August 5, 2013

Barbara and I were walking in downtown Fredericksburg awhile ago. We often do that. But on this day a beautiful Monarch butterfly caught our attention. He was flittering freely from place to place without a care in the world. He seemed to be following us so we got to observe him for several blocks.

We commented on how his life had changed. Once he had been a creepy crawling earthbound worm. Now he had wings!

He had been fundamentally changed by a tranformation of his nature allowing him to shed his "wormness" and sprout wings!

That is akin to the fundamental type of change that the Apostle Paul is talking about in Romans. It is that sort of drastic transformation that is required to deliver you from your sinful nature. You can no more rise to the level of your potential in God than the caterpillar could before his miraculous change.

The good news is that it is possible! If God can do that for an insect, He can certainly do it for you!

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you." Romans 8:1-11

A worm crawls because he has to. It is his nature.

You sin because it is your nature. You aren't a sinner because you sin, you sin because you are a sinner.

But, by the same supernatural power that transforms a worm to a butterfly, you can be delivered from your sinful nature!

Are you tired of your "wormness"? Ready to soar?

August 4, 2013

"We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members." Romans 7:14-23
 

A funny thing happens when I am preparing to hit my tee shot and looking down the fairway I see a water hazard. If my last thought is, "Don't hit it in the water!" Guess where the ball goes?
 

It is the same thing that happens when someone tells you, "Don't do that!" It makes you want to do it!
 

That is the nature Paul describes in Romans 7. He makes the argument that knowing the law causes you to break the law because the law says what you can't do. The does and don'ts in the law runs afoul with your rebellious sinful nature. His basic argument is "the law can't save anyone." It can't save the pagan (7:7-14), nor can it save the one trying to live by the law (7:15-22), nor can it even save the man with a new nature (7:23-25).
 

This explains why you or I cannot save ourselves. We cannot manage sin. We cannot regulate sin or control sin. We cannot escape the power of sin.
 

Paul describes it this way, "You are married to sin. Like a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives, so you are bound to sin as long as it lives in you."
 

Says who? Says the law!

 

Living with sin is like living in a bad marriage. You can't be happy and you can't get out. The Christian can be the most miserable because there are two natures warring within. He is double-minded and unstable.
 

So, what's the answer? Death of that tyrant is the only way out.

How many times have you heard someone try to justify their own goodness by claiming that they "keep the commandments"? Maybe you have said that.
 

How many religious people try to save themselves by doing good works? The hope is to tip the moral scales in their favor by doing more good things than bad things. Is that you?
 

A desperate problem requires drastic action. Your sin nature has to die. The spiritual nature must live and grow. Nothing else will work but complete surrender to the Holy Spirit of God.
 

Are you ready to empty yourself to be filled with Him?

August 3, 2013

"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."  Proverbs 22:6

 

Wisdom dictates that Christian parents are to "train" their children "in the way" they should go and if they do the child will not depart from "the way" when he is older.

 

What a great promise!

 

We have been studying the various meanings of the word "train" in the rearing of children and we identified for important concepts - "define", "direct", "discipline" and "dedicate". In today's post I have shared a Biblical example of each concept.

 

DEFINE - Joshua

 

“Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the godswhich your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord!  And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:14-15

 

When many of God's people were forsaking Him and pursuing idols, Joshua stood and defined what the Joshua family was going to do! They were going to serve the Lord!  From that day forward the children of Joshua knew where they stood and what would be expected of them.

 

That would mean obeying God and keeping His Commands. That meant Joshua and his family would despise idols and offer sacrifices to the Holy God Jehovah.

 

DIRECT - Noah

 

"For after seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made.”  And Noah did according to all that the Lord commanded him.  Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth. So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, went into the ark because of the waters of the flood. Of clean animals, of animals that are unclean, of birds, and of everything that creeps on the earth,  two by two they went into the ark to Noah, male and female, as God had commanded Noah. And it came to pass after seven days that the waters of the flood were on the earth. In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.  And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights.On the very same day Noah and Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark."  Genesis 7:4-13

 

It is hard to imagine that there was just one man in the whole world who was faithful to God, but that was the case! Noah, alone, found grace in the eyes of the Lord and he stayed in God's grace because he followed God's directions to build an ark!

 

For the 120 years it took to build the ark, Noah was preaching repentance to his neighbors and directing his family to assist him in this massive life-saving project. Noah was directed by God and then directed his family according to God's will. Together, "they worked out their salvation with fear and trembling."

 

DISCIPLINE - God

 

'For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.  And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.”If  you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?  But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.  Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?  For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.  Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."  Hebrews 12:4-11

 

The example of discipline is the greatest Father all, Heavenly Father!

 

If the most loving Father EVER doesn't hesitate to discipline His children, shouldn't you?

 

DEDICATE - Hannah

 

"So Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him. Only let the Lord establish His word.” Then the woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him. Now when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bulls, one ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord in Shiloh. And the child was young.  Then they slaughtered a bull, and brought the child to Eli. And she said, “O my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to the Lord.  For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him.  Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord.” So they worshiped the Lord there." I Samuel 1:24-28

 

This dear lady is the best example I can think of when I consider this issue of dedicating a child to the Lord.

 

When God had mercy on this barren woman and granted her a son, she did as she  had promised and gave this son (Samuel) to the Lord.

 

Many of you have dedicated your children to the Lord but you didn't literally take them and hand them over to the preacher for life. Hannah did!

 

Hold your children precious but don't shy away from standing for what you know to be right!

 

Parents, you have your orders! "Train up" your child(ren) in God's way and according to His Word!

 

Define for them what it means to be a Christian in your household!

 

Direct them and their decisions based on the Word of God!

 

Discipline them to say "yes" to what God desires for you and "no" to your own sinful desires.

 

Dedicate them to the worship, the service and the intercessory prayer ministry of God!

 

Do you need to "wise up" in your parenting? Are you willing to follow this "training" regimen for your life and lead your children in that way as well?

 

 

 

August 2, 2013

"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."  Proverbs 22:6

 

85% of people who make a commitment to Christ make the decision by the age of 18, or they never will. (The Foster Letter 5/25/08)

 

That is why it is urgent for you to dedicate your child to God and dedicate yourself to "training up your child in the way he should go".

 

If you visit a home that is inhabited by an infant or toddler you will notice it has been retrofitted with plastic plugs in the electrical outlets to keep the baby from seeing what happens when he places his little fingers in them. When they opened their pantry door, there was a small plastic “baby gate” nailed into place, keeping the baby from getting to items that might be harmful for a small child. When you tried to open their cabinet doors, there were small hooks in place to keep the baby from being able to open those doors and reach more harmful things.

 

If you happen to drive somewhere with this couple you will notice they have a special baby seat to buckle him in, in case he would try to move about. You can't roll down the windows because they  are “child proof”, in case the baby tries to reach through them and become hurt. When you arrive at your destination, you can’t open the car doors because they have “child proof” locks that only the driver could unlock. Everywhere you look, everything about their lives is dedicated, not only to protecting the baby from others, but from protecting the baby from himself.

 

I was a cute little baby - well, not so little (10 lb). So were you! I was blessed with three healthy, beautiful babies and eleven little grandbabies! But despite how cute they are or we were - we are ugly on the inside! We are wired for selfishness and self-destruction and must be protected from ourselves.

 

The Bible states it bluntly - “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" Jeremiah 17:9

So, the job of a dedicated parent is to "train" their child not to be controlled by his sinful self-destructive nature but to dedicate that child to God so God can change his inner nature. The goal of a dedicated parent is to "train" a child until he dedicates himself to God.

Are you dedicated to that task?

Have you dedicated your children?
 

Will you?

 

 

 

 

 

August 1, 2013

"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

 

Of all the amazing promises in the Bible this is one of best! What matters more to you than the spiritual development of your children? And this great verse promises that if parents build the proper formation under your children, God will be actively involved in the construction of the rest of his life.

 

Building the right stuff into your children will make it much harder for them to do the wrong stuff!

Implicit in the word "train" are four guidelines for building the "right stuff" in your precious prodigies.

"Train" means to define what it means to be a Christ-follower in your family.

"Train" means to direct that process of becoming Christ-follower in your family.

"Train" means to discipline those developing Christ-followers in your family.

Discipline has become an unpopular term in our modern culture because discipline acknowledges that actions have consequences and our culture hates that idea. Discipline also involves delayed gratification and our culture wants it all and wants it all immediately!

 

So what is the heart of discipline and how do you build it into your kids?

 

"Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him."  Proverbs 22:15

 

"For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."  Romans 3:23

 

Discipline is the process of teaching your children (and yourself) to say "no" to the fool in your nature and "yes" to Jesus, "the gift of God", in your new nature.

 

Easier said than done! Proverbs 22:15 essentially says foolishness has to be beaten out of us! So, discipline must necessarily involve some pain and it must involve some rewards. We must make it painful to do the wrong things and rewarding to do the right!

 

The goal of discipline is to make it more rewarding to do the good than the bad until our children eventually learn self-discipline. It is, perhaps, the hardest task of parenting but also the most urgent responsibility.

 

Are you self-disciplined enough to discipline your children?

 

It is foolish not to!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

July 31, 2013

"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

 

I remember the first time I was involved in a church building program. I was very anxious to see that beautifully designed building become a reality on our recently purchased property! Even though it was four decades ago, I recall clearly when they began digging the hole for the foundation. After they dug out the hole they began pouring the footings and then the floor and basement walls. To an anxious young pup that I was, it seemed it took forever to get that foundation in place! Intellectually I understood the importance of a solid foundation but emotionally I wanted to see those walls rise and the roof put on so the community could see that a new church was about to be opened!

 

That building stands strong today on Dover Road in Princeton, Illinois because a good foundation was laid under it! I am glad the construction workers didn't share my impatience!

 

The wisest man who ever lived expounded on the importance of building a strong foundation under your children. And, he gives you some practical insights on how to do it!

 

When he uses the word "train" he is offering a word loaded with meaning! I will devote the next several articles on exploring the four facets of Solomon's instructions. “Train” is a loaded word in the Hebrew language in which it was originally written and you can render it several ways: “to narrow, to initiate or discipline; to dedicate" or, as I will interpret them: "to define", "to direct", "to discipline" and "to dedicate".

A good foundation for a child begins with defining who you are as a family who follows Christ and who bases your values and decisions upon the Word of God. That needs to happen early and often. Your child should know clearly what it means to be a Snyder, or a Thomas, or a Rockwell, or a Medina, or a Kline, or a Beasley, or a Jones, or a Clark, or a Tippey, etc.

Also, a strong foundation for your child requires a direction. Direction is given first by example. Lead them by the example of your walk. Direction is given by exhortation. As you show them the way, also tell them the way. Put clear guardrails along their path and impose consequences for veering off course.

"Training" a child requires consistent defining and persistent directing but will put good solid footings under your child's foundation for a lifetime!













 

 

 

 

 

 

 

July 30, 2013

“Train up a child in the way he should go and even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6

We began our VBS this evening and we had a bunch of high energy, fun-loving little ones invading our church!

Our staff had planned well and was prepared for the arrival of this collection of cute and curious kids!

As I was observing the high octane activities being enjoyed by the kids and by the adults who were leading them, it occurred to me we were helping "train up" these youngsters in the Way! Using contemporary and creative methods in the limited time we have, we are attempting to infuse some life-altering truths into their fertile little minds that will attach to their eternal spirits.

Before the week is over we will have several children make decisions to trust Christ as their Savior! We will be used by God to set them on the road to righteousness and eternal life.

 

This is precisely what we, as Christian parents, are exhorted and expected to do. Our responsibility as a church is to support the parents in "Training up a child in the way he should go" so that when they become adolescents and adults, they won't depart from this way AND will then  they will raise up the next generation of believers as we have instructed them.

Please allow me to unpack this word "train" over these next several posts so you will have a clear and complete understanding of what your parental role is in shaping your children to become saints.

The word “train” is a loaded word in the Hebrew language in which it was originally written and you can render it several ways: “to narrow, to initiate or discipline; to dedicate" or, as I will interpret them: "to define", "to direct, to discipline" and "to dedicate".

Each of these concepts represent an aspect of training that is necessary to shape the soul of your sons and daughters.

First, you must "define" the Christian worldview and values in your children so they can compredend God's vision for His creation. Your child is on a steep learning curve you must define how his reality should be shaped according to the Word of God.

What is right for your children?

You must define that for him/her! That is what God calls and commands you to do in regard to your children!

Someone WILL shape your children's values and views according their value system and once those values and views are written on their soul, they are hard to erase!

That someone had better be you!