School is Out!

 Yes, classes may be out for the kids, but the real school for all of us is never out.  The Holy Spirit continues to faithfully teach us and show us all things.  His priority, of course, is to reveal Jesus and His Word so that we know Him.  Jesus points out in John 17 that eternal life is knowing God and His Son whom He has sent, which may be why the early church catechism declares the purpose of life is to know and serve Him.  In the days ahead this will be even more vital as Daniel 11:32 points out, that in the end-times, "those who know their God will be strong and do great exploits."  

In Psalm 16, the truth of inheriting a relationship with and knowing God is stated in verse 5, "O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup" followed by David's understanding and description of this special gift, "Yes, I have a good inheritance."  This revelation that God has given us Himself as our portion reminds us of the Levites, who were not given any land in Israel.  Instead, Joshua 18 states, "The Lord is their inheritance."  As Jesus has made us priests and kings, knowing Him is our true inheritance. 

Men on the earth strive for riches, fame, and selfish gain, but everyone knows that heaven and earth will pass away and no man will be able to keep what he has acquired.  Jim Elliot's powerful saying states this truth well, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.  Jesus also warned that treasures on the earth were subject to moth and rust and thieves, so our goal must be to rather "lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven."  The greatest treasure is a strong relationship with your creator and the maker of the universe, with the One who willing gave His all for you, so you can enjoy the amazing fellowship with the Father and Jesus that has been purchased for us. 

Psalm 16 summarizes the fruit of this lasting, ultimate relationship.  "Therefore, my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices, my flesh also will rest in hope." and finally, "In your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore." 

School is not out, but God does have various seasons.  One may be in a time of classes, a time of rest, a time of transition, however, the Holy Spirit is committed to be the master teacher, and all He needs is a willing, teachable student.  Your time in school with the Holy Spirit to learn the ways of the Lord and to come to know Him is now.  Hear Him. 

How Start, How Finish

Life is filled with starts and finishes.  How we start the day, how we finish the day.  How we start the job, how we finish the job.  How we start the marriage, how we finish the marriage. There are seasons, times to sow and times to reap, according to Ecclesiastes.  The difference maker is how we start and how we finish.  Consider Jesus in how we start this new year.

Jesus became a baby in the midst of physical humbleness but with heavenly glory, angels appearing, shepherds responding to the message that a savior has been born, and three kings from the east recognizing the supreme ruler of the universe.  He began with the witness of God. 

Jesus finished strong by freely laying His life down for mankind in the midst of extreme physical torment and ridicule, but with the witness of the prophetic Word of God.  He fulfilled the Scriptures and trusted God to raise Him up.  He descended into hell, but the devil had nothing in Him to hold Him, so by the power of the Spirit He was able to take the keys (authority over mankind) from Satan and demonstrate God's triumphant victory over sin, sickness, and death by His resurrection.  He finished with the witness of God.  

Jesus, who now lives in us by the power of the Holy Spirit, enables us to demonstrate this same triumphant victory in our daily lives.  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  We can start the day (Psalm 92:2) declaring that by the fresh mercy of God we stand whole and complete in Him.  Likewise, at the end of the day, we can finish by acknowledging the faithfulness of God in helping us through the day. Psalm 92:4 continues with the promise "I will triumph in the work of Your hands."  All that is needed to walk together with God is to agree with Him (Amos 3:3) in our heart and by our words. 

As we began the new year, many people make resolutions and wishful plans; however, the truth is these only prove that we know changes are needed and rarely produce results.  God has a better way to start the year that does glorify Him and produce lasting results.  

God does honor, according to His Word, two specific resolutions.  One is a commitment, that whether we live or die, we aim to be well pleasing to Him (2 Corinthians 5:9).  It is a heart desire and a fresh dependence upon the Spirit "to will and to work for His pleasure" as we obey His promptings.  In short, to obey what He tells you to do. 

Secondly, we commit, as Paul prayed in Philippians 3, to press on to the goal of knowing God, "that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead."  The challenge is to die to fleshly desires of the old man and put on the new man created in His image and holiness.  As we allow the Spirit to establish His truth and a greater desire to know Him in our hearts, we can fulfill 2 Corinthians 4:11, "For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh."  Each situation provides an opportunity to know God and the power of His resurrection as we choose life in obeying His way and put to death our selfish desires of the flesh.  

Therefore, how we start the day, start the relationship, start the job, start the year, depends upon our humble attitude.  We acknowledge our need to trust and depend upon God to help us walk in the Spirit and to give us strength to obey.  Just as Jesus, because of the joy set before Him willingly endured the cross," we purpose to put the joy of knowing Him and pleasing Him greater treasure than doing things our own way.    

Good Plans

Every school teacher spends most of August planning and preparing for the next school year.  It is a time to look at ways we can improve and to imagine how much we are going to accomplish.  It seems that good intentions, like hope, spring eternal.  . 

There is nothing wrong with making good plans, but.....     Proverbs 16:9 points out "A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps."  In other words, unless the Lord is in it to "will and to work for His pleasure," the plan will not bear fruit.  Isaiah 30:1 even goes so far as to say "Woe to those who devise plans, but not of My Spirit."

We know God works all things for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Part of that "for good" is opening our heart to realize we need Him, because the temptation in the garden was for man to think he is "like God," and therefore, does not need the God's help.  Yet Ephesians 1 points out that as we grow in "wisdom and revelation of Him" our understanding will be enlightened until He becomes "all in all." 

Jesus spoke and demonstrated that love is laying down His life for His friends.  This same principle can be applied to loving God with all our mind.  We love God by laying down our thoughts and plans and submitting to His.  God wants us to use our mind, only in harmony with His ways.  Therefore, the necessity of seeking Him and learning to hear His voice must preceed the making of plans.  He is not far away, but literally is within our spirits ready to help us know the way.

My instruction, if you wish to walk in victory, is to lay down your thoughts before Him, and ask Him for His plans for the day.  Then be obedient to do what you beleive He is directing.  This step may be easier if you write down what comes to mind as you wait on Him. blessed are those who hear and do His Word.   There is such a sense of peace and accomplishment when you obey and see the fruit of your deeds.  Thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph. 

Moses prayed in Exodus 33:13, "Show me now Your way, that I might know you."   The more we seek and find God's way or plan to overcome, the more we will experience knowing the character of God.  God promises to satisfy those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.  The key is to desire God's right way of doing things and refuse to settle for anything less than what his peace confirms.  May His peace keep your mind and heart in Christ Jesus as you follow His good plans.  

Who Appreciates You?

In a Peanuts cartoon, Charlie Brown asks Linus, "If you work really hard and get all the things that you want, is it worth it?"  Snoopy, overhearing the conversation, says, "Not if you don't have a dog that loves you."

Somehow Snoopy captures the reality that having someone who loves you and appreciates you is of greater importance.  When it is all said and done, who loves you and takes pleasure in you?  This may sound trite, but no one on earth has that kind of appreciation or understanding of all you go through.  There is only one, the Man Jesus Christ, who knows our every thought, emotion, and effort.  He also happens to be a little like Snoopy, who dances with joy when he sees you.  Zephaniah 3 states that God "rejoices over you with singing."

The obvious problem is that many of us do not know God or Jesus in that way.  We live day to day doing work, putting up with situations, handling family matters, overcoming life's challenges and trials, and when we are through with the busy-ness, take a few minutes to relax and be entertained by TV or movies or Internet sites.  It is possible to go through all the motions, be a "good" normal person, and never enjoy the pleasure of knowing Someone loves and appreciates who we are. 

Do you remember the scene in Chariots of Fire when Eric Liddell explains to his sister that when he runs he "feels God's pleasure."  Instead of that being an experience that only special people have at extraordinary times, we suggest that the basic purpose of life, "to know, serve and enjoy God," declares that those who know their God will walk in this awareness daily. 

So stop right now.  Close you eyes, look up and smile.  Say to Jesus, "are you rejoicing and singing over me right now?"  Can you see Him dancing for joy over you?  Maybe this whole concept is strange to you, yet is life worth it if you don't know the pleasure of the One who made you?

Something needs to change in our hearts and it begins with us realizing we need to know Him and that we are of infinite value to Him.  Ephesians 1:17 is a prayer worth saying everyday, "that the Father of Glory, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, would give to 'me' a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him."


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Heart of Christian Education

What is the difference between Christian education and what children receive through the public system? The argument is that both venues may have Christian teachers who love their students and the subjects are pretty much the same, so what is the big deal? Perhaps one of the key points is that Christian education integrates the Bible into our subjects in a way that shows how this subject relates to Scriptural truth. This article considers a more complete picture of the role that revealed Biblical truth provides in genuine Christian education.

Bible integration is a well-meaning term used to show how the Word of God is brought into every discipline. However, on a practical level that term is often a euphemism for a frantic search to find Scriptures that fit into various aspects of our curriculum, similar to the student who has finished a science project but needs to have a Scripture on it to make the presentation complete. The question is, does finding an appropriate Bible verse do anything constructive for developing a Christian worldview?

Developing a Christian worldview requires something so much more pervasive. The solution is not finding the right verses, but rather having a paradigm shift in what is reality. Consider this truth: Jesus reveals Himself as the way, the truth, and the life. He further points out that eternal life is to know Him and the One who sent Him. The goal of our life and teaching likewise must be to know Him. We are not teachers that happen to be Christian, we are Christians, people who know Jesus Christ personally, that have been entrusted the gift of teaching. In other words, we are to teach Jesus, His ways, His life, and His truth in order to let the Holy Spirit reveal the nature of God to each student. We teach Him through our subjects.

Reality is that all subjects are the reflections and handiwork of God and thereby demonstrate various aspects of His character, nature, and life. John Dewey deliberately established religion as separate from other subjects in the Dewey Decimal System. God didn’t. All creation demonstrates God eternal and invisible attributes according to Romans 1. Indeed the whole process of life shows God’s patience in desiring all people to understand their need for and come to know God. Therefore, genuine teaching is about God, who He is, what He is like, and how great is His mercy and goodness. Subjects just happen to be the physical examples and illustrations that allow human nature to grasp some understanding of the infinite, all wise, almighty, personal God.

For example, mathematics helps us perceive the three in one, the strength of unity, the ability to calculate and multiply, and a system that can evaluate the incredible order and vastness of all creation. Math further provides a method for man to marvel and to understand the greatness of the indescribable God who designed such an awesome precise universe in which each part has its exact place and value. Not one hair on our head is unaccounted for nor is one jot of the law left unfulfilled. Mathematics falls short in its ability to approximate or even define infinity but God rests eternally knowing the number of the stars and the thoughts and intents of the heart. The “teaching the greatness of God” point of view is infinitely greater than just finding a Scripture where David numbers his army to identify Biblical integration in math.

Unless we as Christian educators understand this perspective we will always be falling short trying to discover a verse or principle that might apply to what we want to teach. However, if we marvel at who He is and what He has done and how incredible His creation reflects His glory, then our history, literature, science, and even music or art lessons will naturally point to the greatness of the One who authored it all. Learning will be an opportunity for Holy Spirit revelation and the process will be life-giving in its perspective. Jesus will be the all in all.