Light-work

What It Means To Be A Christian in Syria

"Liena" and her family are Christians living in Syria. As Liena prayed and asked God what He wanted her to do as His witness, He answered three times in three days. What He asked of her on day three was hard but she obeyed.  Along with her husband, she explained to her children that someday, men with swords might force their way into their home and demand that they convert to Islam. She told her children not to deny Christ. She told them that they might feel some pain and see some blood, but soon would be in the presence of Jesus.

I am grateful for Liena's example of a parent protecting her children from a threat greater than death.

“And I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will confess him also before the angels of God; but he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God” (Luke 12:8–9).

This is not just what it means to be a Christian in Syria. This is what it means to be a Christian.

Click Here if you would like to hear Liena's story in her own words.  

After the Cross

Whoever stands at the foot of the cross to name Jesus as His Savior will be profoundly changed. He will begin to enjoy fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1:3). He will know God, which is to say he will be known by God, and set free from bondage to sin (Galatians 4:8–9). And it doesn’t matter at what age someone comes: His decision will fling wide the door to this whole new way of living.

In a previous post, we identified where this decision fits in the process of building godly character in children. Note the fourth content block. As parents are faithful to teach the truths of the Gospel, and as God blesses their faithfulness, they will witness the miracle of a young child’s heart first coming to know God. The content blocks that follow build on what is accomplished in this moment.

In the books of the Bible intended for use by parents, a relationship with God is key. Keeping the commandments in the Book of the Law and teaching children to do the same begins in a love relationship that engages heart, soul, and strength (Deuteronomy 6:4-7). Training children to walk in the way of wisdom begins and ends by teaching them the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 1:7; 9:10; Ecclesiastes 12:12), which respects who God is and fuels loyalty to Him.

In this selective view of our T20 chart, you can see the Gospel content block, plus three navy blocks, all of which focus on knowing God. Training children in “Love/Fear” and “Spiritual Disciplines” should immediately follow the gospel. “Ownership” comes later in the process. All three of these navy colored blocks emphasize raising young adults who possess a spiritually self-sustaining relationship with God. From the time a child first comes to the cross until he leaves the home, his parents will be devoting some of their energies to one, sometimes two, facets of knowing God.

Let me suggest what is involved in each navy block. This summary outline practically begs for a more detailed explanation. A complete curriculum would be even better. Alas, I’ll save that for the book. Until then, this outline gives you the essentials. Use these to organize your own didache for home based discipleship that spans the years until your child leaves home. You will notice some recurrent themes in each block – each new round takes your children to a deeper level of knowing God.

Love / Fear   The key focus in this content block is to help your children understand and enjoy the great privilege in Christ of knowing God.

• Before and After - These are lessons on who we were before Christ contrasted with who we are in Christ. They include discussions of New Heart, Hearing God’s Voice, Preferring God’s Way, Living for a Bigger Purpose, and Bearing Fruit.
• Motivated by Love / Fear – Help children understand love for God and fear of God as noble motives for doing what is right. Before coming to the cross, they were motivated to do what is right to avoid consequences. In Christ, they have a new heart which finds its greatest joy in doing what is right simply for the Lord’s pleasure.
• God of History – Examine God’s work in the history of His people and recount how God is evident in your child’s personal story. Help your child look behind past events to discern God at work.
• Character of God – Help your child understand the attributes of God and how these relate to his current experiences and circumstances.

Spiritual Disciplines   This content can be introduced after the previous. The goal here is for your child to begin taking steps to sustain their relationship with God.  

• Basic Disciplines – Teach your child to confess his sins to God and, where needed, to others. Assist him to understand and impart forgiveness to others. Explain prayer, Bible reading, Bible memorization, Bible meditation, giving, and witnessing. Assist him to develop personal habits pertinent to these disciplines.
• Hearing God – Teach your children how to study the Bible and to reliably identify what it teaches. Assist them to develop the ability to hear God’s voice in the Bible and support them as they take the initiative to do what He says.

Ownership   This final content block should be introduced in the early teen years. It remains a priority until a young person leaves home. Teens form the conviction at this stage that their love for God is not just a reflection of their parents’ views – they own their faith as their own and declare, “Your God is now my God.”

• Obeying When it Costs – It is critical for a young adult to embrace the truth that he only lives for God’s pleasure. He needs to be challenged, encouraged, supported, and blessed for following the Lord’s leading, especially when that obedience involves personal sacrifice.
• Ministry Initiative – Teens should actively seek out God’s direction, especially as they explore their life purpose. They should be able to say, “I want to make my life count for eternity, I have a clear sense of my Kingdom purpose, and here are ways I am being faithful to God in that calling right now.”
• Overcomer Strategies – Teens need to understand spiritual warfare and use biblical strategies for retaining personal integrity, purity, and ministry effectiveness in hostile territory.

 

Every Child's Come-to-Jesus Moment

One evening in a classroom at Harvard, I decided to accept Jesus as my Savior! “At Harvard?” you exclaim. “It’s a miracle!”

Yes, it was nothing short of miraculous. But let me add a few details to pinpoint precisely where the miracle is found. I was around age six at the time - yea, that's me on the left. This would locate the event in the mid 1950's. The public schools were less uptight about telling kids about Jesus so someone sponsored a week of evening Bible Camp for kids at my school, Harvard Elementary. (I will not know who did this until I get to heaven - won’t they be shocked when I check in!)

You can see me here with my Harvard classmates. I'm on the front row, second from the left, wearing my favorite and very cool shirt. I think the socks, cuffs, and knee-patches demonstrate my bold sense of style, too!

In the evenings for a week, my Mom brought me and my older brother to Harvard  to hear about Jesus. One of the talks by the main speaker connected to my soul:  I knew I was a sinner, that Jesus died for my sins, and that my only hope of salvation was to accept Him as my Lord and Savior. I was too afraid to go forward, but that night at home alone, I prayed to receive Jesus. I did not tell anyone what I had done but it was the real thing and I have never doubted my decision.

Almost 60 years later, I am still stunned by the miracle of a young child’s heart embracing the sublime, stepping into eternity. How did this happen? There is no explanation other than God’s Spirit who is not hindered by the limitations of what a child can comprehend. Indeed, God prefers the hearts of children - they come with less of the baggage that gets in the way of the gospel in later years.


Look at our T20 chart and you can see where this decision fits in the bigger picture. I have marked it in red and drawn a line that intersects the “gospel” content block. This is where it fits, logically.

Before some of you get stressed about the fact that your child is older and has not yet come to Christ, please remember what we said in a previous post: Do not allow the chart to fall into the employ of the merit plan. Yes, allow it to show you how to be faithful as a parent. But be faithful in the knowledge that God’s grace is what will ultimately make the difference in your children. The chart shows the logical arrangement of our priorities for home-based discipleship. But the chronological order may play out differently. Be faithful to your responsibilities as a parent even as you trust in God’s grace more than your efforts. God’s Spirit will choose the moment where the crimson line is crossed. It is a parent’s job to sow truth that the Spirit will, in turn, use at the perfect time.

This truth is represented by the fourth block, colored green because it targets the mind.
Someone might look at the “gospel” content block with some puzzlement. The heart of the Gospel is drawn from 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, namely, Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. So why does the associated training span an extended period of time? How long does it take to teach a child about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus?

It is true that the core of the Gospel is as simple as three statements. But understanding the significance of these statements will take some time. Here is where children benefit from understanding who God is, how He created everything, including Adam and Eve, and how Adam and Eve sinned against God in the Garden. Children need to understand what sin is and how the Fall adversely affected everyone’s hearts. They need to learn from the Law about sacrifice for sins. Then they need to learn about Jesus’ life and how He made the “once-for-all sacrifice” of Himself for our sin on the cross.

The last piece of explaining the gospel to your children will focus on what we called “opening your present.” Here’s the executive summary – feel free to embellish it to best connect with your children: When someone gives you a present, it doesn’t do anything for you until you unwrap it. A present unwrapped and neglected in the corner may be something that is just what you need or desire. It may have your name on it and belong to you. But you have to unwrap it to enjoy all the benefits it provides. A prayer in which you admit you are a sinner, recognize Jesus as the One who died for your sins, and ask Him to be your Savior and Lord is how you unwrap the present of salvation.

Parents wonder when their son or daughter “is ready” to unwrap his or her present. We used the will-not-be-denied principle. We explained the truth about the Gospel, including its significance. We explained what it means to unwrap the present of salvation. We hinted, “Someday, when you are ready, you will want to do this.” And then we waited until they would not be denied. Only then did we assist them to pray and unwrap their gift.
    
After a child has come to Christ, training in the Gospel will teach a child about the unique privileges of being a follower of Jesus, including what it means to be baptized, to take communion, to hear God’s voice in the Bible, and to pray. Additional instruction will center on the many ways that something new has begun on the inside, a process that will produce growth and fruit.
                                
This content block is a key pivot point in the training of children. As parents are faithful to teach the truth of the Gospel, they will witness the miracle of a young child’s heart embracing the sublime, stepping into eternity. There is nothing like it!

Child Training on Four Fronts

God has supplied some fabulous parenting resources in the Bible. The Book of the Law guides children in ways to express love for God by obeying His commandments. Proverbs teaches children how to walk in God centered wisdom. Ecclesiastes explores the meaning of life without God and therein gives young people a powerful reason to fear God and keep His commandments.

The chart we have been introducing, “Crucial Steps to Proverbs 22:6,” summarizes what the Law, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes teach us about the training of children. Think of this as a master plan for home based discipleship. Notice that there are twelve content blocks, each of which represents a major area of child training and transformation. The blocks are arranged in a sequence: Once the first core concept has been introduced and the child is making progress in living the associated wisdom principles, it’s time to introduce the second concept. Each new content area builds on what has gone before although there will be some overlap between blocks.

Also notice that these blocks are color coded. The color key to the left identifies each of four key targets using navy, green, medium blue, and light green. The Book of the Law and Proverbs both underscore the training of children using this four-sided didache. When a child has been fully trained and is spiritually ready to stand on his own, He will possess:

1. A spiritually self-sustaining relationship with God
2. A comprehensive theological truth-base that filters everything he encounters and considers
3. A Word-based moral compass that is actively guiding his actions
4. A will that is genuinely surrendered to God

A navy content block targets a child’s spirit and seeks to develop his relationship with God. Green blocks aim for the mind and build a comprehensive truth base in a son or daughter’s mind. The conscience is addressed by content bars in medium blue which establish and calibrate a working  moral compass. Light green colored content bars tackle issues of the will.

You will notice that once the first few blocks of training have been started, parents will be working with a child on three to four fronts at the same time. As they do, and as God blesses their efforts, they will raise up children who know God, know the truth, know what is right, and are making choices accordingly.

The Benefit of Thinking Like an Atheist

Written by someone who simply styles himself “the preacher” (Ecclesiastes 12:8), Ecclesiastes presents numerous clues suggesting Solomon as its author. Liberal scholars stumble over this suggestion, because the language of Ecclesiastes doesn’t sound like other samples of Hebrew from Solomon’s time. However, its unusual language could quite simply arise from the uniqueness of the book itself – it covers ground untrodden anywhere else in the Bible. I regard Ecclesiastes as a remarkable and singular work written by King Solomon, the son of David.

The central phrase, “under the sun,” appears 29 times in Ecclesiastes and is shorthand for “life with God factored out of the equation.” The book proposes that the reader think like an atheist and evaluate the meaning and purpose of life accordingly. The pursuit of wealth, prestige, and pleasure are meaningless; seeking wisdom and righteousness are pointless endeavors; indeed, life itself is vain, if there is nothing more to life than what we see. Sounds pessimistic and feels depressing – which is precisely the preacher’s goal!

Solomon does not make these observations to advocate for atheism or skepticism. Indeed, his bottom line is decidedly “pro-God: “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). Solomon proposes something most conservative Christians would consider shocking: Immerse yourself in the thinking of the atheist in order to deepen your appreciation for what it means to live for God.

So, who is the audience to which the preacher targets this appeal? Certainly, anyone could benefit from the preacher’s final analysis in the last chapter. But a particular group is expressly identified. Here is the preacher’s conclusion accompanied by the verses that bookend it: “But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body. The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:12–14). The word translated, “son,” is used numerous times to refer to one’s male offspring. When in the plural, it is often translated “children.” (Genesis 3:16 is the first of hundreds of examples.) Clearly, the preacher conceived of his message as a father’s dialogue with his son or, by extension, his children. This same audience is also identified in Ecclesiastes 11:9-10; 12:1.

In which case, we have now identified a third book of the Bible that is of particular importance to parents as a child-training resource. Think of Ecclesiastes as an advanced course for those who have learned how to use the moral compass of the Law and to walk in the ways of wisdom. Ecclesiastes bolsters these endeavors by making a persuasive and reasonable case for fearing God (the centerpiece of wisdom in Proverbs) and keeping His commandments (the focus of the Book of Law). It is an immersive apologetic experience that explores the meaning of life without God and therein gives young people reason to do two things: "Fear God and keep His commandments" (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

Think of the Law and Proverbs as home-school for younger students and Ecclesiastes as the secular university for the older ones. The Preacher escorts his son onto campus to be exposed to everything under the sun, to understand the way the world thinks, and to see the pointlessness of life when God is factored out of the equation. Ecclesiastes is not the right place for parents to begin the training of the children, but it most definitely belongs in the toolkit for critical preparation before they leave home.

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Thanks to Steven Ethridge for proposing that Ecclesiastes belongs in our catalog of Bible books for parents. Good call!

 

Killer Cars

If you read the previous post, then I’m sure you have a burning question. If you haven’t read the previous post, by all means click here and get fired up, if you must.

Here’s what I suspect some of you want to say. “Jimbo (Why do my detractors insist on calling me “Jimbo!”), it sounds like you want us to all live under the Old Testament Law. Isn’t the Law just a tutor that leads us to Christ: “Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith” (Galatians 3:24). It was given as a mirror through which we might see our brokenness compared to the holiness of God and thereby see our need for a Savior. Honestly, attempting to live by the Law is a fool’s errand. Who could actually do that, anyway? The Law is bad mojo; grace is where it’s at. So why are you trying to put a positive spin on the Law?”

This is a fair question. Galatians 3:24 does indeed indicate that the Law serves as a tutor. Although the exact nature of this tutelage is not specified, some have represented it in a decidedly negative light. I hear preachers use this verse to declare that the Law was designed to convince us we cannot save ourselves. Once we come to Christ, then the Law has fulfilled its function. As a tutor, the Law helps someone come to the cross but therafter becomes irrelevant.

I believe the Scriptures clearly teach something quite profound and strikingly different about God’s Law, namely, that those who have been saved by grace can use God’s Law to great benefit as a guide to personal transformation. This statement warrants an extended discussion in some future series of posts. For now, let me simply throw some light on what transpired when Moses gave “The Book of the Law” to Israel and commended it to parents as a vital child-training tool.

Three Key Observations About The Law

(1) The Law was not given to Israel as a means to earn redemption - Israel was first redeemed, then given the Law. Before ever receiving the Law, Israel was freed from bondage in Egypt and shown great favor. This sequence is pointedly declared by God Himself when He gave Israel the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-2ff). True enough, the Pharisees at the time of Jesus had perverted the Law from its original purpose and were attempting to use it to earn God’s favor. But when the Law was originally given, it was given as a gift to a people who had already been profoundly and miraculously blessed by God. The Law was provided to show a redeemed people how to live out their gratitude to their redeemer.

Since the invention of the automobile, over three million people have been killed in traffic deaths in the United States. So what would you think if someone said, “Karl and Bertha Benz invented the automobile to kill people?” Sounds a little harsh to me! They invented the automobile (called a Benz Patent-Motorwagen) to make it easier to go from point “a” to point “b.” Bertha, along with her sons Eugen and Richard, took Patent-Motorwagen #3 on the first road trip in 1888 to prove precisely that point. It is true that Motorwagens, horseless carriages, automobiles, and cars have been killing people ever since. But that is a result of the misuse of their invention and does not represent its intended purpose.

Similarly, we should not confuse the purpose of the Law with what results from its misuse. It was given to Israel to help them flourish in the Promised Land. Sadly, when misused by the Pharisees, the Law did not make life better but worse. It fueled pride and self-righteousness and produced judgment and condemnation. But that was not the Law’s intended purpose. Those who claim that the Law was given to Israel just to produce condemnation sound as reasonable as those who would declare that the automobile was invented to kill.

(2) The Law translates the holiness of God into objective standards of right and wrong pertinent to the life of an Israelite at the time of Moses. The Law shows Israel how to be holy in specific ways that mirror the holiness of God. This characteristic of the Law is clearly declared by God Himself. In a representative passage, Moses introduces a discussion of several of the Ten Commandments by first quoting God: “Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy’” (Leviticus 19:2). Moses then declares God’s follow-up commands: “‘Every one of you shall reverence his mother and his father, and you shall keep My sabbaths; I am the Lord your God. Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods; I am the Lord your God’” (Leviticus 19:3–4). The holiness of Israel’s God is the center point of the Law. Anyone who is indifferent to the Law thereby demonstrates indifference toward God’s holiness. Anyone who loves God’s holiness will love His Law.

The Law is a marvel of holiness. It translates something abstract and wholly foreign to us into something imminently practical. Holiness, through the Law, becomes something to which men can relate. It specifies actions and attitudes that align with holiness. For someone with a desire to emulate God, this is a profound gift.     

Christians sing many songs about God’s holiness. But I cannot think of any that praise God’s commandments or God’s Law. Shouldn’t a love of God’s holiness draw us to praise the commandments that translate holiness into terms we can understand? The Psalmist thought so! One of the greatest praise choruses of all time, Psalm 119, exudes praise for God’s Law: “O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day” (Psalm 119:97). He can’t stop thinking about it. And he wants God’s help to understand it and live it: “Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law And keep it with all my heart. Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, For I delight in it” (Psalm 119:34–35). Having a practical field reference for holiness, a “spotter’s guide” that assists us to discern where holiness dwells, this is a true treasure. Someone who has been saved by God’s grace should have the greatest appreciation for such a treasure, and the highest of motivation to use it as an aid to holy living. This characteristic of the Law actually heightens its value for someone who has come to Christ. It shows him how to live in a way that positively reflects the character of his God and Savior!

(3) The Law was practicable when used according to its purpose. God gave the Law to Israel expecting them to use it as a guide for living. True enough, God was not oblivious to Israel’s spiritual dullness during their season in the wilderness (Deuteronomy 29:4). Neither was He oblivious to both individual and national failures to obey the Law that would play out in Israel’s future. But the Law was not an impossible assignment: “For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach” (Deuteronomy 30:11). The parents of John the Baptist effectively used the Law as a guide for how to live: “They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord” (Luke 1:6).

This should not be construed to mean that they were sinless (impossible!) or used works of the Law to earn salvation (also impossible!). Righteousness is reckoned to all men by believing God, Zacharias and Elizabeth included. It is precisely this righteousness in the sight of God through faith that enabled them to live lives that conformed to the commandments and requirements of the Lord.

When God gave Israel the Law, He provided something profoundly relevant to those who had received God’s favor, a practical portrait of His holiness, and the assurance that they could indeed live lives that demonstrated this holiness. This doesn’t sound like something irrelevant to a believer today. It sounds to me like something for which I would have an avid interest.

God gives good gifts. The Law is one of those gifts. By their use of this gift, God’s people will receive great aid in their efforts to become like Christ. I want all the help I can get.

“As obedient children, . . . like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior” (1 Peter 1:14–15).

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Want some practical suggestions about how to use the Ten Commandments as an aid to spiritual transformation in your home. Here's a great article from Mrs. Beaver! Check it out!

 

 

These Words Are Big Stuff

 

Where would you go in the Bible to find a complete curriculum for the training of children? Most parents would cite this passage: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up” (Deuteronomy 6:4-7). What a most excellent choice of verses for parents!

So what are “these words” to which Moses refers in verse six? It would be easy to simply look back to verses four and five for the answer. Doing so yields three “words”: (1) “The Lord is our God.” (2) “The Lord is one.” And, (3) “You shall love the Lord your God . . . .” According to this identification, these three declarations constitute the specific subject matter for the child-training process outlined in verse seven. Accordingly, parents would make “the three truths” the topic of conversation with their children 24/7.

It is my studied opinion that while these three “words” (in Deuteronomy 6:4-5) are essential child-training curriculum, they are but a part of a much larger whole. Moses had something far more expansive in mind when he referred to “these words.” Let’s pull back for the big picture.

Moses delivered four messages east of Jordan.


The Book of Deuteronomy is largely a series of four sermon manuscripts. (Click here for a full sized downloadable copy of the chart.)  According to Deuteronomy 1:1-2, the book records what Moses said to Israel in the Jordan rift (“the Arabah”), in the last month of their wilderness wanderings. Once the final sermon concludes, the last four chapters of Deuteronomy chronicle events in the closing days of Moses’ ministry before God brought him home.

In the first sermon (Deuteronomy 1:5-4:43), Moses begins by giving a narrative account of the 40 years of grace culminating in Israel’s arrival at the eastern border of the Promised Land. Then, Moses zeroes in on Israel’s immediate need: “Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I am teaching you to perform, so that you may live and go in and take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you” (Deuteronomy 4:1). Israel is about to cross the Jordan under the guidance of a new leader. They need critical instruction about how to prevail in the “new normal” awaiting them on the other side. God, through Moses, is calling His people to live by the Law. This will prove critical to their future in the land.

The central theme in all four messages concerns loving God by keeping His commandments.  

The objective in the three sermons that follow the first are all the same. Sermon two begins: “Then Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: ‘Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I am speaking today in your hearing, that you may learn them and observe them carefully’” (Deuteronomy 5:1). Sermon three is similar: “Then Moses and the elders of Israel charged the people, saying, 'Keep all the commandments which I command you today'” (Deuteronomy 27:1).

Sermon four begins: “These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the sons of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant which He had made with them at Horeb” (Deuteronomy 29:1). This fourth message includes a powerful altar call, a closing appeal for Israel to enter into a covenant with God. Here are two key excerpts: “For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach” (Deuteronomy 30:11). “See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it” (Deuteronomy 30:15–16).

In all four messages, God, through Moses, is calling Israel to love Him alone, to express that love by keeping His commandments, and to thereby enjoy His blessing. Did you notice the common terms defining how Israel’s actions should be aligned, i.e., according to God’s “statutes,” “judgments,” “ordinances,” “commandments,” “covenant,” and “ways?” The majority of the sermon content in Deuteronomy lists and explains these statutes and commandments. Moses charges Israel to understand, to remember, and then to do all that God expects of them as they enter the land. This concern is the center around which all else in Deuteronomy orbits.

“These words” refers to this central message of Deuteronomy.

In Deuteronomy 6:6, what are “these words” which Moses calls parents to teach their children? Moses’ focus for all four sermons in Deuteronomy is key to answering this question. “These words” are the commandment, the statutes, and the judgments of the Law of Moses. For convenience, we will simply refer to these words as “The Book of the Law,” the same title used by Moses in Deuteronomy (29:21; 30:10; 31:26) and used by God Himself when He instructed Joshua, “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success” (Joshua 1:8).

At the center of The Book of the Law is a single commandment: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). From this single command flow another Ten Commandments as outlined in Deuteronomy 5:6-21. And from these ten flow a host of statutes and judgments that are suited to specific circumstances and that clarify the implications of the Ten Commandments.

Someone might object, “Well, if this is what Moses intended in Deuteronomy 6:6, why didn’t he just say so?” He did! We need simply read our often quoted passage in context: “Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the judgments which the Lord your God has commanded me to teach you, that you might do them in the land where you are going over to possess it, so that you and your son and your grandson might fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. O Israel, you should listen and be careful to do it, that it may be well with you and that you may multiply greatly, just as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey. Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 6:1–9).

Did you notice the reference to “the commandment, the statutes, and the judgments” in verse one? Did you notice the phrase, “all His statutes and His commandments,” in verse two. These phrases specify what Moses calls “these words” a few verses later. If you isolate Deuteronomy 6:4-9 from its context you will miss this clear connection. But once you read verses 1-9 together, the connection is obvious. Notice, too, that “your son and your grandson” are explicitly identified (in verse two) as part of the target audience for “the commandment, the statutes, and the judgments.” The Book of the Law is a powerful parenting tool.

One additional piece of evidence demonstrates that Moses had something big in mind when he instructed parents to teach their children “these words.” Although we know the second book of the Old Testament by the title, “Deuteronomy,” it is commonly known by it’s original title, “elleh haddebarim,” in the Hebrew Bible. This title is drawn from the first two words of the book and can be translated, “These are the words.” If someone were to direct – “Teach your children elleh haddebarim!” – he would be calling parents to teach their children “these words” of Moses as found in Deuteronomy. Not surprisingly, these are the precise two terms (eleh + dabar) found in Deuteronomy 6:6: “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children . . .” (ESV). Everything Moses taught to the children of Israel, he instructs parents to diligently teach to their children.

Deuteronomy 6 calls parents to train their children in how to use the ultimate moral compass.

Moses desires Israel to learn from and live by the Book of the Law. Their efforts to transmit this legacy across generations will prove critical to their success in the new land. Hence, Moses calls parents to impart to their children a love for God alone and a desire to express that love by keeping His commandments. He calls parents to pursue this calling as a full-time job, to teach these things during times of both repose and labor, from the moment they first awake ‘til they fall asleep at the end of the day. The Book of the Law is everyman’s curriculum for the training of children 24/7.

In Psalm 78, Asaph recounts a sad and sober tale of Israel’s failure. One charge against God’s people lies in their refusal to use the Law according to its child-training purpose: “For He established a testimony in Jacob And appointed a law in Israel, Which He commanded our fathers That they should teach them to their children, That the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, That they may arise and tell them to their children, That they should put their confidence in God And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments” (Psalm 78:5–7). Herein lies the signal failure of fathers to teach their children the Book of the Law and to train them in how to live accordingly.

The Book of the Law, by which I mean the one commandment, plus the Ten Commandments that flesh out the one, plus the many statutes and judgments that help us measure the scale and scope of the ten, were given to Israel as a child training curriculum.

On balance, the law was not given solely for the purpose of training children. For example, here is a passage from Deuteronomy which underscores the Law’s purpose as an evangelistic tool: “So keep and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people’” (Deuteronomy 4:6). God intended Israel to order her society according to His Law and thereby provoke positive interest among her neighbors. But, we should not allow our understanding of these other uses for the Law to diminish our appreciation of the Law as a tool for the training of children.

Based on comments in this and a previous post, we can affirm that both The Book of the Law and The Book of Proverbs were written for parents. Proverbs was written expressly as curriculum that teaches children how to walk wisely. The Book of the Law was not written solely for parents. But it provides curriculum that trains children in ways to express love for God by obeying His commandments. Any effort to understand what God says parents should do will draw extensively from Proverbs and The Book of the Law. Any “parenting guide” that doesn’t is incomplete.

How Wise Guys Wise Up

Awhile back, I asked one of our now grown sons what was one of the most spiritually profitable things we did together as a family. Without hesitation, he said, “The Proverbs Studies.” Here is what he is referring to: During our kids' teen years, we would have a family devotional time after dinner. Each night, I would read six verses from the book of Proverbs. We would start at Proverbs chapter ten and work our way to the end of the book 6 verses at a time. This required about 110 discussions together as a family which probably spanned 6-9 months time (because we weren’t all home for dinner every night).

The way it would work is that I would study the appointed verses ahead of time. After dinner, I would announce the name of a child before reading the first verse. After the reading, I would ask the designated child to explain his verse. Then an open discussion would follow. When it seemed like we had a good understanding of the verse in question, I would announce another child’s name, read the second verse, allow her to explain it, and then moderate a discussion. We did this for all six verses for the night.

We went through Proverbs using this method twice – Once in the early/pre teen years, then again in the later teens. Rochelle and I worked at affirming good insights and asking questions when someone’s explanation needed some refining. We strove to keep it positive and encouraging. We also sought to connect the discussion to our circumstances and current events. Our goal was for our children to enjoy talking about biblical wisdom and how it related to their lives. Some nights, the discussion was less than lively, but there were moments when truth was hitting home. Those were fun times!

A key book I relied on for my preparation was Derek Kidner's Commentary on Proverbs from the Tyndale OT series. His volume has a great introduction to Proverbs, a series of articles that summarize what Proverbs says on some key topics, and a verse-by-verse analysis of the text. Kidner’s explanations of each verse are succinct, so pay careful attention. Highly recommended!

We employed other wisdom projects, but this one seems to have had considerable impact. I am grateful for God’s use of these times to help transform some wise guys into two men and a woman of wisdom.

Local Honey for the Soul

“My son, eat honey, for it is good, Yes, the honey from the comb is sweet to your taste; Know that wisdom is thus for your soul; If you find it, then there will be a future, And your hope will not be cut off” (Proverbs 24:13–14).

I like honey toast. Solomon is obviously a big fan of honey, too! And when contemplating the effect of wisdom on a young man’s soul, this wise king imagines something like eating a freshly buttered piece of warm honey toast. Notice, however, that the benefit of wisdom is far more than just a pleasing taste; internalized wisdom affects one’s legacy and prospective quality of life. This soul-honey positively alters one’s future! Where can we get some?

Would it surprise you to know that the Bible actually contains a complete curriculum for imparting this wisdom to the hearts of our children? If you have a Bible in your possession, it includes two specific volumes that provide all the essentials. Think of these two volumes as your indispensable source of local honey for the soul.

Few even know about these two parenting resources. Want to check yourself? Answer this question: What two books in the Bible were expressly written as complete parents’ guides for the training of their children? I have given you enough clues in previous posts so that any self-respecting member of the light-work brigade should be able to name at least one book. (Spoiler alert: I am going to reveal the identity of one of these books before the end of this post. Don’t keep reading if you want to figure it out for yourself first.)

These two Bible books for parents inform our master chart, Crucial Steps to Proverbs 22:6. If someone wants to know where I “came up with” this chart, my answer is “largely from the two volumes of the Bible that were expressly written as parents’ guides.” Certainly many passages outside these two volumes constitute valuable supplementary material. But the key to the chart comes from these two parenting books. Most L-W readers would correctly identify one of these sources as “The Book of Proverbs.” If you did, congratulations!  

The prophet Jeremiah once recounted a common saying in Israel: “The law is not going to be lost to the priest, nor counsel to the sage, nor the divine word to the prophet!” (Jeremiah 18:18). Of the three different modes of divine revelation he cites, Proverbs (along with other wisdom books) fits with this second group and concerns the development of skill in godly living. In the preface to the Book of Proverbs, this purpose is clearly stated: “The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of understanding, To receive instruction in wise behavior, Righteousness, justice and equity; To give prudence to the naive, To the youth knowledge and discretion, A wise man will hear and increase in learning, And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel, To understand a proverb and a figure, The words of the wise and their riddles” (Proverbs 1:1–6).

The majority of this introduction cites the many benefits of the Proverbs of Solomon. But note the two target groups that are specifically identified. In verse four, “the naive” and “the youth” are parallel terms: The “naive” person who lacks good judgment is synonymous with “the youth.” (See Proverbs 7:7 for this same pairing.) This couplet speaks to the wisdom novices. In verse five, “a wise man” is another name for “a man of understanding” – these are synonymous expressions for men on the opposite end of the spectrum from the novices. Taken together, these two pairs declare that Proverbs is intended to benefit the young simpleton for all of his days, even if he someday becomes a true sage. In other words, Proverbs invites the young and naive to enter its school of wisdom as a life commitment.

Proverbs 1:1-6 provides a glimpse of what “Wisdom U” can accomplish in the lives of the young and naive. It promises that even advanced students will not lack for continued benefit at this school. As the young student enters, he is greeted by the school motto, the first principle of wisdom, inscribed over the entrance: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7).

Having made his way inside, the young man is introduced to the faculty: “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction And do not forsake your mother’s teaching” (Proverbs 1:8). What follows are the wisdom teachings of parents to their son. For the father teaching his first lessons in Proverbs 101, things have come full circle. He was once the student himself: “Hear, O sons, the instruction of a father, And give attention that you may gain understanding, For I give you sound teaching; Do not abandon my instruction. When I was a son to my father, Tender and the only son in the sight of my mother, Then he taught me and said to me, 'Let your heart hold fast my words; Keep my commandments and live'” (Proverbs 4:1–4).

Proverbs is key to passing along a wisdom legacy from parents to sons (and, by implication, to daughters). Fifteen times in Proverbs, a son (or sons) is called to listen to his father. Here is a representative example: “My son, keep my words And treasure my commandments within you” (Proverbs 7:1). In this book, we hear a father repeatedly calling his son to heed the voice of wisdom, to apply principles of wisdom to special situations, and to learn from observing examples of wise and foolish sons. In Proverbs 31, daughters are introduced to a woman of wisdom worthy of their aspirations. The most reasonable explanation for the striking presence of these verses is that Proverbs is written as the words of a father training his children in the ways of wisdom. (Click Here if you would like to download a categorized list of all the relevant verses.)

At its heart, Proverbs is one of two books of the Bible written expressly for parents training their children to become skilled in godly living. Many others can be helped by Proverbs, and Proverbs has much to say about them. The man who is too loud in the morning; the fool who torches others with his words and demurs, “just kidding;” the man who pursues vain things – these and dozens more can learn much as they see themselves through the lens of wisdom. But Proverbs was not written for them but for the naive young man, and the parents who would train him in the ways of wisdom.

This is the book that explains and illustrates how to “train up a child in the way he should go” (Proverbs 22:6). It is the book where a father enjoins, “My son, eat honey, for it is good, Yes, the honey from the comb is sweet to your taste; Know that wisdom is thus for your soul; If you find it, then there will be a future, And your hope will not be cut off” (Proverbs 24:13–14).

Honey toast, anyone?

Much Ado about What Kids Do

Parenting young children is like opening a present. When they do something funny, or creative, or unexpected, the event pulls back some of the wrapping paper. We catch glimpses of what’s really inside. Now that my children are grown, it is especially fun to recall those moments. I marvel at how their actions, even then, gave us clues to their character. (Rochelle and I fell out laughing this morning when we looked at this picture - it provides almost a dozen sneak previews of who our children are today!)

Actions declare identity: What we do declares who we are. As it pertains to our children, their actions are the prime window through which to see their hearts. Proverbs affirms this principle: “It is by his deeds that a lad distinguishes himself if his conduct is pure and right” (Proverbs 20:11). This verse is instructive for what it affirms, that a genuinely remarkable young man (or young woman) is made manifest by how he conducts himself.

This verse is also instructive for what it implies: What a young man says is trumped by what he actually does. The New Testament makes this very point. In context, Paul is telling Titus about a faction damaging the churches in Crete. According to Paul, the troublemakers “profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed” (Titus 1:16). The lifestyle of the leaders of the faction proves their claim to “know God” as patently false.

So what does this have to do with our amazing chart  for home-based discipleship? In the previous post, I showed you one section from this chart and said, “The green and blue bars describe core content that parents will address from year one to the day a child leaves home as an adult.” Let’s clarify an important wisdom principle: The “core content” is far more than simple information. Yes, communication of truth will be required, but mastering the “core content” includes corresponding transformation of conduct.

Let me try to capture this in a very simple and practical way: A child has not learned a verse when he can recite that verse, or even when he can explain its meaning. He has learned the verse when his words and actions line up with the wisdom principles taught by that verse.

Don’t misunderstand! I am not disparaging memorizing and understanding verses. Far from it! Change of conduct is powerfully affected by these disciplines. But, unless a Bible verse or principle has come to life in the actions of a child, it has not yet been learned.

So when we talk about parents teaching their children the “core content” in this chart, we are talking about teaching to a point of life change. Parents are ready to proceed to the next content block when the conduct of their children demonstrates that they have mastered the previous topic.

The pendulum has swung too far the other way when parents construe what I have just said as a plea for merely outward conformity. Attempting to press children’s behavior to comply with some external standard without regard for the state of their hearts will raise hypocrites, not Daniels. As parents, we begin at the heart level. Wisdom produces fundamental heart change that radiates outward and produces profound and observable changes in conduct. This external evidence becomes the measure of a child’s mastery of each block of core content.
 
Our job as parents is to teach to life change, but life change that is produced by changed hearts.

A Stupendous and Colorful Chart of Parental Unit Effectiveness

I was at a wedding a few weeks ago, and someone asked, “What do you like most about retirement?” I answered, “I love being able to study the Bible for as long as I want.” In the 40 ministry years prior to this season of Jubilee, the constraints of “the next thing” have regularly limited my explorations of the Book to an allotted time before giving the next sermon or teaching the next class. My pre-sermon credo was the same as the rodeo bull-rider in the chute who said, “Son, you’re never ready, it’s just your turn.”

Over the years, Rochelle and I have taught on child-training under the titles of “Musar Classes” and “T12 Seminars.” These classes have focused on biblical principles for training younger children. We have always wanted to bring the same rigor to a class for the coaching phase of child training (teen years) but the pace of ministry consistently opposed that desire.

Until now! Over the last few months, I have been able to dig into what the Bible says about training children to adulthood. It has been exciting to chase rabbits at will! As I have, an amazing picture has emerged. This bigger picture shows parents how to raise up children to become like Daniel, an early teen who prevailed against pagan indoctrination because he truly owned his faith. The foundation of the T12 material integrates seamlessly into this bigger picture.

The chart that I will be unveiling is the master summary of this material. There is much more to say and I will have to save it for the book. But this chart will give you a good start, and will probably tell you enough to get your parental wheels turning. Today, we will do an overview of the chart. In a few successive posts, I will reveal a little more from the master chart and add some explanatory notes.

The chart is titled “Crucial Steps to Proverbs 22:6.” This title is intended to work on two levels. First, it suggests that the chart is providing a sequence of steps by which to “train up a child in the way” of wisdom. But the title also announces that this sequence can lead to the outcome described in Proverbs 22:6: These crucial steps form a personal  commitment in a young adult to live by wisdom for a lifetime.


The green and blue bars describe core content that parents will address from year one to the day a child leaves home as an adult. Notice how there is a sequence to this content. Parents will begin focusing on the first area sometime around the child’s first birthday. They will continue to strengthen their child in that area for some time. But once the first core concept has been introduced and the child is making progress in living the associated wisdom principles, it’s time to introduce the second concept. Each new content area builds on what has gone before.

I have not put any age markers on the x-axis because children don’t all learn at the same pace. So don’t lock yourself into some arbitrary time table, i.e., “my 5-year-old should be on block six by now.” And don’t compare children, yours or someone else’s – this is not a competition. Your job is to discern when your child is ready and then introduce him or her to the next content block in the sequence.

The lavender shaded area describes three different forms of parental influence that can be used during the course of a child’s upbringing. Once again, a sequence is involved but a very fluid one. In the early years, parental influence takes one form. A second form of influence comes into its own in the middle years. A third influence becomes dominant as a child nears adulthood. Although the forms of these three influences differ, the goal is the same, to give a child maximum opportunity to live according to wisdom. Each influence phase aligns with some key content blocks and targets relevant wisdom challenges.

Okay, now that you have the big picture, we are ready to zoom in for a closer inspection.

 

Proclaiming Release From The Parental Prison of Merit

We are just about ready to begin the grand unveiling of the stupendous and colorful chart of parental unit effectiveness. Click here to better understand the verse in the Bible that this chart explains. Click here to see actual fruit produced by the process depicted in this chart. Did you notice I have already used the word, “chart,” four times? You have to wonder if I have a thing for charts. Maybe we should make a chart to chart my use of the word, “chart.”

It is no secret I am a fan of charts, diagrams, tables, and graphs. I am especially fond of to-do lists with little open boxes beside each task. There is nothing quite like the joy of completing a half–dozen projects and then marking them with bold red, felt-tip checkmarks. When the checks keep coming, life is good.

Of course, there is a down side. I am well known among family members for underestimating the time required to complete a project. When I say, “Yea, I can probably have that done in a couple hours,” Rochelle knows to multiply by a factor of three. And when I hit a major snag, then the time table can go totally out the window. I have often arrived at the end of such days with zero checks in my boxes. On those days and despite my considerable labors, my list suggests I did nothing. No checks, no joy.

The chart that we will begin to unveil in the next post can be a source of great encouragement. It helps parents visualize the sequence and steps involved in the child-training challenge. Like a good road map that shows where you’ve been and where you’re going, this map outlines a parent’s journey. When things are progressing nicely, there is nothing like the joy of watching your children make measurable progress as they grow in wisdom.

But I want to prepare you for another possibility. We parents can wrestle with feelings of inadequacy. It goes with the territory. We want our children to turn out right. We want to do it right. But as we grow in our walk with God and in our understanding of what a good parent should do, we inevitably look back and see ways we could have done better. When our children are grown and make foolish choices with serious consequences, we blame ourselves for their decisions. We might not express it to anyone else, but a voice inside us accuses, “You have been a failure as a parent.”

So let me alert you to a looming vulnerability: The chart about to be unveiled can become an instrument of self-recrimination. It can be used (misused, really) to quantify our sense of failure. This parents’ roadmap objectifies how to be faithful, but parental faithfulness is not the sole, or even the most important, variable affecting how our children turn out. In moments when we are disappointed by our children’s actions and tempted to labor under the sense of parental inadequacy, it is time to meditate on a powerful principle: God’s grace overcomes my limitations and failures.

Paul asked God to remove a hindrance to greater effectiveness in ministry. God replied with a “no” and an explanation that changed Paul’s outlook: “And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9–10). The power of grace to do good is greater than the limitations imposed by personal weaknesses, criticism, challenging circumstances, and even personal attacks. In fact, these hindrances actually provoke grace into a more active state. Paul is okay with his inadequacy since it actually draws out a greater work of grace which results in a more powerful ministry.

You might look at the list in the passage above and raise an objection: “Sure, grace can cover limitations. But what about when I am clearly at fault, when I have truly blown it with my kids? This verse says grace overcomes a lot of stuff but it says nothing about offsetting my failings as a parent!”

Fair enough - so let’s look at a passage where the interaction between grace and sin is specifically addressed: “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 5:20–21). J. A. Witmer comments, “No matter how great human sin becomes, God’s grace overflows beyond it and abundantly exceeds it” (The Bible Knowledge Commentary, ad. loc.). Even as it pertains to our sins and failings as parents, God’s grace can produce results that transcend “what we deserve.” God’s grace does not guaranty that kids will turn out fine despite the failings of parents. But grace makes it possible for kids to turn out well in spite of the failings of their parents.

There are two ways to live, the grace plan and the merit plan. According to the merit plan, you receive your wages, exactly what you deserve. According to the grace plan, you receive gifts, blessings you don’t deserve. Everyone alive reaps what they sow, but the outcomes are profoundly different based on whether they sow to merit or sow to grace.

When parents sow to grace, they seek to be faithful to what God asks of them as parents. But they do so under no delusion that their faithfulness is the key to how their children will turn out. God’s grace is that key. So they trust in grace. They come boldly to the throne of grace and plead in Jesus’ name for sustaining graces of wisdom, strength, and guidance. They ask the Spirit of grace to give them breakthroughs and produce conviction in the hearts of their children. Although they seek to walk in obedience to God’s principles, they trust in God’s grace, not the merits of their actions, to make the difference.

Do not allow the chart to fall into the employ of the merit plan. Yes, allow it to show you how to be faithful as a parent. But be faithful in the knowledge that God’s grace is what will ultimately make the difference in your children.

In moments when you are discouraged as a parent, express your trust in God’s grace in words like these: “God, You are not limited by my shortcomings as a parent to accomplish Your good purposes for my son or daughter. You are not wringing Your hands in heaven, saying, ‘Whatever will I do now, given how much Jim (substitute your name) has blown it?’ I am choosing to believe that, by Your grace, You will take whatever scraps of faithfulness I have presented to You in my role as a parent, and make them part of a plan that shouts of Your goodness. You will give my children every opportunity to become Your choice servants. I confess my abiding faith that Your grace is greater than my failures as a parent. In the name of Jesus, Amen!”

Is Proverbs 22:6 Just Pie in the Sky?

I tried, I really did, to break this story into two or three smaller installments. But I just couldn’t without detracting from the telling. So, get a fresh cup of coffee, sit back, and let me tell you the untold story of the most amazing parents we never knew. Ready? Let’s begin . . .

Taken

There was no way to put a good face on this. One minute he was a favored son from a prominent family, a young man with bright prospects. The next moment he was a prisoner captured by an invading army. Forcibly separated from family and transported over 500 miles from his homeland, he was scheduled to be “de-programmed” at an institution where every connection to his former life would be stripped away.

The majority of people from his homeland had defied God for years, and their recent defeat against the invaders (now his captors) was the beginning of God’s judgment of them. A good boy being jerked around for others’ mistakes, no one would have blamed him if he wondered, “Why weren’t they taken captive? Why me, God?”

The young man was marshaled to the formidable capital city, Babylon, through one of nine gates named after local deities: Ishtar, Marduk (also known as Bel), Sin, Enlil, Urash, Shamash, Adad, Zababa, and Lugalgirra. The point could not have been more obvious to all who entered Babylon – This city was the center of idolatry, paganism, and the worship of all things fashioned by the hands of men. The training center in which the young man was forcibly enrolled for “re-education” was steeped in philosophies hostile to his faith.

It didn’t take long for it to get personal. The young man, whose given name of Daniel meant “God is my judge,” was renamed “Belteshazzar,” which is derived from the name of a local god (Daniel 4:8), perhaps Bel or his consort, Belet. “Belte” + “shazzar” means something like, “Belet, protect the king.” So every time Daniel was called by someone using his newly assigned name, Belteshazzar, the one who summoned him was invoking a false god for the king’s protection. How humiliating for Daniel who feared the one true God to have his name turned into a prayer to an idol.

So here was a second reason for young Daniel to struggle. Before being captured, he enjoyed all the spiritual benefits of being raised as a follower of the one true God. Now he was thrust into the center of a world that opposed Yahweh and enrolled at an institution bent on crushing his faith. For one who affirmed God’s control over all things, it would be easy to wonder, “Why has God consigned me to forces compelling me to forget Him? How does this make any sense?”

These are the provocative circumstances in which we are first introduced to this remarkable young man named Daniel. He does not question God’s fairness, sovereignty, or wisdom, even though his circumstances might sponsor such doubts. Instead, we see a young man whose bold trust in God rises above his circumstances, indeed whose faith rouses him to challenge a core tenet of the very institution charged with his “re-education.” Probably in his teens at the time, Daniel proved himself a spiritual force to be reckoned with in Babylon.

Daniel’s Dilemma

The King of Babylon was interested in grooming future diplomats and ordered Ashpenaz, his chief of staff, to screen the group of captives of which Daniel was a part. Daniel (as well as three friends) was among those who excelled and was enrolled in the king’s college. Hardly had he begun his training before drawing a line in the sand, but not in a place we might expect. He did not protest being named after a god who was no god. He did not refuse to master the language and literature of the Chaldeans, literature that was riddled with praise for the pantheon of Babylonian gods. His allegiance to God was not threatened by these impositions.

But in a matter that would seem benign, Daniel dug in his heels. The biblical account reads: “But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself” (Daniel 1:8). Popular explanations for Daniel’s conviction propose that the “king’s choice food” did not conform to dietary requirements of the Mosaic Law or that this food had been sacrificed and offered to pagan gods. These seem reasonable explanations but cannot be regarded as anything more than plausible speculations since the text makes no mention of them to explain Daniel’s response.

There is another possibility with a stronger biblical basis. In order to understand why eating “the king’s choice food” was a problem for Daniel, we should look at other passages where “choice food” is found. Outside of Daniel 1, this term is only found in one other place in the entire Bible, namely, in Daniel 11:26.

Let’s get a little background on Daniel 11 before looking at “choice food” in verse 26. Daniel 11 is a remarkable, extended prophecy which precisely predicts events that will occur in the Middle East in the centuries to follow the time of Daniel. This prophecy traces events in Medo-Persia, the rise of Alexander the Great, and the division of his empire into four kingdoms. Then it predicts the conflicts between two of these kingdoms, named the North (the Seleucids) and the South (the Ptolemies), in the years after Alexander the Great. They are called the North and South, respectively, because of their relation to Israel.

Daniel 11:26 foretells exactly what will happen to a particular king from the South who will be betrayed by members of his inner circle. This prophesy was fulfilled when Ptolemy VI was fooled by two of his counselors, Eulaeus and Lenaeus, who purposely gave him bad advice. Despite having a superior military force, the false counsel of Eulaeus and Lenaeus led to Ptolemy’s sound defeat by a king from the north in 170 BC.

Here is Daniel’s prophecy concerning these events: “Those who eat his choice food will destroy him, and his army will overflow, but many will fall down slain” (Daniel 11:26). Eulaeus and Lenaeus are described as “those who eat his choice food,” which is an idiom used by Daniel to denote the inner circle of the king, individuals who should be devoted to the King. Ptolemy met disaster because Eulaeus and Lenaeus subverted him even though they should have been loyal to him as befits those who eat his choice food.

Based on how the phrase is used in Daniel 11:26, refusing “to eat the choice food” of the king (in Daniel 1:7) constitutes a refusal to pledge unstinting loyalty to Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel, along with his three friends, discerned that their allegiance to God would be compromised by eating food from Nebuchadnezzar’s table. They were willing to attend the king’s college, serve in the king’s court, and cooperate with the king’s staff. But Daniel and his three friends would not eat the king's choice food and therein broadcast a denial of their loyalty to God alone.

If this smacks of treason, you will find the response of Daniel’s headmaster perfectly understandable: “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has appointed your food and your drink; for why should he see your faces looking more haggard than the youths who are your own age? Then you would make me forfeit my head to the king” (Daniel 1:10). The man was not closed to hearing Daniel’s objections, but was more than aware of the implications. If Daniel’s refusal was discovered, his own life was at risk. Make no mistake, Daniel’s objections to “eating the king’s choice food” could make heads roll!

When Daniel “resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food,” he was most definitely NOT messing around. You know how the story proceeds. Daniel suggested a creative alternative that was granted a trial run. The plan was a stunning success and the crisis averted.

More Loyalty Tests

Events to follow kept the question –  “Whom do you serve?” – on the front burner. In chapter two, Daniel and his three friends are sentenced to die, along with all the members of Nebuchadnezzar’s brain trust. But Daniel and company get before God in prayer Who gives them what they need and what eventually leads Nebuchadnezzar to declare: “Surely your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, since you have been able to reveal this mystery” (Daniel 2:47).

In chapter three, Nebuchadnezzar grills Daniel’s three friends over the question, “Whom do you serve?” Their reply takes my breath away for its audacious boldness: “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up” (Daniel 3:17–18). Once again, you know how the story ends. Don’t let that knowledge diminish your appreciation for this profound moment and their poignant declaration. They did not know how things would turn out even as they made their bold declaration. Daniel’s three friends, kindred spirits in the “God alone” club, stare at the mega pizza oven that will claim them and unflinchingly declare, “We trust God alone. We will trust Him to the death. Any questions?”

Living Examples of Proverbs 22:6

Who are these guys! And how is it possible for men so young and so deprived of the spiritual support structure of home and country to display such incredible strength of commitment to God? From their first days as foreign students enrolled at the king’s college to the earliest days of service in the king’s court, they show themselves not as king’s men, but God’s men who serve God in the court of the king. (Remember the hat trick post!)

I believe that Daniel (as well as any one of his three friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah) is a poster child for Proverbs 22:6. The spiritual conviction and boldness of the four friends most naturally displays the fruit of efforts informed by this verse: “Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). The most reasonable explanation for the faith of Daniel is that he was trained in the way of wisdom prior to being taken to Babylon. I realize that the ultimate explanation was that God had His hand on this young man. But I also think there is clear evidence in the book of Daniel of a "Proverbs 22:6-driven process" through which God worked to raise up a Daniel.

Evidence That Daniel was Trained

We know virtually nothing about Daniel’s parents. But we do know two things: (1) They gave their son a name that probably means, “My judge is God.” Every time someone called Daniel, they declared great theology, that God is the only one to whom Daniel was ultimately accountable and that God’s is the only opinion that matters.

(2) The second piece of background on Daniel’s years in Jerusalem is embedded in the description of Daniel’s entrance exam for the king’s college. Ashpenaz was on the lookout for men who met specific criteria, including “skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning” (Daniel 1:4, ESV). Note the three core qualities, wisdom, knowledge and learning. Don’t miss this: When Ashpenaz declared that Daniel already possessed the requisite wisdom, knowledge, and learning to be enrolled in the king’s college, he was telling us that Daniel received wisdom training before coming to Babylon. Daniel was fully trained during his formative years among family.

The Curriculum for Daniel’s Training

In the preface to the Book of Proverbs, the author explains the book’s purpose: “The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of understanding, To receive instruction in wise behavior, Righteousness, justice and equity; To give prudence to the naive, To the youth knowledge and discretion” (Proverbs 1:1–4). Proverbs is the young man’s course (It works equally well for young women, by the way!) for walking in the way of wisdom. Did you notice the highlighted terms? Wisdom and knowledge are the same words in both the preface to Proverbs and Ashpenaz’s list of search criteria.

It seems more than coincidence that the Book of Proverbs represents curriculum for the development of the precise characteristics that Daniel effectively demonstrated in his interview. Ashpenaz was looking for the very thing that training in the way of wisdom produces. He was looking for young men who have been on the receiving end of a Proverbs 22:6 ministry!

Identity of Daniel’s Trainers

The most reasonable explanation for what Ashpenaz saw is that someone made a Proverbs 22:6 investment in young Daniel. And the most reasonable identification of who made that investment would be the same parents who named him “My judge is God.” I suspect that some of the most amazing parents we have never known are the fathers and mothers of Daniel and his three friends. I must allow for the possibility that others trained Daniel besides his parents. But whether directly, or indirectly, Daniel was “trained up in the way he should go” and his parents cannot have been anything other than supportive of the process.

Living Proof of Proverbs 22:6

Although we cannot say with certainty who did the actual work, it is obvious from the evaluation of Ashpenaz that someone trained up Daniel in the way he should go before he was taken to Babylon. Remember the second half of Proverbs 22:6? “And when he is old he will not depart from it.” Daniel was forcibly taken from the support structure of home and country. Despite the absence of these spiritual benefits, he never departed from the way of wisdom all his days. Proverbs 22:6 tells us that if parents will impart to their children a personal devotion to God’s way before they become adults, they give their children maximum opportunity to stay faithful to God for all of their days.

The story of Daniel and his friends shows us that Proverbs 22:6 is not just some pie-in-the-sky idealism disconnected from the real world of parental challenges. Proverbs 22:6 is about something that actually works. It is doable, it bears fruit, it can set our children up for spiritual success even when the odds are against them. It can lay a foundation for wisdom living for a lifetime. Daniel is the proof!

So, what does this story have to do with “An Amazing and Colorful Chart That Affects Everything Parents Do!” I believe this chart can help us unpack what is involved in “training up a child” the way Daniel was trained.  I believe it shows us what parents can do to raise up Daniels (and Danielles) who have a bold, audacious faith, a faith that they make their own. Daniel shows us it can be done. Now, we need to better understand how it can be done.

Free the Children to Live by Wisdsom

I have a thing for charts and graphs and I want to show you a doozy. You cannot buy it in stores; it is not “as seen on TV.” This amazing chart is available for FREE, and if you are the parent of children between the ages of 1-18, it could forever change your life! Where can you get your chart? Only HERE at light-work! (At least until it goes viral – don’t I wish! Even then, this will remain the sole source of light-work authorized copies of this stupendous guide for parents!)

Before I give you your chart, I need you to read a few posts that will prepare you. You don’t just throw down an amazing life-changing chart like this without preparing people - they might explode! So, first, we need to crack the code of Proverbs 22:6. (See below.) Then (in the next post), we will see how Proverbs 22:6 relates to an amazing teenager. Only after you read these two articles will you be prepared to begin the great unveiling of “An Amazing and Colorful Chart That Affects Everything Parents Do!” I am so excited, I just might pop. Let’s pray this doesn’t happen before you get your chart.

Some folks like to quote Proverbs 22:6. They take comfort from what they perceive as an ironclad promise that wayward kids who were “brought up better than this” won’t stray for long. Is that really what this verse teaches?

Here’s how the verse is translated by the NASB: “Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). There are no Hebrew terms in the original for “he should go” so a minimalist translation of the first half would leave these words out. The verse has two parts, a “command” and a “result:” Command – “Train up your child according to his way.” Result – “Then he will not depart from that way.”

Let’s unpack a few key terms. “Train up” is an imperative, a command, that is most pertinent to parents. This verb and the related noun are somewhat rare and elsewhere used of physical structures that are “dedicated” in some way (Numbers 7:10; 1 Kings 8:63; Nehemiah 12:27; Daniel 3:2). Applied to child training, the verb denotes nurturing a child to a point where he becomes personally devoted to a certain course of life.

Because of the use of this word elsewhere for the ceremonial dedication of physical structures (an altar, temple, wall, or statue), we could easily assume that the verb, “train up,” is pertinent to a ceremony like an infant dedication. Wouldn’t it be great if you could get dressed up, gather some friends, and use a ceremony to dedicate your children to the Lord. Then just sit back and watch them turn out right. No muss, no fuss, just perfect kids. Dream on!

“Training up a child” involves far more than a one-time event. The word translated “child” is pertinent to an extended age band: It can be used of an infant (Exodus 2:6) but also describes a seventeen year old “young adult” (Genesis 37:2). This indicates that the target audience for the parental challenge of Proverbs 22:6 includes all those between infancy through the teen years. Parents have a responsibility to train up their children from the time they are born until they become adults.

“Way” is not specifically identified as the way of wisdom and the word can be used of diametrically different approaches to life: “For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish” (Psalm 1:6). But the notion of training a child in any way other than the way of wisdom is foreign to Proverbs. Indeed, the way of moral insolence is the default direction of every native heart (Proverbs 22:15). No training required. Walking in the way of wisdom, however, is a learned art requiring intensive training in how to oppose the natural bent of the heart away from God. This is THE way and Proverbs can use this simple shorthand expression, “the way,” to refer to the pursuit of wisdom. Here is an example. Notice how “the way” is the counterpart to wisdom in the two parallel lines of this verse: “Listen, my son, and be wise, And direct your heart in the way” (Proverbs 23:19). Wisdom equals the way. This is the “way” that every parent has every reason to internalize in his or her children.

Let’s use the meanings for these terms to develop an expanded summary for this verse: If parents will pour their energies into raising children who are devoted to the path of wisdom, these children will enjoy great advantages toward remaining steadfast later in life.

This verse (and others like Proverbs 13:24; 19:18; 22:15; 23:13–14; 29:17) affirm the existence of a window of opportunity. While this window is open, parents are able to set their kids up for life. Parents can school their children to own the pursuit of wisdom for themselves, to become dedicated to walking in the way of wisdom as a matter of personal conviction.

On balance, this is a proverb and not a promise. That is, it describes a general principle. It is possible for a child to be trained to a point of devotion to the way of wisdom and yet to depart from that path later in life. But this is an exception and not the norm. The phrase “he will not depart from it” in Proverbs 22:6 is describing the customary or normative outcome, albeit not an ironclad future certainty.

It is also possible for a child to form a dedication to the way of wisdom despite having received none of the parental advantages summarized in Proverbs 22:6. Such a child is a testament to God’s grace and my wife is one of them. Praise God for the fact that the shortcomings of parents did not diminish God’s ability to work in her heart. In God, there is hope for every child, even those whose parents have no intention or interest in teaching their children the ways of wisdom.

These exceptions to the rule notwithstanding, the proverb is clear: If, as a parent, you will pour your energies into raising children who are “sold out” to God’s way, you give them maximum opportunity to stay on that path later in life. This is precisely the point Paul made to Timothy: “You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:14–15). Paul is explaining to Timothy that he has been given an advantage for steadfastness, the benefit of both a godly mother and grandmother who trained him to a point of understanding and embracing “the sacred writings” at an early age.

Here is the bottom line application from Proverbs 22:6: Don’t squander your opportunity to give your children an advantage in their later years. Impart to them a personal devotion to God’s way before they become adults.

You might be asking, “How? How do I do this?” Patience, grasshopper. The chart is coming and it will answer all your questions. First we need to learn about a young man named “Dan.”

Prayers of Future Past

I want to tell you a crazy story. It’s crazy because it connects a picture taken in Tacoma, Washington, in 1954, to a baby dedication in a rural village in Southern India in 2011, which answers to a “chance-meeting” back in Tacoma in 2014. These three events are separated by a span of 60 years and a distance of over 7,000 miles. Yet they are connected in a way that declares something profound will happen many years from now. Intrigued?

Okay, first let’s time travel back to the town of my birth, Tacoma, Washington. In 1954, I was a pre-schooler at First Presbyterian Church where my family attended. Someone must have thought it would be good to take individual pictures of each “class,” and post them on the wall outside the nursery. I have no memory of this event, of course, but in later years I saw the photos. Each framed picture looked like a page from a high school annual with rows of little black and white portraits of me and my “classmates” with our names captioned below. As far as I know, they kept this process going for a number of years. I grew up and was married at “First Pres.” When Rochelle and I moved from Tacoma to LA in 1974, those pictures were still hanging on the wall.

Fast forward to 2011. Rochelle and I lived in Memphis, Tennessee, where I had served as a pastor for 30 years. In August, 2011, I went to India to minister in Jesus’ name to the Banjara people. The Banjara are the ancestors of the gypsies –  a vibrant, colorful, and eager people, earnest in their desire to hear from God (see picture above).

Because they are also a very spontaneous people, “going with the flow” was always in order. I was brought to a certain village to teach at a Bible conference on August 22. Several hundred people had gathered and I was introduced by my translator. Then he handed me a baby boy, perhaps a few weeks old! (In 40 years as a pastor in the States, no one has ever handed me their newborn son before the sermon!) My mind raced through my seminary training: What did the manual tell us to do when handed a “pre-sermon baby?” Thankfully, my translator informed me that the infant’s parents desired me to name their child and pray for him.

Now my mind really shifted into high gear – here’s what I was thinking: Rochelle and I took months to decide on names for our three children. They are expecting me to do this here, now, right on the spot? I don’t know any Banjari or Telegu names. Whatever name I give this boy is going to hang with him for life. Who knows, I might inadvertently name him the Banjari equivalent of “Sue.” This “boy named Sue” will probably curse me all his days!

I settled on a name about which I at least knew something and announced, “His name shall be David. David means ‘beloved.’ May he be especially loved by God for all of His days.” Then I led the people in prayer for little David. When I returned him to his parents, I pledged to consistently pray for him for the rest of my days.

Over the years, I have been faithful to my pledge and continue to pray for David Naik. My prayer card says, “Open his eyes to the knowledge that he is beloved by God. Open his heart to return that love.” I have also faithfully prayed that God would raise up a great champion for the cause of Christ among the Banjara and that David would be that champion. Although I have been back to India several times since, I have never again seen David. But I have prayed for him in faith that God sees him, is watching over him, and will answer my prayers. I am hopeful that I will someday meet David in heaven along with many Banjara who are the fruit of his service to the Lord.

Fast forward a few years to February, 2014. Although I live in Memphis, my sister (Wendy) and brother-in-law offered me the use of their summer home in Silverdale, Washington, for a writer’s retreat. I found the isolation helpful as I worked on a book on marriage. On one day, I wrote about praying for David Naik to illustrate how a couple can have impact on children other than their own. I stated, “David is not my son but I am praying for him as a son.” Recalling what happened in the village of Gurrapu, India, I thought, “I wonder if my prayers will really make a difference?”

A few days later, I attended Sunday services at “First Pres” in Tacoma with Wendy. I had last attended worship at First Pres over forty years earlier. It was fun to tour the building after the service, recognize a few faces, and see “how little had changed.” Wendy and I poked our heads into the kitchen. I introduced myself to a couple who were cleaning up from “the coffee hour” by saying, “Hi! I’m Jim Fleming.” When the woman heard my name, she said, “I prayed for you last week!” Yes, you heard her correctly! She said, “I prayed for you last week!”

I about fell out and, of course, asked her to explain. She told me that awhile back, she had been charged with cleaning up in the nursery area. She had removed the pictures of each class hanging on the walls, including my old “class of ’54!” She had toyed with the idea of simply throwing the pictures away, but hesitated, thinking something like this: “I can’t just throw these faces in the trash. These are people. I remember ‘Jim Fleming,’ too. He is probably alive somewhere, doing something. I’m going to use these pictures to pray for these people.” So, that’s how it happened that she had been praying for me a few days before I showed up 2,000 miles from my Memphis home, at a church I had last attended 40 years before, where the two of us “happened” to meet on this particular Sunday. The woman from First Pres who was praying for me probably did not know that my full name is David James Fleming. So it turns out that she, too, had been praying for a David.

I cannot prove this a miracle since such a chance encounter is statistically possible. But the odds are so impossibly small and the timing so profound, I find it far more plausible that the God of the details orchestrated such a moment. Exactly as I was wondering about the efficacy of my prayers for a child whom I will probably never see again, God connected the dots. He allowed me to learn how someone had been praying for me, even though separated by considerable time and great distance.

It was hard not to think I heard God chuckling as He whispered, “Just as I have done for you, David Fleming, so I will do for David Naik. Keep praying for him to become my Banjara champion. Years from now, if not in eternity, I will connect the dots and reveal the fruit of those prayers.”

Breakthrough!

My 29 year old son faced cancer, chemo and radiation treatment, an insurance debacle, and an uncertain future. But God supplied grace: A little over a year after first being diagnosed, God had sustained him through his treatment and recovery, released him from cancer and delivered him from a crushing financial burden. One last breakthrough remained, a job.

As Austin, Rochelle, and I waited, we trusted God that He was preparing our hearts to receive His good gift, sought to learn whatever He intended during our time in His waiting room, and prayed for breakthrough. Here is text from one of my prayer cards: “Do him good in a way that provides grist to make much of You, even to those who do not believe.” I asked God to provide Austin with a job but to do so in a way that deserved an exclamation point.

For years, Austin had done all the things one is supposed to do to find a job. His efforts yielded nothing. It was time to adopt a new strategy, to do something radical. Austin wrote a letter to the senior litigator of a firm where he most wanted to work. The letter explained why he wanted to work at the man’s firm and under his tutelage.

Two weeks later, Austin followed up by sitting in the firm’s lobby on a Thursday morning, hoping for a meeting. The man was out of the office the entire day. Austin did the same on Friday with the same result. But on Sunday afternoon, he received a phone message inviting him to an interview on Monday. That evening, a “polar vortex” – that’s what the weather folk called it –  dumped enough snow and ice on Memphis to shut down everything. Austin's appointment was cancelled. The vortex was still “vortexing” on Tuesday, so there was no meeting on that day either. On Tuesday night, the lawyer called and instructed Austin to come in for work the next day.

When he arrived for work on Wednesday morning, he was informed that he was being hired for a 30 day period, at the end of which a decision would be made. After 30 days, Austin was hired on a permanent basis.

Here is the exclamation point: Austin was hired for his dream job. The job opening was never posted. He had completed no application. He was granted no interview. He began his first day on the job never having met the man who hired him. Just like that, the door that had been sealed shut now swung wide in a way that shouted the goodness of God. Exclamation Point!

After earnestly pleading, “Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me; O Lord, be my helper,” Father gave Austin, Rochelle, and me abundant reason to join the Psalmist in declaring, “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness, that my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever” (Psalm 30:10-12)!

God's Magazine Rack

Often, we must take a number and sit in God’s waiting room. We may be desperate for Him to break through; to put things to right; to rescue us; to perform miracles; to do it NOW! Instead, it feels like He is “off in the back somewhere” and not aware of, let alone particularly interested in, our problems. So we sit alone or with a friend or family member in His waiting room, sometimes for months, even years, listening to elevator music, marking time, and wondering when God will show up.

Waiting on God can seem like a penalty, perhaps even the consequence of having disappointed Him in some way. When in His waiting room, it helps to remember that sometimes God withholds the good He intends for us, for a season, in order to prepare us to receive His gifts. It also helps to remember His promises: If even despicable men give their children good gifts, how much more will our perfect Father give perfectly valuable gifts to His children who are asking? These two acts of remembering can go a long way toward fueling hope during an extended stay in God’s waiting room. Here is another vital strategy - check out what God has in His magazine rack.

Especially in the days before iPhones, I would sign in at the doctor or dentist’s office and then seek out some reading material. I might grab a magazine to which I would never subscribe, perhaps even something I would never choose to read outside the waiting room. But given the choice between boredom and reading a magazine about fishing, food, or forestry, I regularly chose the latter. I was often amazed by things I learned that I would have never otherwise known.

God often uses our time in the waiting room to show us things that cannot otherwise be discerned. In the previous post, I recounted how God kept us in His waiting room for years. Our son diligently applied for hundreds of jobs. Not once in the span of almost four years did a prospective employer say, “We want you!” Over and over, He was rejected.

As Austin’s father, it was excruciating to witness. This rejection was so profoundly out-of-step with my own assessment of my son. On our children’s birthdays, we give them their “birthday blessing.” My words to Austin during a birthday celebrated in God’s waiting room capture whom I knew him to be:

Here are some of the things I appreciate and admire in You:

• You have a robust conscience. You are strong in your desire to do whatever you are convinced is right.
• You have sought the Lord even as you have gone through deep waters.
• You love Scripture and love to discuss how it applies to our lives.
• You are willing to do hard things when God asks.
• You have sought to honor Mom and me by supporting us in the ministry at CBC.
• You are an amazing teacher - patient, gentle, and nurturing.
• You are a gifted musician - I marvel at your ability to sprinkle jewels on a song.
• You are passionate about the Lord and truth.
• You are teachable and responsive to our counsel. You are willing to receive from others who have something to contribute.
• You are a good friend - so many have been on the receiving end of your commitment to be true to them.
• You understand what confession and forgiveness are about!
• You are a disciplined individual who makes it a priority to do what is most important each day.
• You are my true friend.

What a joy and honor to call you my son and to celebrate a year of growth and a new year to come!

The bottom line was that I knew my son to be a good man. Not a perfect man, to be sure, but a good man. Yet the consistent response from every possible employer was unequivocal rejection.

I remember crying out to God and protesting, “How much more can he take? I am so tired of my son being rejected.” I cannot explain this, but it was as if God answered, “Tell me about it!” I gasped at the thought. My experience was mirroring God’s. He was allowing me, in some small way, to experience something of what He Himself felt. To be sure, His Son was not just a good man; He was perfect. And the rejection of Jesus was not just about a job but a cross: “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed” (Mark 8:31). In that moment, I caught a glimpse of the pain of the Father.

As I looked through my experience to the Father's, I connected the dots between His pain and His love. Unlike me, God had chosen this pain. God loved me (and you!) enough to knowingly and consciously commit His Son to the supreme rejection of men. The pain I was feeling was God’s pain, but a pain He chose for Himself, in order to claim me. The anguish of soul that I would wish away God elected for Himself, in the name of love. In the quietness of God's waiting room, this breathtaking picture filled me with awe. I saw something precious and encouraging I would never have seen otherwise.

Blessed Deprivation in Eden

True, there are times when God denies us good things as a consequence of our failures. Being cast from the Garden of Eden is a preeminent example. But not every unfulfilled longing signals God’s displeasure. Quite the opposite! Sometimes God withholds the good He intends for us, for a season, in order to prepare us to receive His gifts. This deprivation is not a penalty but a blessing, a gift God bestows on those in whom He delights. It is designed to help us see what life is like without God’s good gifts, so that when those gifts are delivered, our praise soars.

This form of blessed deprivation can be clearly seen in the Garden of Eden. Shall we take a stroll? Genesis 2 provides an expanded account in narrative form of the events that were summarized in Genesis 1:26-28. In Genesis 2, God functions as a father. He brings Adam into existence, assigns him a place in life, gives him vital guidance and counsel, and then provides him with a suitable wife. The genealogy of Jesus found in Luke affirms God’s fatherly role when it references Adam:  . . . Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God (Luke 3:38). I find the process that God employs to provide a wife for his son singularly instructive.

God could have taken a very different path. He could have created the man and woman simultaneously or formed the woman from Adam’s rib mere moments after Adam’s creation. Instead, man was created first. Although everything God had created to this point was good, it was decidedly not good that Adam was alone. Then God arranged for the man to embark upon a search for a solution to his “alone” problem.

Please try to put yourself in Adam’s shoes. (Yea, yea, he wasn’t wearing shoes, much less anything else.) Adam had never laid eyes on a woman; she hadn’t been invented yet. So he is searching for something he has never seen. Maybe it was an “I’ll know it when I see it” kind of search. Was God chuckling to himself in anticipation of the moment when He would give Adam that for which his son’s heart ached? All Adam knew was that this exhaustive parade of animals had gone nowhere. Adam would have been justified in thinking, “There is nothing I can see to solve my ‘alone’ problem.”

Adam’s heart was now prepared to receive God’s gift. God tells Adam to take a nap, then creates woman, and finally wakes up Adam for the big reveal. When God presents Adam with his bride, Adam is beside himself (I couldn’t resist!) and exclaims: “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man” (Genesis 2:23, ESV). Did you catch the terms translated “at last” by many English translations? (The Hebrew is ha pa-am.) Adam takes a deep breath and says, “Finally!” Adam is relieved and overjoyed. His bride is perfect and more than worth the wait.

By God’s delay to solve man’s “alone” problem, Adam’s heart was prepared to greet God’s gift with greater joy. Does God know how to give perfect gifts when the time is just right, or what?

Sionara Moriah!

What was it like for Abraham and Isaac on the return journey from Moriah? In a previous post, I speculated about the inbound leg to Mount Moriah and the associated faith test that Abraham passed with flying colors (see Genesis 22). So what mixture of relief and high fives propelled the journey back to Beersheba?

The biblical text is somewhat terse: So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham lived at Beersheba (Gen. 22:19). Alas, there are no details. But the return destination is named - Abraham established himself at Beersheba. It was here that Abraham had taken his faith to a new level before the whole Moriah challenge. Genesis 21 recalls, Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God (Gen. 21:33). Abraham's choice of a tent site after Moriah affirmed that calling on the name of the Lord was a good idea in the first place.

And well it should be! After passing the Moriah Test, God made His intentions clear. Genesis 22:15-18 recounts, Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” What a promise! God vowed to profoundly bless Abraham because he had declared, "God matters more to me than even the life of my son."

I am grateful that God is allowing me and my son to return from Moriah. Although Austin had a large mass in his chest, and has been (and will continue) receiving treatment, his latest scan came back "completely normal." From over four inches across to nothing in two months seem miraculous to me. The Doctor has declared this a "textbook case" of how treatment should work. I consider it a textbook case of how the goodness of God works. We are grateful for treatment, but overwhelmed by God's goodness.

I have sought to emulate Abraham and hope that the God who reads hearts has seen in mine echoes of Abraham's faith. Should God find in what He sees a reason to bless me, I cannot say. But I am grateful that we are walking away from Moriah and that I am already so profoundly blessed. High fives all around!

Twenty Plus Years of Prayer In the Making

This last Saturday, I officiated at a wedding. Not an unusual occurrence, by itself, but there were some special circumstances. The groom was my son. And his bride was someone for whom I have prayed for years but only met a few months ago.

Here is an excerpt of my words from the ceremony:

Lauren, when Alex was born, Mom and I began praying for his future wife. I did not know you then, but God did. I have prayed to God consistently for over twenty years for three things, protection, growth, and a ministry perspective:

(1) God, please protect her and put as much distance as possible from whatever threatens her spiritual welfare. (2) God help her to keep growing in You, to sink her roots deep in Your Word, and to draw close to You. (3) And give her a ministry perspective, a clear and tenacious commitment to spend her life serving Your purposes, to use the gifts and abilities you have given her to advance the work of your kingdom.

It is a genuine delight to meet the first-fruits of that prayer! God is good.

What a beautiful answer to prayer! I look forward to exploring the specifics of how God worked in the years before I met my new daughter.

Thank God for Presidential Audacity

On October 3rd, 1863, President Lincoln issued a proclamation that included these words:

The year that is drawing towards its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.

A lot has changed in 145 years, including the choice by public leaders to use expressions like "dealing with us in anger for our sins," and "gracious gifts of the Most High God." The sentiments in this proclamation may be rarely expressed, but still ring true. Perhaps you would like to read Lincoln's proclamation before you enjoy your Thanksgiving dinner. Here's a link to the complete text.

By the way, there are some elements to President Lincoln's proclamation which have been overshadowed by "the big feast."

And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

President Lincoln proposed that we celebrate Thanksgiving by humbly confessing our failures, both personal and national, by requesting God's care for those facing the recent loss of loved ones, and by imploring God to show favor to our nation. What an audacious proposal by an American President - but a perfectly sensible one to those who know God.

Are home-schoolers all that smart?

Okay, here's one more results box for those of you who took the ISI civic literacy exam. But this box is not for everyone. In a previous post, I raised some doubts about the capacity of the state to teach students about itself. So, let's see if my theory holds any water. I would like anyone who was home-school educated for a minimum of four years AND has completed the 9th grade to enter his/her score. I also want anyone who taught home school for four or more years to enter his/her score. I realize that this is not a proper sampling technique, but it will give us some insight into the civic literacy of those who have been less civically educated by the state. If you know students or teachers who meet our criteria, send them to this link to take the test, and then encourage them to enter their scores in the box below. What will it show? Does home-schooling make things better or worse?

Online Surveys & Market Research

How stupid are we?

The Intercollegiate Studies Institute has some bad news. Most people are civically illiterate. And elected officials know even less! Before you read further, why don't you check your civics knowledge? Click on this link to take the test - It will only take about 10 minutes. (I already have and we can compare grades at the end of this post.)

If you would like to read the full report of their findings, click this link. Here are some comments on their process: The "more than 2,500 random selected Americans," were interviewed by phone. So the results do not reflect the level of knowledge of "phone-less" Americans. I suspect that the results might be even more alarming if this group was included. Among those responding by telephone interview, there is a small margin of error (+/- 2% at 95% confidence level). I might have used a few different questions reflecting my personal quirks about civic literacy. But the list of questions was prepared from multiple reputable sources. The bottom line is that this survey is not producing merely anecdotal evidence. 

If you were tracking with me in the previous post, then you already know I have doubts about the effectiveness of "education by the state." The ISI report only elevates my level of doubt. Here's my reason: Since the state has appointed itself to be the educator of our children, you would think that there is one topic about which it is an expert. Surely the state ought to be able to teach students about ITSELF! Alas, 68% of all respondents (9 out of 10, presumably, coming from public education) failed the test! If the state won't be honest about itself or cannot teach children about itself, how successful will it be in other subjects?

If you have not already done so, please take the test. I missed four of the questions (two were stupid mistakes, two were clear markers of my ignorance) and received a "B." Tomorrow, I will give you an opportunity to log your results (anonymously) at L-W. Will doing so reveal something astonishing about those in the L-W clubhouse or betray us as unremarkable? Don't wonder about it - Click this link to take the test, have it scored, and come back tomorrow.

What the Government's Track Record Shows

Current economic trends are fueling a socialist drive for greater regulation. Thanks to Despair, Inc. for capturing (at left) my sentiments about how well things will turn out as government is unleashed to "do more for us."

There is one domain where government has been in the center of things for some time, education. We are afraid of socialized health care and nationalized financial institutions. But we already have socialized education, and nine out of ten children are committed to the state for their "indoctrination."

Joel Belz has written an editorial titled Children of the State that you MUST read. Mr. Belz believes we have already yielded the high ground. By allowing education to be ordered by the state, we grant it a platform from which to shape the hearts and minds of our children. Just look at what government has done at school to get an idea of how well other socialist initiatives will play out. Government's track record in education gives us every reason to be concerned about socialist trends in other domains.

An analysis of what the Bible says about how children are to be educated will emphasize the centrality of mothers and fathers. Here is one of many passages that lays the responsibility for the education of children squarely at the feet of parents: Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Eph. 6:4). Government is missing in such mandates. But government is only too happy to expand its power by stepping into the vacuum created by parental passivity. So do your part to fill the void and join the fight against Big Government. Ask yourself this simple question: "What does Jesus think my children most need to learn and understand?" Then take the necessary steps to make sure they get it. The state isn't going to do THAT. But you can!

Getting Mad at the Wrong Guy

Here's a handy prescription for those who want to conquer anger. When you find yourself getting steamed, ask yourself, "Is my anger directed at the wrong guy?" Proverbs 19:3 describes a condition that can lead to anger: The foolishness of man ruins his way, and his heart rages against the Lord (Prov. 19:3). This Proverb has two phrases, the first describes a situation, the second outlines what follows.

Here's the situation. A man has made a foolish choice with serious consequences. It could have been an unwise business decision, an inappropriate relationship, a knee-jerk response, or a course involving moral compromise. Whatever he did, it was fueled by foolishness and, not surprisingly, has turned out badly. The second phrase describes the result and it is ironic. Instead of admitting, "I did something foolish," he gets mad at God. What's God got to do with it? God doesn't resort to "bailouts" for foolishness. As a good parent, He allows us to experience the consequences of our poor choices. God is not responsible for the ruin a man reaps when he sows foolishness.

So when you feel yourself getting angry, do a quick diagnostic. Try to identify ways in which the outcome that is prompting you to anger is the result of your own actions. Make a list of ways you could have done things differently to reap a different outcome. If you come up with just one item on your list, then you're getting mad at the wrong person. Go look in a mirror and counsel the person you see to use all that energy to make some changes. Repeat as necessary.