My Teacher

Ofttimes, when I set out to write something, I'll ask myself questions like, "What will this sound like in 10 years? 100 years?" or "Would I want to be quoted on this?" Sometimes I wonder if I should take writing classes to learn to better express myself. Certainly that would have its benefits, but... I do not wish to write like everybody else!

Do you think David took instruction in song composition? Who could teach the most published song-writer of all time but the Author of music Himself? Who taught Noah to build the ark? Who taught Abraham his faith? Who taught the fearful Moses to face the mighty Pharaoh? Who taught him to lead millions of murmuring Israelites through the desert? Who taught Joshua to make war and conquer? Who taught Gideon? Or Samuel? Solomon?

"And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children" (Isaiah 54:13).

"Thou through Thy commandments hast made me WISER than mine enemies: for they are ever with me. I have more UNDERSTANDING than all my teachers: for Thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand MORE than the ancients, because I keep Thy precepts."

Oh, praise the Lord my Teacher! May I sit at His feet every day.

Writing classes would profit nothing if my work boasts the foolishness of the world. I'd a lot rather be a fool for Jesus than an educated fool for the world.

In Praise of My Mother...

You ever wonder what God was thinking when He placed you in your family? I think of my mother, her strength and weaknesses, her faith and fears. I am not worthy to serve beside her. Her heart is utterly selfless, and her life completely defined by her unceasing service of God, her family, and the church. Her dedication to fasting, prayer, and eternal things gives me faith to add my feeble prayers to hers and trust God to intervene. Her untiring, constant efforts to complete real-life, drudging work that I would rather put off until tomorrow never ceases to amaze me. She has the diligence of the woman in Proverbs, “whose candle goeth not out by night;” the persistence of the woman in the parable who continued to cry out to the unjust judge until he finally avenged her; and the faith of the woman of Canaan who said to Jesus after He had basically called her a dog, “Yet the dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from the master’s table.”

So many of her strengths are my own weaknesses. Without her beautiful example always before me, I would probably be a hypocritical jerk. Honestly. She should be the one blogging here right now, and I should be the one doing the laundry. She’s so wise. I cannot take credit for the things I know; they’re not my own, only borrowed.

           

God bless Momma today.

The Beginning of Knowledge

 

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7).

What is history apart from God? Is not history, as we find it in the Bible, the story of God’s redemptive plan throughout time, the amazing tale of His providence, mercy, and judgment in the affairs of men and of nations?

And what about geography? Is it aught else but a record of God appointing the bounds of each people’s habitation, by setting up one nation and putting down another, by extending the dominion of one people, and dividing that of another?

And what of economics? Does not the Bible itself teach us that God blesses those who trust and obey Him, but sends curses on those who do not? That the prosperity of the wicked will soon be cut off as the grass, but the righteous will be satisfied in times of famine?

God truly does intervene in the lives of men, and how can one teach these subjects without recognizing His work?

What are biology and science apart from God? Is not biology the exploration of His marvelous design in all of Creation? The world is filled with living testimonies of the everlasting God, the Lord, Maker of earth and all that is therein, who created it not in vain, but made it to be inhabited, and gives breath to all living things.

And does not studying science and the laws of nature, but give one further evidence of the absoluteness of the law of God? It is possible for God to suspend a law of nature, His ordinary course of proceeding, by walking on water, multiplying loaves, healing leprosy, etc. Is it not also possible for God to suspend the law of sin and death by mercifully forgiving us of our transgressions, and restoring us to eternal life with Him?

Apart from God, all learning is but meaningless, idle knowledge that edifies not, but only puffs up. By absorbing this information for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, 9 months of the year, for 13 years, each child in the government school system is learning that there is no God, or even if there is, He does not matter.

“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth” (Ecclesiastes 12:1).

Lastly, what about socialization? Apart from God, is it anything more than foolish children following each other into folly and sin? Though God gives few commands directly to children, He does instruct them to flee youthful lusts, to honor and obey their parents, to respect their elders, and to learn from them. With age comes wisdom, wisdom that must be passed on to next generation. The older must be eager to share it, and the younger must be eager to receive it. This is healthy socialization.

Let us not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds, that we may prove that which is good, acceptable, and perfect, will of God (Romans 12:2).

Delighting in the Lord's Day

One part of God’s perfect design for us, yea, designed even from the beginning, before Adam’s disobedience, and modeled by the Lord Himself during the week of Creation, is one day of rest in seven. It was further commanded on that great day when, amid the exceeding loud blasting of the trumpet, and the smoke ascending as the smoke of a furnace, the Lord descended with fire upon the top of Mount Sinai, and spoke these words, even Ten Commandments, which He later engraved upon stone with His own finger:

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work… For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it” (Exodus 20:8-11).

What tremendous blessings result from obeying this command! Each blessed Lord’s Day, I love resting from my own works, my own concerns and responsibilities, and focusing on His. I try to retire to bed early each Saturday to prepare my mind and rest my body for the coming day, that no fatigue distract me from devoting it fully to Him.
    
My day begins with a joy that continues throughout the course of the day. I sing to myself while readying for the meeting of the church; I pray and meditate on God’s Word during our long ride; I greet everyone with a great smile and hug, enter into worship with a thankful heart, listen eagerly to the sermon, taking extensive notes. The second service I embrace the little ones in the nursery, who are usually delighted to see me; we sing praises to God, and before snack I encourage each one to lisp out his own little prayer. I could go on and on; my day is filled with such delight. After breaking bread with fellow believers, my family goes to meet at another assembling of saints, where God unfailingly imparts to me the grace sufficient for the week ahead. I am always sad when the day is over, but I am also cleansed and renewed, eager to begin a new week of trusting God and serving Him with purity of heart. 

The Lord’s Day is undeniably a very sure way to keep us faithfully following Him. For six days we must labor to provide ourselves with earthly needs like food, shelter, clothing, and transportation, but His day we devote to feeding and clothing our spirit. We reflect on the previous week’s defeats and victories, recognize the Hand of God, repent of our impure hearts, and resolve to overcome. The public worship and praise to God refreshes the heavy spirit and rejoices the weary soul. The preaching of the Word and the sweet fellowship of the saints teach us the ways of God, build our faith, and strengthen us for the challenges of the coming week. Filled with faith, hope, and love, we are ready to face our trials with patience and perseverance.

"A Sabbath well spent brings a week of content
And strength for the toils of the morrow
But a Sabbath profaned, whate'er may be gained
Is a certain forerunner of sorrow."

How inspiring to think every holy, blessed Sabbath of the literal millions and millions of people around the globe, in every time zone, gathering all hours of the day to bring praise to the Almighty God! How it must bless Him! Yet at the same time, I consider how it must also grieve Him to see the countless homes where on His day never a Bible is opened, nor a prayer said, nor a voice uplifted in praise.  

Years ago, when this country reverenced the holy Sabbath, criminals would confess that they began their career of wickedness by a neglect of the duties of the Sabbath and by vicious conduct on that day. I would argue that still today, when men begin neglecting the meeting of the church and instead follow their own pleasure, they stand in danger of neglecting God and turning away from following Him.
 
Notice the extensions of this command:

“In it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates” (Exodus 20:10).

Fathers are commanded not only to honor the day themselves, but also to ensure that their whole household is also honoring it! Wow! When you behold a family convened one day in seven for the purpose of acquainting themselves with truth, you behold a family who weakens the power and breaks the yoke of sin. For how, indeed, can any sin persist long when you are weekly purging it from your heart and life?

"If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honorable; and shalt honor Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it” (Isaiah 58:13-14).

This, then, is the spirit of the law, not following all the regulations the unbelieving Pharisees added, but calling the Sabbath a delight and honoring the Lord by not doing our own ways nor finding our own pleasure.

My Daddy's Going Home Celebration, Part 2

Click here for Part 1. 

[ORIGINALLY WRITTEN ON OCTOBER 14, 2009] 

"We have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, showing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength, and His wonderful works that He hath done. For He hath established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: that the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments” (Psalm 78:3-7).

My daddy obeyed this command. Daily did he make known to us children God’s law, His works, and His testimonies. Some of my daddy’s last words were, “Devil, you might can kill me, but I have five [sons] more behind me and you can’t touch them.” My daddy knew from the beginning that this was a direct attack from Satan trying to kill him. And he fought that devil; oh, my daddy was such a fighter! And, praise God, the battle is not lost. Even if my daddy did not live to see what will one day be numerous grandchildren, his children will be faithful to show God’s works the next generation, even to those yet unborn. My daddy gave his life for us children, and we will give our lives back to him by standing for those things he stood for. We will continue to fight his battles, and we will be victorious. Many fights take more than a generation to win, and my daddy has been faithfully equipping and preparing his children to fight the battles of the Lord.

Just a week ago, I wrote a short “About Me” statement here on Facebook. It says, 

“I am, first and foremost, a daughter of the King. I strive to show my loyalty to my heavenly Father through my devotion to the earthly parents to whom He has entrusted me. The Holy Scriptures call children arrows in the hands of a mighty man (Psalm 127). I am a yielded arrow under the sharpening hands of my father and mother. When my brothers, sister, and I are finally released into battle, I pray that our impact will reach farther than arrows, and instead have the force of intercontinental ballistic missiles! Hoping to one day raise up my own army of children for the Lord, I pray that the saints of God everywhere will embrace the blessings of children, being fruitful, increasing abundantly, multiplying, and waxing exceeding mighty, that the earth may be filled with them (Exodus 1:7)."

What long talks I often had with my daddy! He was so faithful to sharpen me - his arrow - for battle. I would bring my thoughts, theories, and convictions to him before I would take them to anyone else. He was always so gentle to point out to me why some of the things I would say were wrong. Other things I would say he would jump all over, add his wisdom to it, and then tell his friends. That’s when I knew I had something I could share with others. These conversations have sharpened me more than anything else.

"Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will show thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee" (Deuteronomy 32:7).

About two weeks ago, my brother Joshua and I were having one of our typical theory-developing conversations about how much one can learn from listening to the conversation of older and wiser men, or more specifically, to our daddy. It was then I had one of my “what if” moments. What if several young men took the time to walk and talk with the wisest men of our time? The Bible says, “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed” (Proverbs 13:20). Before many years pass, these younger men will have gained nearly as much wisdom as took these older men a lifetime. Granted, they will not yet have the experience, but the wisdom will be there. Fast forward several decades. Then, with these same young men now being older, wiser – yea, much wiser than the men before them - what if they likewise took the time to pass to several young men from the next generation the wisdom they have attained? What if this took place all over the country over several generations?

Well, my “what ifs” have actually happened. I have always been fascinated by the writings of our Founding Fathers. These men had a knowledge of the Bible, history, and all subjects in general, that I don’t see paralleled today, even though many of those same men had merely a few months of formal schooling. Their wisdom was the direct result of generations of wisdom being passed down through one generation to the next, each generation being wiser than the one before.

But allow me to tell you another “what if” story. What if young men had no interest in learning from their elders? What if they chose to learn everything the hardest way – firsthand experience. As they age, they, too, would grow in wisdom; however, what if the cycle continued? What if the next generation again wanted nothing to do with their elders, whose wisdom is buried with them? What if this took place all over the country over several generations?

Again, the “what ifs” are true, and we are seeing them unfold right before our very eyes. But, like I said before, my daddy was faithful to declare the works of the Lord to his children, and not just my daddy. We have countess men and women who have traveled the same paths before us. Several, having conquered the numerous temptations along the way, have left markers, testimonies of the truths they learned through their struggles and victories, to encourage those who come after to press on.

What a shame that we so often fail in the very battles that our fathers have already conquered! We need to give diligent heed to God’s works in the lives of our fathers and should be prepared, not only to conquer the same temptations they did, but to focus our energies on further conquest.

May we not be the stubborn and rebellious generation the Bible talks of:

“A generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with God… They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in His law; and forgot His works, and His wonders that He had shown them. Marvelous things did He in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt. He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; and He made the waters to stand as an heap” (Psalm 78:8-13).

The Lord is the Source of all joy. Material possessions may bring temporary happiness, but they don’t bring that incomparable, fulfilling joy of the Lord that comes from putting your faith and trust in God, yielding your life to His control. How can you be miserable one day and the very next full of unspeakable joy when nothing whatsoever has changed in your circumstances? The difference is your trust in God. Like an innocent child, you can have no fear of the future. You can be filled with joy, regardless of circumstances. Don’t you just love that joyous feeling when you’re out somewhere, full of joy, wanting the world to know of your happiness? You know, that light-hearted, little-girl-like, skipping step, with head raised high, face aglow with smiles, and you’re having to refrain yourself from whistling some merry tune?

"The joy of the Lord is our strength!"