If There Is Only One Thing We Can Teach Our Children, Let It Be This

If strength is wasted on the youth then wisdom is wasted on the aged. How many of us who are older have looked back on their life and thought "If only I had known..."? How many of us had thought that we would have done better if we had listened to the sage advice of the more experienced people in our youth? It's funny how that works.

I distinctly remember my middle school French teacher giving me some of this sage advice. I struggled with French more than my classmates. They used to elect me to do the daily reading because they loved laughing at my poor pronunciation. So as soon as the course became an elective I dropped it. I saw no use for it. My dear patient teacher told me that I would live to regret that decision. I laughed to myself. Why would I ever need French in Nova Scotia?

My outlook in life was limited by age and lack of dreams. I had not yet learned to dream beyond the moment I lived in and so I could not imagine the possibility of living anywhere other than my home province. I could not imagine living four years in Belgium and 21 years in Quebec (and counting). Yes, twenty-five years living in French culture, needing to read, write and speak French. That teacher was prophetic.

Unfortunately we do not always see the value in teaching wisdom to our children. We train them in Biblical knowledge, in academics, in life skills and even in people skills but wisdom itself we leave up to a vague notion of it being absorbed or something.

Even a casual perusal of Proverbs will leave you with the impression of the importance of training our children to value and pursue wisdom. Solomon credited his mother and father with his training but he recognized the real source was the Lord. His mother and father taught him the importance and shared with him what they had learned but this only became important when he realized his need. In knowing his need, he went to the source and asked for more wisdom from the Lord, and he received it.

Solomon in turn shared what he had learned with his children but emphasized that they would have to pursue it for themselves. The reason is because there is wisdom we gain from experience but the real wisdom of value is what the Lord gives to us through revelation and insight. James told us that this comes by asking, just like Solomon.

Our children may not take our advice. They may never even seek it. But we can instill in them the knowledge that the source is found in the Lord and we do not need experience to gain it. Wisdom is ours for the asking. Father wants us to have it because we need it in this world. Jesus told us that we were being sent out as sheep among wolves so we need to be wise as a serpent and innocent as a dove. Jesus enjoyed using images that seemed at conflict with each other. But this conflict is resolved in Spirit who is responsible for equipping us in this world. He equips us with wisdom so we know when we need to be either or both of these things in every situation of our life.

What is important to understand is that we will not find wisdom within ourselves or within the world. The wisdom we need is from another realm and is accessed by Spirit. We were never intended to live this life on our own. We were never intended to live without Father. We were designed to need him and to live in cooperation with him. This is the greatest lesson we could ever teach and instill in our children : we cannot do it alone.

It is not so much that wisdom is wasted on the aged, it is simply that we do not always understand our need for wisdom until we have gained in maturity. So let us teach our youth that they need more than themselves and that determination alone is not enough to change this world. We were intended and created  for union with our Creator, our Father, our Lord and our King. Let's teach them how to walk in step with the Spirit and they will never lack anything.

Standing On The Word Of God, And Nothing Else

The Bible, God's Word is awesome. If you don't know it, you are a radiant being stumbling around in the dark. It is essential for understanding and confirming what has been written on your heart by the Holy Spirit. The sooner you start eating from it the better it will be for you. It is a benefit to consume the Word daily so that all that God intended you to be will become your reality. Without it, we are confused by the false reality of this world that is dominated by a false prince.

I realize it is difficult to balance everything in your day, especially if you do not have a grasp of the Kingdom of God. If Jesus is just something you need to try to fit into your day, you are in a lot of trouble. You will always struggle spiritually and you will never step into the full knowledge of Christ, becoming fully like him. Jesus cannot be a part of your life; he must be your life, the motivation for everything that you do. You must be fully consumed by his love and your love for him, with obedience being your great desire.

Our attitude toward God's Word must be as passionate as the writer of Psalm 119. We must be raised on it as if it is our life source and treat it as if it is the life source for our children. Paul wrote to Timothy:

Since childhood, you have known the Holy Scriptures that are able to make you wise enough to have faith in Christ Jesus and be saved. (2 Timothy 3:15)

Too often we are guilty of trying to fulfill the mission of Jesus using short cuts. We use emotional pleas but the only thing that makes us wise unto salvation is God's Word. We can't bring people into the Kingdom and expect them to stay based on emotions because emotions are unstable unless the Spirit is in charge. Faith is not an emotional reaction, although emotion can be included. Faith is a decision to believe what Jesus said and we only know what Jesus said according to the Word of God.

The Word is constantly under attack from outside and inside the Church. No other holy book in the world is attacked like the Christian Bible but yet the Word says of itself:

Everything in the Scriptures is God’s Word. All of it is useful for teaching and helping people and for correcting them and showing them how to live. (v. 16)

God's Word is his. It was written through many various servants, inspired by the Holy Spirit. The servant's were only instruments and not authors. And what God has given to us is more precious than gold because it is a spiritual instrument, useful for teaching, helping, correcting and showing us how to live. Our problem is we don't want to take the correction; we would rather explain away those parts of the Bible.

We simply forget that we are accountable to our God. We are not radical free agents set loose upon the earth to do what we feel is best. We have a play book to follow, one that confirms what the Spirit has written on our heart. Is it right to steal? The Bible says no and so does your heart. Is it right to have sex with whoever you want? The Bible says no, and so does your heart. Is it right to direct your own life? The Bible says no, and so does your heart. Do we need to be generous because of God's love? The Bible says yes, and so does your heart. If your heart is lying to you, you need to ask who it is you serve. Paul writes:

The Scriptures train God’s servants to do all kinds of good deeds. (v. 17)

Clearly stated, we need God's Word as our training manual. It needs to be studied, understood, applied and lived every day. We can't go a day without referring to it. And remember, it is not an old book, archaic in teaching. The Word does not stand on its own but is empowered in us through the Holy Spirit. It is a living testament of God's promises and our responsibilities. Yes, responsibilities. Salvation is by grace but as the children of God we have responsibilities to live out every day that we live in this place. If you don't understand at least that much then you are desperate to know, understand and live the Word of God.

Slandering The Word Of God

We don't get to say whatever we want. Sure most of us live in places where we have freedom of speech but this freedom does not mean we get to say whatever we want. We can and often do but we forget there are consequences. If I said or wrote something about you that was not true it would be called slander and most courts in the world protect people in these cases. If I claim something about you I must be prepared to defend what I said by actual proof. If not, you could successfully sue me. So we should always think twice before commenting on something of which we are not certain. The same is true about Jesus and the Word of God.

It is unfortunate that we live in an age where people prefer listening to other people's opinions on the Word of God instead of studying it for their own understanding. People's knowledge of the Word is often from scripture taken out of context, Christian songs, 3 minute video clips, sound bites from some conference. What we don't understand we make up. What blanks are left we fill in with speculation. It is amazing some of the wrong teaching people are basing their faith on and worse, teaching to others.

We have no idea what damage we are causing when we teach speculation instead of the truth, opinion instead of fact, rumour instead of knowledge. We are slandering the Word of God and destroying people's faith. Paul wrote of such an incident :

And Hymenaeus and Philetus have been talking this way by teaching that the dead have already been raised to life. This is far from the truth, and it is destroying the faith of some people. (2 Timothy 2:17-18)

There are so many false teachings permeating the Church and the faith of God's children all because the children are too lazy to see what God said for themselves. It is like when Moses came from meeting with God and the people were terrified. God wanted to have a personal relationship with all of them but they were too afraid. They told Moses to represent them. Now it isn't fear that keeps us from knowing God but laziness. We still want someone to represent God to us instead of entering into the personal intimate relationship that is ours to have.

If we want to be teachers of the Word then we must become students of the Word. But understand, students of the Word do not sit in classrooms. That is not how the Word works. It is not a document to be studied but a character to be lived. The Word does not so much tell us what to do as it explains what is happening. It gives us road signs to let us know if we are on the right path. It reveals God's heart and explains what he has done. But the Word has to be lived and we are empowered to do that by the Holy Spirit. To be a teacher of the Word means you are filled by the Spirit and are a living example of the Word of God.

Let's stop slandering the Word of God and be determined to know the truth for ourselves. Stop being taught by songs, sound bites and scriptures shared on the Internet and bathe yourself in the Word by the Holy Spirit. Open your Bible and ask the Spirit to write it on your heart. Become a student before you teach. 

Worthless Talk

Words, words, words. We talk a lot but say very little. We have a rich language but we limit ourselves to a communication that expresses practically nothing. Everyone has a FaceBook, many have blogs and we fill cyber space with lots of information, telling people what we are eating, wearing and doing but nothing that would reveal much about our hearts. These days we seem to be into shock and destroy. We use our words as weapons, containing very little value, their purpose to wound as deeply as possible. We also have a lot of useless conversations.

In the Church we major on the minor, risking salvation over methods of worship or evangelistic approach. We concentrate on what someone has or has not done and we are slow with forgiveness. We use our words to keep a person buried in their sin instead of assisting to restore them to Jesus. Words are powerful and important and should be filled with grace. We should also walk away from any conversation that does not add to us or someone else. Run away from the conversations that rob us or someone else:

Keep away from worthless and useless talk. It only leads people farther away from God. That sort of talk is like a sore that won’t heal. (2 Timothy 2:16-17)

It seems this was a problem in the early Church as Paul wrote about it often. It was caused by people who were teaching about things they knew nothing about. It seems Paul encouraged them to stick to the basics when testifying about Jesus:

Keep your mind on Jesus Christ! He was from the family of David and was raised from death, just as my good news says. (v. 8)

There are a lot of wonderful things about Jesus beyond the cross and the empty tomb but not everyone should presume to be teachers. Many things of speculation are passed on as certain truth. Churches have been split over disputable matters. You and I probably would not agree on a lot of things but the basics are for certain. It is crazy that we would allow such things to divide and weaken us.

We have a job to do and we have to stop allowing words to distract us. There are people dying every day while we discuss things that will have no impact on their salvation. I am not saying that sound doctrine is not important  but we need to make a distinction between the foundation matters and the things that divide us. I don't really care where you stand on the tribulation, as long as Jesus is Lord and we love and serve him with our entire being. We share the same Father, same King, same Spirit and the same mission. Nothing else matters and nothing else should be permitted to get in our way.

Too many of us have too much theology and not enough practicality. Too many of us spend hours in study and nothing in sharing the good news. Too many of us are too concerned about our own salvation and not concerned for others. Paul said he would gladly give up all he had with Jesus if it would lead to the salvation of his people. Do we have that level of passion for what Jesus told us to do? He did not tell us to go build schools or churches in his name, he told us to make disciples. How do we do that? Just like he did. Let's keep away from worthless and useless talk.

Not Everyone Is A Teacher

The internet is a wonderful thing, making the sharing of information fast and simple. It allows people on opposites sides of the earth to be friends. It opens up a whole new world of support and encouragement. The internet is also a terrible thing, making the sharing of false information fast and simple. It allows people on the opposite sides of the earth to bully each other. It opens up a whole new world of sin and destruction. Like anything else, the internet is only a tool and how it will be used depends on the heart of the person using it.

This is good to keep in mind when speaking with people you have never met. It is good to keep in mind when reading teachings about God's Word from people you don't know, like me. There are a lot of people on the internet teaching a lot of different things. It doesn't mean they are called to that. It doesn't mean they have the anointing. It doesn't mean they have a right relationship with Jesus. It just means they have an opinion. Anyone can have an opinion, it doesn't mean it is supported by the Word of God. More than ever we need to pray for a spirit of discernment, that the Holy Spirit will guide us in all knowledge, truth and wisdom. It always starts by reading the Bible for yourself.

God warns us:

Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. (Colossians 2:18)

I have met a lot of "puffed up" people on the internet. One of the tell tale signs is if they go to church or not. Do they belong to a church they have submitted themselves to, to whom they are accountable?  Jesus did not leave us to go it alone. He placed us in a Body because each member has something that the others need. We have been placed in a Body where we depend on each other to grow and mature into the fullness of Jesus. Just read 1 Corinthians 12 and understand that I need you and you need me to function as Jesus intends for us to function. Those who chose to go it alone, saying the church is full of hypocrites and turning their back on God's design and purpose, are a danger to themselves and others. Again we are warned:

He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow. (Colossians 2:19)

It is amazing how quickly a person loses connection with the Head when he turns his back on the Body. Yet, he is so arrogant and full of self knowledge that he thinks he is the only one with the truth and he needs to "save" everyone from the false teachings. If such a person does not know the importance of the Church then he does not know as he aught to know.

Be careful who you submit to when it comes Bible teaching. Be careful of the popular quotes that float around. Check them against the Word of God. If you have doubts, go ask your pastor or youth pastor. Do not allow a false thought or teaching take root in your mind. And above all else, pray for discernment, that you will correctly understand and live the Word of God.

Let's Not Fail Our Children

I once heard a man, who looked around at the new generation that was emerging, utter these words: "We have failed them". He was referring to the "lawlessness" of his children's generation, their cavalier attitude toward God. They had become a generation that was turning their back on their parents' belief and the only trust they had was in themselves. It was a generation that was dropping the torch being handed to them for the sake of chasing after self-interests. We see from this that since then each generation is getting a bit worse than the one that came before it. Now, one of the greatest industries is that of entertainment and the thing that occupies a great portion of our days is entertainment.

It's not a difficult thing. God told us to teach our children all about him so they too would learn to put their trust in him. There is even a promises that states that if we teach our children the way of the Lord, as they grow they will not depart from it. The psalmist wrote:

He decreed statutes for Jacob 
   and established the law in Israel, 
which he commanded our forefathers 
   to teach their children, 
so the next generation would know them, 
   even the children yet to be born,    and they in turn would tell their children. (Psalm 78:5-6)

It's only natural and it only makes sense, giving a positive result:

Then they would put their trust in God 
   and would not forget his deeds    but would keep his commands. (Psalm 78:7)

This is what was commanded about the teaching of God and the law, so how much more important is it to teach about God's grace through Jesus Christ? The thing with parents is that they get to teach it in word and then to demonstrate it in deed. We can can teach the importance of love and trust but if we don't demonstrate it in our actions the lesson is not going to go very deep.

There are no greater teachers than parents. There are no more natural teachers than parents. If a parent can teach a child how to eat, walk, run, how to dress themselves, make their bed, brush their teeth, then surely to teach them about Jesus is an easy thing. We teach them to be polite and kind so why not teach them why we must be kind; that Jesus taught us to love? It should be an easy thing to teach our children the foundation for our own living, what motivates us to do what we do, and why it is so important to have Jesus as Lord and Saviour.

We may not be able to do much about the mistakes of previous generations but we certainly can stand in the responsibility we have been given to teach our children. It is great that the Church provides Sunday School and other youth training programs, but the greatest lessons still come from the parents and this is where the responsibility lay; on the parents. Let's not lose our children while trying to save the world. Let's start at home before we look to our neighbour. Let's not fail our children.

You Know Who You Are

Good morning my friends,

I want to continue with yesterday’s thought as we look at the end of today’s reading. Moses has just given instructions to Israel. They are not of his own thinking but are the direct command of God. Israel is to be a separate people, set aside for the purposes of God, to be a nation of priests who represent him to the world. Then they are told that the community needs things like gold and silver, materials such as fabric and wood. Here there is no command. Here there must be a willingness to give:

“Then the whole Israelite community withdrew from Moses' presence, and everyone who was willing and whose heart moved him came and brought an offering to the LORD for the work on the Tent of Meeting, for all its service, and for the sacred garments. All who were willing, men and women alike, came and brought gold jewelry of all kinds: brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments. They all presented their gold as a wave offering to the LORD. (Exodus 35:20-22)

The only sacrifice and offering that is acceptable to the Lord is that which is given freely and cheerfully. That is what we touched on during Sunday’s teaching. We are never forced to serve our God. We are not forced to give. In fact, if we offer ourselves and our possessions with reluctance our God does not want them. He wants a generous and cheerful people to bring what their hearts compel them to bring. Now consider this:

Then Moses said to the Israelites, "See, the LORD has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts- to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic craftsmanship. And he has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others. He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as craftsmen, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them master craftsmen and designers. (Exodus 35:30-35)

This picks up from yesterday’s thought. There are a few words I want you to consider: “the LORD has chosen”, “he has filled him”, the Spirit, skill, ability, knowledge, “in all kinds of crafts”, to make, to cut, to set, to work, to engage, “the ability to teach”. Do not think for a moment that creativity is not a skill. In fact, it is a skill given and ordained by God. It is a gift. But it goes beyond the actual doing. Along with the ability to do God has also ordained some to teach. This is directly from the LORD just as he has ordained some to preach, to heal, to prophecy. Those who have the ability to work with their hands, to mould materials into beautiful things, who are able to draw, paint, create, who see patterns and designs in the world around them and who can recreate these for others to enjoy, have a special calling. They are wrong to ignore it or think it is not worth much. What such things are worth are beyond measure.

If these craftsmen and artist do not step forward into their calling then how will such things be passed on? We are not all called to such things yet we all have some desire to craft things with our hands. We are not all skilled but we all enjoy doing it. Those anointed by God have the ability to teach us how to be better at it. We need to be taught. How will we ever know if the “greats” still walk among us if they refuse what they have been called to? We need them. We need them to walk in faith, to trust that the LORD will look after them as he looks after the preachers and evangelists. They need to see their calling to be just as important because our God speaks with more than just words. In fact, words often do not convey the deeper truths of our existence with him. Some are great with words, others with numbers, others with ideas and others with their hands.

You know who you are. You know what God has given you the ability to do. You know that you are good at these things. Now accept the purpose of the Spirit, the skills, the abilities and the knowledge. Step forward and take the risk of criticism as the preachers must. Step forward and be willing to walk in faith as the evangelists must. Allow yourself to be guided by the Spirit and see what works of beauty God wants to birth through you. Come to him with generosity in your skills and with a willing heart to serve him in this manner. Come with your sacrifices and offerings.