swiss burn more calories than we do.
But how can they burn more calories when they don't work out?
They walk everywhere.
Everything's closer in Switzerland. In Basel, Becky and I had no need for a car. We walked everywhere. And if we were in a hurry, we could always take the bus, the tram, or the train.
America is huge. We drive everywhere. Even to the gym. But you can change that. Walking burns more calories than you think. And you don't have to go to Switzerland to walk. Just walk more.
By the way, nothing says you have to wait to January 1 to start. A new year doesn't mean much of anything. The excitement almost always fades. Most of you gave up on your 2025 goals months ago. So start now.
If you do start now, you'll move into 2026 with real momentum. You've still got a couple of weeks left. If you start now, January won't be a "fresh start." It will just be you continuing something you've already committed to.
Go for it!
On this day in history -- Dec. 12, 1862 -- Union soldiers marched across the Rappahannock River downstream from Fredericksburg. As the sun rose on Dec. 13, a dense fog clung to the ground by the river. Facing the blue-clad troops was a wooded rise set back from the river, defended by Confederate troops. Like at Antietam, Federal forces were sent into battle piecemeal. The infantry could do no better than lie in the mud and endure the enemy's shot and shell. Today, a portion of the battlefield is even called the Slaughter Pen.
The inept Federal commanders had now allowed 3 distinct occasions to take Richmond slip through their hands. Days later, Hooker replaced Burnside as commander of the Army of the Potomac.
The war would drag on for 3 more weary years.
2025 in numbers:
It's been an incredible year. All praise be to God. Some highlights include summiting the Riffelhorn and surfing Waikiki. Thank you to everyone who supported me this year. 2026 is shaping up to be even bigger. Here's to more adventures ahead. Thank you all, and I can't wait to share what's next.
Wishing you great adventures in 2026.
Dave
On Dec. 7, 1941, my father, who was born in Honolulu in 1918, witnesses the bombing of Pearl Harbor from his home in Alewa Heights.
4,888 miles to the east in Washington, DC, president Roosevelt prepares to address the nation. The next day he is planning on going to Congress and requesting a declaration of war against the Japanese. He knows that whatever he says on Dec. 8 will have to be the very best message to bring the country together.
Roosevelt puts on his sports coat and calls for Grace Tully, his secretary. Tully walks in and Roosevelt is smoking a cigarette. He tells Tully that he wants to dictate a speech. He knows in his mind exactly what he wants to say. Roosevelt asks Tully to sit down and begins to dictate, without any pause or hesitation, the message he will present the next day to a joint session of Congress. Roosevelt begins:
"Yesterday, Dec. 7th, 1941, a date which will live in world history, the United States of America was simultaneous and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the empire of Japan."
A few moments later, his dictation comes to an end. Then Roosevelt begins to edit the speech. He crosses out the words "world history" and writes down "infamy" in their place.
It is one of the most famous edits recorded in human history.
Editing, they say, is more important than writing. The job of being a writer is mostly editing. I may have written a book once, but I edited it 5 times. Editing, as any publisher will tell you, is just a part of the writing process. It's always a joy to see the writing get better, clearer, tighter.
I'll leave you with a quote by the one and only James Michener:
"I'm not a very good writer, but I'm an excellent rewriter."
"If I profess with the loudest voice and the clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except that point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved, and to be steady on all the battlefields besides is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point." -- Martin Luther.
Did you know that the first person to doubt the doctrine of the virgin birth was the virgin herself? "How can this be?" she asked the angel Gabriel (Luke 1:34). But upon further explanation of the miraculous nature of the Messiah's conception, her doubts evaporated. "I am the Lord's servant, and I am willing to do whatever he wants. May everything you said come true" (Luke 1:37).
In the 19th century, German scholars such as Albrecht Ritschl questioned the virgin birth, saying that it required a "special biological miracle." This skepticism became a trend among German theologians. Eventually, in Germany and elsewhere, the authority of the Bible was almost completely replaced with liberal theology and a secular worldview. We were told that only the most naive person could accept such a teaching and make such a confession. Indeed, in our day the liberal attitude on this doctrine is not so much argued as assumed and is represented as the "assured consensus of scholarship."And yet, as the great J. Gresham Machen declared, "If the Bible is regarded as being wrong in what it says about the birth of Christ, then obviously the authority of the Bible, in any higher sense, is gone."
Against this trend of skepticism, may we take a stand against the current unbelief and for the full truth of the gospel. No true follower of the Lord Jesus can deny his virgin birth. Let us therefore sing, with full assurance:
Christ, by highest heaven adored,
Christ, the Everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold him come,
Offspring of the Virgin's womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see.
Hail th' incarnate Deity,
Pleased as man with men to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel.
The weather was perfect.
Nice step count too.
Hope your day is going gangbusters!
If you are in the later stages of your life, you don't need 2-3 hour workouts, 5-6 days a week. All you need is a program that allows you to:
That's what a 3-day per week workout program will do for you. And you'll need no more than an hour per workout to reach your goals.
This may sound too simple to be effective, but believe me, it can deliver results. As someone has said, muscle growth doesn't come from endless sets; it comes from effective sets. Those high-quality, close-to-failure sets generate enough volume to trigger significant muscle growth.
So if you want to save time and enjoy life without living at the gym, create a system that lets your body rest and your muscles grow. You'll train your entire body 3 times a week. That's it. Each set will be taken close to failure. With just 3 days a week you can train your entire body efficiently without being sore, exhausted, or feeling like your gym time is competing with everything else in your life.
Try it in 2026 for yourself and see if you don't get the results you're after.
From today's gym session:
Have you ever noticed how the New Testament writers sometimes express an important truth by saying what it isn't rather than what it is? That's "litotes" at work. You use this figure of speech when you want to make a positive affirmation by negating its opposite. It's often used for emphasis or to create a particular effect (such as irony). It can also serve to highlight a certain quality while denying its opposite:
"With God, nothing is impossible."
"It's not warm today."
"He's not a bad cook."
In Heb. 4:15 -- a verse I am committing to memory today in Greek -- Paul is saying something profoundly important but he's doing so with purpose and rhetorical skill.
Instead of just saying, "We have a high priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses," he chooses to express this truth by asserting the exact opposite. The combination of the negative "we do not have" with the negative "who is not able" creates a positive. The technique is designed to make the reader think more deeply about the statement.
And indeed, it's an amazing thought!
Ponder it. Christ not only suffers with his people. He identifies with their weaknesses. He is "not without concern" (to use a litotes!) for us in our lowly condition. Having been made flesh, the Son of Man himself experienced all the temptations and infirmities common to man, sin excepted. He is therefore abundantly qualified to sympathize with us in our afflictions. As God, he is infinitely holy. As man, he is infinitely compassionate. He knows the difficulties of living righteously in this world. I love how Phillips captures this amazing truth:
"For we have no superhuman High Priest to whom our weaknesses are unintelligible."
And here's the way Eugene Peterson has rendered the verse:
"We don't have a high priest who is out of touch with our reality."
God says, "You must be holy because I am holy." On our own, that's as impossible to attain as growing another foot in height after reaching adulthood. The good news is that God in Christ is at work in us, giving us both the desire and the ability do what pleases him. It's just a matter of allowing him enough elbow room to do his work!
Have a wonderful day!
If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know how much I enjoy the seasons we have here in southern Virginia. This includes winter. Snow I don't mind at all. The only element I avoid is ice because I don't like broken bones. Personally, I can't imagine living in a place where the weather is the same all year long. This includes, yes, Hawaii. Call this island boy crazy, but I love the variety and the changing landscapes. I am someone who likes to train all the time, including the winter months. These were today's steps:
Today was the first real snowfall we've had in 2025. I guess that's why the YMCA was completely empty when I got there this morning.
But I do want to give a huge shout out to VDOT. The roads today were in tip-top condition. Upon my return home I snapped a bunch of pics of the farm for nostalgia's sake. Bradford Hall never looked prettier.
Then it was time to fed the animals.
I tell you, having a warm wool coat must come in awfully handy in the snow.
A recurrent theme over the past 12 years of my life has been gratitude and giving thanks in all circumstances. In so doing, one gets perspective on all that is good in one's life. Conversely, gratitude minimizes feelings of negativity when things don't necessarily go the way we think they should go. Today I found gratitude in the simplest things of life. Life after Becky got a bit hard. And it still hurts. My goal in life is to find gratitude even when things feel hard, even very hard. Never underestimate the power of gratitude. My life is not perfect, but there are a gazillion things to be thankful for. When all is said and done, life with Christ is so satisfying. It shows me that in him, I am stronger than I think I am.
Your journey shows what discipline and consistency can really create. Those gains aren't just physical. They're proof of your mindset. Keep going. You're inspiring more people than you think.
1. Train as heavy as you can.
2. For as many reps as you can.
3. With the best form that you can.
When your form fails, your set is done.
How much weight, how many reps, and how many sets is up to you.
Yes, it's really that simple.
For 5 decades now I've been teaching the language of the New Testament. Greek never gets old!
Today was no exception. All this month of December, I am reading through Matthew's narrative of the birth of the Messiah and producing my own fresh translation of the Greek. I feel like I'm feasting on God's word! Here's a snippet from today's notes on Matt. 1:20. But first, the context.
Joseph, the text says, was inclined to act mercifully toward Mary when he discovered that she was pregnant. "I'll hand her a bill of divorcement and that will be that." He wanted to avoid exposing Mary to public shame. Still, he must have wondered to himself, "And I doing the right thing?"
That's when we come to verse 20. Here we read that Joseph began to ponder in his mind his next steps when an angel of God suddenly appeared to him in a dream.
If you will look at the Greek text here you will see that the little particle idou precedes the words "an angel of the Lord appeared." Many modern translations ignore the word altogether. These versions include the CSB, CEV, GW, GNT, Phillips, TLB, MSG, NET, NIV, and NLT. The word itself can be rendered in any number of ways, including "behold," "look," "listen," "suddenly," and "just then" -- that is, in any way that arouses interest. Here the word seems to call attention to the startling nature of the angel's announcement to Joseph that Mary had conceived her child not in a natural way but in the power of the Holy Spirit. Hence my translation:
"But as Joseph was mulling these things over in my mind, you'll never guess what happened next! An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said ...."
Incidentally, Matthew's use of idou is a reminder that his Gospel contains many Semitic-style constructions. The idiom "behold" is not necessarily unGreek, but it occurs with greater frequency in Semitic languages than in Greek. (Its Hebrew equivalent hinneh occurs about 100 times in Genesis alone.) This seems to be a good time for me to remind everyone of the indispensability of the study of Hebrew (as well as Greek) for the proper interpretation of the Gospels. Semitic influence on the language of Matthew is apparent on every page. (I've summarized these Semitisms in an article in The Bible Translator in case anyone is interested.)
But this post is getting way too long. Back to writing! (I'm trying to finish a book on basic Bible study methods for layfolk.)
Fitness is good because it's the right thing to do with our bodies. It helps us lose weight. It dispels fatigue. It improves appearance. It increases life span. It lowers cholesterol and blood pressure.
With fitness, we are beginning to care for God's temple -- the way we look and move. We want to be good stewards. We acknowledge our responsibility. We follow the rules of good health because that's how God made the world to work.
But you must make a choice. None of us has enough time to do everything we want to do. We have to choose our priorities. Some of us find the Y absolutely essential to our fitness goals. Apparently, when you pay to exercise you find reasons to do so.
As you think about your goals for 2026, remember: actions are always impelled by some good we want to attain. What fitness goals are you pursuing? And what's the best way to bring that about? No one can answer these questions but you.
Most of us go through life completely unaware of our capabilities. One look at the Matterhorn gave me all the inspiration I needed to become a mountain climber. I am not yet what I want to be. But I'm trying, and that makes a difference.
Thanks for reading.
Today's post-workout progress photo.
Today is Sunday, Dec. 7. That's my generation's 9-11.
Please share the story of Mitsuo Fuchida's conversion to Christ with your children and grandchildren.
Watching NFL football is a favorite American pastime. The demand for excellence the sport imposes on its athletes may account for its popularity. Save for war, there's no better showcase for heroism. And that commitment to excellence is required of everyone involved in sports, not merely football players. I once ran the Chicago Marathon.
That day a woman from Kenya broke the world record in the marathon distance.
It was one of the greatest moments in sports history. Yet everyone who ran that day had their great moment.
Dick Kazmaier, upon receiving the coveted Heisman Trophy, said, "I learned [from football] all the lessons you don't learn from a textbook. I learned about dealing with people, with adversity, and with a competitive climate."
Kazmaier went on to serve as director of the American Red Cross, trustee of Princeton University, chairman of the President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition, and president of the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame.
Sports? Nothing else this side of actual combat will help us to pursue excellence, to be dedicated to something, and to give ourselves wholeheartedly to some project.
Guess what? Next semester we get to study the book of 1 John in Greek class. I love how simply this letter describes the process of sanctification. I think there's a parallel with physical fitness. We know how to get the most out of our physical bodies because the rules for physical fitness haven't changed literally for centuries. The do's and don'ts of exercise science are well-established. Likewise, we also know the basic principles of spiritual growth. These too are well-established. For models, we can look to the spiritual giants God raises up in every generation. One of these was James Packer. As providence would have it, my generation grew up with men of that caliber. And what it takes to grow in holiness is well laid out in a lecture Packer once gave to group of seminarians.
According to Packer, there are 5 basic principles of the believer's sanctification.
1. Being is basic to doing.
2. Knowing is basic to acting.
3. God's work of justification for us underlies God's work of sanctification in us.
4. God's work in sanctification is basic to our obedience.
5. The purpose of pleasing God is basic to the purpose of avoiding sin.
I am so eager to pass these principles on to my students in the spring. Through justification, the new birth, and the power of the Holy Spirit, these principles become realities in the life of everyone who has been born again. Renewed inwardly by the Spirit, we embrace Christ not only in justification but also in sanctification. And as the Holy Spirit moves us to embrace Christ in that way, a new vitality is implanted within us. As a result, we have in ourselves new desires. We have a desire, as Packer says, to know God. We have a desire to love God. We have a desire to please God. And we have a desire to serve God. Obviously this does not mean sinless perfection. Sanctification is a process. What it does mean, however (quoting Packer here), is "we are not penally liable for our sins" as believers. God is never going to require us to pay for our transgressions because Christ has already paid for them. The retribution for all of our sins has already been inflicted on the Lord Jesus, born by him at Calvary. As a result, we don't have to face any possibility of condemnation. "God," says Packer, "is going to treat us for all eternity as righteous persons, sinners though we are." See how clearly this is spelled out for us in 1 John 2:1-2 (my paraphrase):
"I'm writing these things to you my precious children so that you do not sin. And yet if anyone does sin, we have an advocate in the most intimate presence of the Father, Jesus Christ, one who is perfectly righteous. And it is he and he alone who is the atoning sacrifice that satisfies God's wrath for our sins, and not only for our sins, but for the whole world's."
As Lewis and Demarest put it in their magnificent work called Integrative Theology, "Sanctification assumes that the forensic status of justification is permanent" (p. 205). They add: "Sanctification is a response to the Holy Spirit's initiatives much as conversion is" (p. 209).
This is magnificent theology!
Incidentally, I really want to commend to you Integrative Theology. The authors cover each doctrine of the Bible under 5 basic headings: historical theology, biblical theology, systematic theology, apologetic theology, and practical theology. I've never seen anything like it. If nothing else, this unique approach will make you a student of the history of theology and the church fathers!
