Just for Today

I love Today Matters by John Maxwell. I hope to have two of my children read it in 2013. Good stuff for all of us to think about…especially as we approach that time of year when we think about changes we’d like to make in our lives. Here’s a good list from Maxwell at the beginning of his book…

from Today Matters by John Maxwell

Just for Today…

Just for today… I will choose and display the right attitudes.

Just for today… I will determine and act on important priorities.

Just for today… I will know and follow healthy guidelines.

Just for today… I will communicate with and care for my family.

Just for today… I will practice and develop good thinking.

Just for today… I will  make and keep proper commitments.

Just for today… I will earn and properly manage finances.

Just for today… I will deepen and live out my faith.

Just for today… I will initiate and invest in solid relationships.

Just for today… I will plan for and model generosity.

Just for today… I will embrace and practice good values.

Just for today… I will seek and experience improvements.

Just for today… I will act on these decisions and practice these disciplines, and

Then one day… I will see the compounding results of a day lived well.

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Not All That Glitters is Gold

Not All That Glitters is Gold

Exodus 7:8-13 – The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, [9] “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ then say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a snake.” [10] So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. [11] Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: [12] Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. [13] Yet Pharaoh’s heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

Exodus 7:20-22 – Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded. He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was changed into blood. [21] The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt. [22] But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh’s heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said.

Acts 16:16-18 – Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. [17] This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” [18] She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.

I have never quite understood how the magicians of Egypt could perform the same miracles as Moses and Aaron… at least a few of them. Well, we know that they weren’t exactly the same, but they fooled enough of the people enough of the time so that they were considered the same.

Let me back up. The Scene: Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh and his court. Just after Aaron threw his staff to the ground, it became a snake. That would have impressed me. But it didn’t impress Pharaoh. What did he do? He summoned his wise men and sorcerers and magicians to do the same thing. And they did. Well…sort of. Aaron’s staff ate all of their staffs. God’s little way of reminding folks who’s sovereign and who’s not.

Then there was the scene at the Nile River. It was there that Moses and Aaron turned the Nile’s water into blood. Gross. That would get my attention. Not Pharaoh. He rounded up his FX artists again and, just like before, they did the same thing as Moses and Aaron.

This isn’t confined to just the Old Testament. In the New Testament we learn of a slave girl “who had a spirit by which she predicted the future.” And like so many of the demons who recognized who Jesus really was, this slave girl’s “spirit” understood that Paul and company were “servants of the Most High God,” and were telling the people “the way to be saved.”

In one sense it was good that she (or rather, her spirit) recognized who Paul and his companions were. But at the end of the day, it was still a demonic spirit and, by definition, was up to no good. That’s why Paul cast the spirit out of the girl in the name of Jesus Christ.

Not all that glitters is gold. Not all miracles are of God. Not all spirituality is Christian spirituality. Not all visions are from God. We make a grave error indeed when we assume, undiscerningly, that signs and wonders are automatically from God. Too much in God’s Word tells us otherwise.

That’s why humility is key here. We have to have a teachable spirit. We have to obey God and his Word. Scripture alone must be our final, ultimate, and sufficient authority, not our experience and feelings. The Apostle John wrote in 1 John 4:1,

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

This is wise counsel. And it’s the only sure way that we’ll stand firm to the end.

Grace and Truth,
Dale

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Watch Out for Deceptive Words

Jeremiah 7 (selected verses) and Galatians 5 (selected verses)

As was often the case in the life of Israel, God was not happy with them. They brought it upon themselves. Israel’s history went something like this: God would first save them and then establish or reestablish a covenant with them. In response, Israel would repent, and then, after the good times were rolling, Israel would commit spiritual adultery (i.e., run off after foreign lovers). Predictably, after her disobedience (and the subsequent punishment for said disobedience), Israel would routinely cry out to God, be mercifully heard by him, and the whole process would start all over again.

It is Israel’s response to idolatrous and adulterous false teaching that our texts deal with today. The Lord, through Jeremiah, tells his people that if they are going to be allowed to continue to live in peace, then they are going to have to reform their ways and their actions (v. 3).

Verses 5-7 serve as a warning against wrong behavior and an encouragement for right behavior.

If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, [6] if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, [7] then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers for ever and ever.

 So why would God’s people act disobediently? Verse 8 gives us a clue: They were trusting in deceptive words that were worthless.

Again, God says to them in verse 23,

…Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you.

 God wanted so much to bless them, but he wasn’t kidding about what would happen if they didn’t obey him. However, they must have thought he was, for we read these sobering words in verse 24,

But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.

God’s people were stubbornly committed to their sin… and for that sin we discover God’s indictment about them. Verse 28 tells us that truth had perished…that it had vanished from their lips.

Because they were no longer trusting in God’s Word, but trusting in the deceptive words of false teachers instead, they were soon to experience the wrath of God.

There’s a similar story in the New Testament. The Apostle Paul was bewildered with the Galatian Church. They had heard and responded to the pure Word of God as Paul had preached it. But, like God’s people in an earlier generation, many of the Galatians began trusting in deceptive words. They were being enticed to mix the finished work of Christ with their own works as a means of salvation. Paul was dumbfounded at such a move. We read in verses 7 and 8…

You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? [8] That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.

 God, through Paul, was warning them (and us) that such deceptive words were (are) like a little yeast, which works through a whole batch of dough (v. 9). It infects it like a disease. In the Bible, yeast often symbolizes evil or a false teaching.

When people begin to listen to deceptive words rather than the Word of God, trouble is sure to follow. Satan, the father of deceptive words, is not stupid. He will show us the worm, but not the hook. He will never show us the consequences that must follow his deceptive words. Instead, his words will always appear quite enticing, beautiful, practical, and relevant.

That is why everything must be tested against God’s Word – the Word properly understood. Even the best of intentions can be marred by deception. The church must constantly be on her guard against such yeast that seeks to contaminate her whole body. Whether it is what is preached from the pulpit, what is taught in a Bible study, the administration of a committee, or what programs are being implemented for evangelism, service or mercy, the church must always make sure she is taking her cues from God’s Word.

This may seem like a no-brainer, but today’s texts reveal that the church has not always gotten this right. In fact, the history of the church shows us over and over again what a little yeast can do. Even a cursory glance at the contemporary church scene shows plenty of evidence of the very idolatry and adultery that Jeremiah and Paul warned against.

So stand firm against all deceptive words. Cling to God and his Word as the only sure light by which to navigate through the world, the flesh and the devil. Only with and through God’s Word may we know the one true God and his Son, Jesus Christ, whom he sent. That alone is eternal life (John 17:3).

Grace and Truth,
Dale

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Raising Children to be Entrepreneurs

This is a really inspiring presentation by Cameron Herold on raising children to become entrepreneurs. That is, he encourages parents to shepherd their children (at least the ones who show certain aptitudes and attitudes) to not just want to become doctors, lawyers, teachers, etc., but, instead, seek to pour into them an entrepreneurial spirit. He offers some good reasons on why he believes this is a good idea and some helpful suggestions for how to put his ideas into action. I think much of what he has to say is right on target. A great deal of what he has to say is in line with trying to cultivate children who will excercise their gifts and personal quirks for Christ and his Kingdom (though this is not a Christian presentation). This is also not a homeschool presentation, however, I see the homeschool setting as the ideal environment to put Herold’s ideas into action.

This really is a great video and is truly worth watching for the 22 minutes that it lasts.

Enjoy,
Dale

As always, thanks to the good folks at Freedom Personal Development blog for finding this video presentation and sharing it with the rest of us. Thanks also to TED for producing these great videos for the rest of us. They really are ideas worth spreading.

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Teach Us To Number Our Days: A Prayer

Psalm 90

A prayer of Moses the man of God.

 ¹ Lord, you have been our dwelling place
       throughout all generations.

 ² Before the mountains were born
       or you brought forth the earth and the world,
       from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

 ³ You turn men back to dust,
       saying, “Return to dust, O sons of men.”

 ⁴ For a thousand years in your sight
       are like a day that has just gone by,
       or like a watch in the night.

 ⁵ You sweep men away in the sleep of death;
       they are like the new grass of the morning-

 ⁶ though in the morning it springs up new,
       by evening it is dry and withered.

 ⁷ We are consumed by your anger
       and terrified by your indignation.

 ⁸ You have set our iniquities before you,
       our secret sins in the light of your presence.

 ⁹ All our days pass away under your wrath;
       we finish our years with a moan.

 ¹⁰ The length of our days is seventy years—
       or eighty, if we have the strength;
       yet their span is but trouble and sorrow,
       for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

 ¹¹ Who knows the power of your anger?
       For your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you.

 ¹² Teach us to number our days aright,
       that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

 ¹³ Relent, O LORD! How long will it be?
       Have compassion on your servants.

 ¹⁴ Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
       that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

 ¹⁵ Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
       for as many years as we have seen trouble.

 ¹⁶ May your deeds be shown to your servants,
       your splendor to their children.

 ¹⁷ May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us;
       establish the work of our hands for us—
       yes, establish the work of our hands.

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Quotation for Renovation

from The Discipline of Grace
by Jerry Bridges
(taken from one of the best chapters of any book I’ve ever read – Chapter 9:  The Discipline of Commitment)

“When we commit ourselves to the pursuit of holiness, we need to ensure that our commitment is actually to God, not simply to a holy lifestyle or a set of moral values. The people of my parents’ generation were generally honesty, chaste, sober, and thrifty. They were committed to those values, but they were not necessarily committed to God. Many of them were outstanding moralists and even church people, but they were not committed to God. They were committed to their values, not to God.”

“We can be committed to a set of Christian values or to a lifestyle of discipleship without being committed to God Himself.”

“Commitment to the pursuit of holiness, then, is first of all a commitment to God to pursue a way of life that is pleasing to Him. In short, it is a commitment to a life of obedience.”

“There is no point in praying for God’s help in the face of temptation if we have not made a commitment to obedience without exception.”

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Passing the Baton to the Next Generation

I’ve written many articles and posts, and preached my fair share of sermons on the topic of the importance (which doesn’t seem to be a strong enough word for my taste) of passing our faith on to the next generation. The covenantal nature of our faith requires that we pass it down from generation to generation. The practicality of keeping our faith alive and well, humanly speaking, also demands it.

I mentioned in another post that this past summer I taught a course by Jeff Myers called, Passing the Baton. It was outstanding. I highly recommend it. I told the folks in my church that this was not exclusively a parenting course. It was for any and all adults who work with children and youth, whether those children are your own or students you teach or mentor. We all have the opportunity to influence the next generation for Christ so that his Kingdom might be extended into every sphere of life. Myers helped our class understand the importance of passing on our faith, and was also very practical regarding how that could be done. Again, I highly recommend it.

Yesterday I received via email an article written by Myers (I’ve provided an excerpt and link below). It is a fantastic article which I encourage you to read and act on. But not only is it such a great article, it’s also timely. Here’s why: Today at lunch, my wife and I made plans to send our daughter to a camp this summer that is put on by the Worldview Academy. It’s basically like the Summit Ministries camp that Myers talks about, except that it’s for students 13-18 years of age. Awesome timing. (and by the way, we’ll definitely be sending our children, God willing, to the Summit Ministries camps when they’re old enough.

So, read the following article by Jeff Myers. And after you read that, take a look at some of the things I’ve written on this and similar topics (which I’ve linked below). If we would seek to change the world for Christ, then we must be intentional with those whom God has given us influence.

The Lord bless you,
Dale

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Here’s an excerpt…

This fall, nearly two million American students will leave for college for the very first time. Their education will cost $12,000 a year for a public university and up to $50,000 for a private one. Scholarships and grants reduce the cost for most families, but still, the Wall Street Journal reports that the average student leaves college with $23,186 in debt.

 Nationwide, the total cost for this transaction is somewhere between 25 and 40 billion dollars per year.

 At least families are getting their money’s worth.

 Or not.

 A recent study confirms what many parents have long suspected: going to college can make kids forget what’s important and embrace values that are counter to what they learned growing up.

 Before I share this study’s results, let me say this to parents: leftist professors don’t feel sorry for you. As far as they’re concerned, you’ve been oppressing the masses to get that money anyway, so it’s deliciously ironic that you not only turn your children over to the indoctrinators, but that you fork over 50k to 200k and for the privilege of doing so.

 Don’t take my word for it. Here’s what the late Richard Rorty, one of the most prominent philosophers of the 20th century, said on the subject:

Click here to read the whole article.

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And here are a few of posts that I’ve written on similar themes.

• Raising Her Up in the Lord
• Shaping Culture for Christ
• The Legacy We Leave to Our Children
• My Life for Yours
• Choose This Day
• Discipling Your Kids
• Some Thoughts on Family Worship
• Thoughts on Reading to Your Children
• Thoughts on A Covenant Home
• Pass It On
• Shepherding Sons
• From Generation to Generation
• Future Men (Introductory Thoughts)
• Generation Joshua
• Passing the Baton, Part 1
• Passing the Baton, Part 2
• Passing the Baton, Part 3

Hopefully those will get you started (or keep you moving) in the right direction.

Blessings,
Dale

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