Avoid Worthless Pursuits

I spoke with a friend this morning about this challenging Proverb, so I am reposting this entry from April 1 of this year.

“Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense.” Prov 12:11

What a great standard for the activities we choose for ourselves and our children! First is the priority of work. Our provision should come from our own work. We cannot train our children or allow adults to expect others to provide for them. Everyone works!

Second, not that everything we do must be work, but everything we do must have worth; it must have value and benefit. We are an entertainment driven culture and many of our activities qualify as worthless pursuits. Entertainment is not inherently bad since it is a form of relaxation that we all need. However, there are so many spiritually and intellectually nourishing forms of relaxation and entertainment! Instead of justifying our entertainment habits as "relaxation we all need," we can raise the standard and engage in activities that qualify as "worthy pursuits."

Teaching Audio

I have just added to this site a teaching audio widget (located in the right column) with which you can listen to sermons I have uploaded. You can also download or subscribe to my sermons as a podcast. It all works through sermon.net. I just uploaded one I taught on Father's Day two years ago at Highland Christian Fellowship about turning the hearts of fathers toward their children. In it I explain how parenting fits into the biblical vision of making disciples for Christ.

The Perfect Number of Children

I had so many hits on my last post, "New Life at Our House," I was suspicious that people thought it was an announcement that we were having another baby. Well, it wasn't; but this is! The perfect number is seven, thus we now have "the perfect number of children." I'm sure you know I don't mean that seven is the perfect number of children to have. But that brings up a good question and provides an opportunity to explain why we have so many children. How many children should a couple have?

There are many cultural assumptions that cause people to answer this question very differently than we do. (You all can check back with us in about 20 years to see whether any of our children starved to death, were neglected, or received an inadequate education). The perfect number of children for each couple is the number that God blesses them with when they start with the principles of Scripture and allow God to lead them in discerning how those principles apply to their own lives. That is our confidence and conviction in the face of criticism. It is important that believers in our present culture dig deeply into their reasoning and assumptions and be sure they are openly following the teaching and leading of God and not drifting along with the masses.

How Important Is the Bible?

I enjoyed reading this from the recent e-mail newsletter from Shepherd's Press:

How Important Is the Bible?

People are concerned about food. The reality is that if we don’t eat we won’t live. However, the Bible says that we do not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord (Deut. 8:3; Matt. 4:4). By making this comparison, the Holy Spirit shows the importance of Scripture. Moses and Christ both make the same statement: man does not live by bread alone. Christians sometimes mentally recast well known passages such as this one in more comfortable religious terms. For example, we might read this passage as though it said Christians do not live by bread alone. After all, the Bible seems to be less and less relevant to those outside the church community. But to read it that way would be a mistake. In reality, people who do not live by the words that proceed from the mouth of God are literally dead men walking.

We are comfortable thinking of the Bible as being important for church or for Sunday School. We can think of the Bible as being important for daily quiet times or for other religious activities. But it may be difficult to see the Bible as more important to one’s wellbeing than eating is—especially for those who are not Christians. But Christ is explicit—man does not live by bread alone. In I Timothy 6, Paul indicates that there is a life that is truly life. This means that sometimes death masquerades as life. True life is only accessible through the very words of God.

The grave danger that Christians face, as Paul admonishes in Ephesians 4:17, is to embrace the futile thoughts of the world and live as if those thoughts were the ones that really matter. In the everyday world of modern culture the Bible is not valued. For example, children often enthusiastically ask what’s for supper. But one seldom hears this:  What’s for Bible study tonight? Someone might say, That’s not fair, you're comparing eating with looking at the Bible. My point exactly!

When supper is served, generally some care is given to how the food is prepared and whether the meal is served attractively. The plates and utensils used to serve supper are clean. The table is wiped clean before the meal is served. Even in a hectic home, there is some thought given  to what food will be served and when. Meals are varied so as not to be boring. Shopping for meals may take place at several different stores. Recipes may be consulted to provide new and fresh ways to make meals attractive and enjoyable. Sometimes a friend might be consulted for a better way to prepare a particular meal. Now contrast this preparation for supper with the preparation used to serve God’s Word to families. Sitting down to read the Bible without advance thought and planning is about as appealing as sitting down to eat supper when all of the food and dishes from the night before have been left out on the table to be used again.

Use the above analogy and answer the question again – how important is the Bible? Certainly, for most of us it would be accurate to say that, functionally, we consider the serving and preparation of bread to be far more important than serving the Word of God. This distinction is not lost on children.

What Is Being a Dad?

This morning I was sitting on the porch having some time with God, when my ten year old daughter Bethany came out with her Bible. She asked me if I would help her understand the passage she was reading. It was a great joy to discuss life changing truths with her.

A few minutes after talking with her, I visited my very first website. One of my first posts was written on August 28, 2004. It was a copy of a poem I wrote for Bethany not long after she was born. As you read it you will see why it was so meaningful just after my discussion with her on the front porch. I can see Bethany growing into "a young lady, beautiful and strong, graceful and shining," beginning to look up to the Father for herself.

For You, Bethany

What is being a dad? It is pouring all of God that is in me into you. I want dad to be the first place that you experience Love Himself; The Holy One, Mercy, Righteousness, and Grace in person.

I want more of God in me for you to see. I seek God for you that you may find Him in me.

I think now of you, a young lady beautiful and strong graceful and shining, and the joy that will be mine when you turn your eyes off of this dad. When you turn your eyes up and see for yourself, taste for yourself, love for yourself. The inexplicable joy that will be mine when you seek the face of our Father with your own heart.

But for now, because I am your dad, I will seek Him for you. I pray you will find Him in me.

Dad 8/30/99

Garden Update

As I tweeted on Saturday, the whole family (except for those unable to work) spent all day working in the garden  together. And I really mean all day. We dealt with some complaining at first, of course. But something amazing transpired as the day passed. The kids really caught the vision for our garden and taking pride in their work. By the end of the day, attitudes of helpfulness and contentment abounded.

It helped that we were able to harvest some produce as well. It wasn't much, though, since not only do we have a later planting time up here, but we also had three weeks of rain when we could plant. You can see the beginnings of some cantaloupe on the left. We harvested some sugar snaps, green beans, and zucchini.

Genesis 19: Lot the Loser

Lot was a despicable man. When begging the men of Sodom not to ask for his angelic guests, he offered his own virgin daughter for them to have their way! He reasoned that he was responsible for the men since they “have come under the shelter of my roof.” Are his daughters not even more so under the shelter of his roof? What a gross failure to value, love, and protect his daughters. I would hate to think how he cared for them each day if he would do this. It seems that men should fight and sacrifice to protect their women and children. Then, in the face of grave warnings, Lot lingered in the city. He clearly had allowed his heart to be poisoned by the flesh and sin of the city. He had trouble pulling away. The fact that he dwelt here at all is an obvious statement about his judgment. His wife also had been hooked, evidenced by her disregard for the warning not to look back.

After escaping with only his two daughters, Lot lived in fear. His fear was first revealed when he asked the men not to make him go to the hills. Ultimately, though, fear drove him out of the city to live in a cave. To live in fear is not just cowardly, but a revelation of Lot's lack of relationship with and trust in the Lord.

The scheming of his daughters, in addition to the heart of his wife, also reveals the quality of Lot and how he had failed to teach them the ways of God and his care for them. The abhorrence of Lot is finally emphasized by the ease with which his daughters were able to get him drunk and sleep with him.

Lot was a selfish, cowardly, irresponsible, foolish, fleshly, gullible, undisciplined man. And although I despise him, I pity him. Most of all, I am shaken by the fact that we all have the capacity to come to such a condition. May I entrust myself to God and obey and trust him. May I bravely teach, care for, and protect my family. May I maintain a heart of purity and a disciplined mind and body. May I be alert to evil, danger, and temptation.

"Train Up a Child"

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

The definition of “train” in the Dictionary of Biblical Languages With Semantic Domains is “disciple, i.e., broadly instruct in accordance with proper rules of conduct and behavior which would include both principles and teaching holy ritual.”

Disciple your children. Teach your children. Training is primarily teaching. But it cannot be one class, or one semester, or only in class. Training is life teaching. Discipleship implies and walking through life together and giving instructions along the way. Discipleship would naturally include example and demonstration as well. This is also teaching.

The other day, Dana and I discussed this question: “Why are we educating our children?” Education cannot be an end in itself because knowledge is an incomplete virtue. Knowledge is valuable and important, but the most significant issue is what one does with his knowledge. Many have wrought great evil and destruction with their knowledge. Children are to be trained in the way they should “go.” The main concern is not merely what they know, but what they do. Thus, we must broaden the view of Christian education to wisdom. Wisdom adds righteousness and fear of God to knowledge. God’s purposes for us are to love him and love others. All education and knowledge, then, is gained in order to fulfill God’s purposes.

Training a child has this broader goal in mind for it does not simply convey knowledge, it teaches a way of life – “in the way he should go.” It is a way, a path that goes on and on. It is not just a particular skill or behavior. As the definition above states, it includes principle and holy ritual. Principles are eternal truths that transcend particular circumstances. Principles inform wise and right decisions no matter what the particular problem or choice one faces. “The way” is one that will last one’s entire life. Thus, when the disciples are old, they will still be able to follow it.

This way is not a personal, traditional, or cultural way. It is the way one “should” go. This assumes a right way, a transcendently true way. Therefore, the child is taught God’s way – the way of righteousness, love, and wisdom.