A Generation with Vision

Anker Grossvater 1884

Recently I was asked by a school teacher about what motivated my husband and I to pursue homeschooling our children.  I mentioned that the first reason was the call from God to be the teachers of our own children.  Deuteronomy 4, verses 5-10 says:

“Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.  Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.  For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for?  And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?  Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons; specially the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.”

We are to disciple our children.  The Bible has spoken it so.  When people ask my family if we’ve prayed about it, I tell them that there is no need to pray about what God has commanded.  It is the same as saying I don’t need to pray about whether or not I should steal.  The Bible has spoken about that clearly and if I needed to pray about it, that would be preposterous, right?

Discipling our own children is part of the great commission.  When parents disciple their own children, it is with purpose, it is to understand the character of God, to discern and to know how to please Him in all that we do.  Our life is to glorify God and thus, our entire self is to have a kingdom purpose.  This is what it means to live for Him.

Homeschooling is also a great way to stay with our children and to educate them in a trade or skill that will be enhanced with their God given talents.  Only by seeing closely what the gifting is of our children, will we be able as parents to lead them in the way they should go in order to cultivate the kingdom purpose behind what they will do with those talents.  And what a wonderful way to fulfill His purpose, to plant our home in a family economy, to be intentional about creating generations with vision for our families.

 

Homeschooling Generations

Case in point: just the other day I heard a bible study on the topic of generations and the vision God had for men of God to teach the sons of his sons.  Abraham was a first generation.  He left the Chaldeans and was committed to building the altar to the Lord.  He left all his wealth and packed up and went to serve the Lord.  However, his son Isaac was a compromiser.  He was a well digger and sought his own needs first.  He looked for the benefits to himself with a what’s-in-it-for-me attitude.  Finally, the third generation was Jacob.  He did not have a great testimony for he was a trickster.

I really love God’s word that speaks truth even in this age.  Although these three generations lived long ago, we can learn a lot from them.  I am challenged and affirmed to continue to pursue the command to teach our children as we lie down, as we walk, as we sit in our house.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.”  Deuteronomy 6: 4-9

Homeschooling exemplifies the discipleship vision that God has for families to follow.  The home and the school therein is a picture of God’s word written upon the posts of our house and on our gates.

“Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done. For he 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: And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God. The children of Ephraim, being armed, and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle. They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law; And forgat his works, and his wonders that he had shewed them.”  Psalm 78: 1-11

As I read this Psalm, I see it as a warning.  I don’t want my children to forget the teachings of the Lord that they learned at home.  It would grieve my soul and burden me immensely if they were to sell themselves to the world for a cheap imitation of Christianity.  It would pain me so to see them sit in rebellion and to pitter-patter in shallow character.  God warns us to consider seriously the effects of our sin and disobedience and warns us of his judgment for generations to come.

“And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.  And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.  And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.”  Exodus 34: 5-9

God makes the point to Moses about how abundant His mercy is. He has enough mercy for all of Israel.  But He will judge the unrepentant sinner that passes on his non- moral disobedient lifestyle to his children. As He promises keeping mercy for thousands, but not always pardoning the guilty. (Exodus 34:7).  We see the same in Nahum 1 verse 3: ”The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, And will not at all acquit the wicked.”

God is merciful but He is also just and fair and must punish sin.  His promise to the nation of Israel is that if one passes their sin down from each generation, training their children in idolatry and disobedience, God will not let His mercy continue and will bring punishment.

 

The Challenge

I don’t believe it will be the easiest thing I will ever do, homeschooling.  I know it will bring with it troubles and trials.  But knowing that God is in the center of it all brings me more comfort than doubt.  I am not competent, I am not a professional but God commanded us to teach our children His law and to disciple our children.  We must not let the Spirit of the Age be our guide, but rather use His word to be our example.  This journey to homes chool starts with conviction and the desire to please God.  He will take weaknesses we hold and carry us forth.

When I got married I knew nothing of being a wife.  I had some life skills, some conviction to do certain things, and I had God more than anything.  It is the same as mothering, and discipling our children.  If we want our children to draw closer to each other and to God, we must draw closer to them for that short time that they are ours before they are launched out of our quiver.

A Growing Love

“For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.  I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.  My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.  Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.  How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!  If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.”  Psalms 139: 13-18

There’s plenty of time to take care of life’s responsibilities, but there’s only so much time to focus on the joy and the many blessings that my heavenly Father brings.

Today I turned thirty-eight years old, by grace of God.  I don’t deserve anything that I have.  I am thankful and so glad for the time I have to reflect on His goodness.  My husband this morning gave me some sweet thoughts and birthday wishes as I prepared to get my eldest son to school.  He said that although he can’t wisp me away to some vacation spot or give me anything special for my birthday, he wished he could and that he hoped I would accept what he can give.

And I do.

I said in our wedding vows that I do– for richer for poor, for better for worse, in sickness and in health, til death–

And every year, I am reminded of those vows.

In fact, this past year in particular, as eventful as it’s been, it has brought my husband and I closer to the Lord, and thus, closer to each other and to our children.  We have so much to be thankful for.  My boys prepared some coloring pages for me to enjoy and my eldest in fact, drew some hearts, some smiley faces that represent each of the 5 members of our family.  He asked me the other day what was one of my favorite colors, and I said yellow.  He used that to depict the frame of his drawings.

Yellow.  A ray of sunshine from my children, a light in the dark.  How sweet it is for me to think of the meekness of our Lord when I see the beautiful pictures my children drew for me, yellows and blues.  My eldest arrived with flowers and a cake that he chose from the store.  We ate and had a blessed time, laughing and giggling at the things we see our little girl (now 6 months) do, as she plays with her feet and stretches her arms outside of her blanket to touch our chin.

For lunch, my mother also brought flowers and we went out to eat some soup, salad, and salmon.  As she looked at her watch, she reminisced about how thirty-eight years ago she was in labor about to bring me into this world.  And I sat to look at her think about all those years that have passed since then.  I can only remember vignettes of my childhood through photos and stories and vague memories, and since that is true of time, that it is a vapor and is fleeting, I decided to photograph the beautiful flowers my children and mother gave this year since they too will have an end and will be remembered only through the span of time.

His Child

I met my heavenly Father at the age of 10, but met my carnal father when I was fourteen.  When I became a child of God, I realized how my almighty Father called me and forged me into the crucible of difficulty very early on in my life.

My mom became a single parent the day I was born.  In the seventies, it seemed I fell into a category that people would talk about.  For many, it was perceived that a child in my situation would have no chance in this world.  It seemed like my life would be doomed for hard-ache because my life would be one to cast out.  Today, we need only look at the age in which we live to see that life indeed continues to be dispensable.

When my mother announced to her sisters that she was pregnant, her second eldest sister said, You will never stop making bad decisions, will you?  By grace of God, my mother worked hard to sustain us and raise me all alone.  She never took money from public assistance to provide my needs at all.  She worked in hard assembly at a factory for over 20 years and then went to night-school to earn her GED.  I remember as a child, seeing her graduate in that royal blue cap and gown one evening.  It was something I had yet to understand fully, but as time went on, I realized what a sacrifice it truly was for her to achieve her HS diploma.

Now, I see women like my mom, and the children raised by them.  It is a common story that many pro-abortionist don’t talk about.  The message from them is always very clear: a child is not meant to be.  But as believers, we view children as a gift and we know God is the author of life.

On this birthday, I am joyful for the love of my mother, and my husband, and especially my God, who was always ready and willing for me to call Him Abba, Father.  Although my carnal father is not nearly as present in my life as I’d like, I am blessed that my Creator was willing to adopt me into His family.  My situation always reminds me of that picture of God’s family, how we are adopted into His own when we cry out to Him for salvation.

It wasn’t until I married that I realized the impact that my carnal father’s absence had on me: my personality, my parenting, my being a wife.  Fatherlessness indeed interrupts and destroys the purpose for man to teach his children as commanded by God because we are called to spread the image of God across the earth and to bring honor and glory to Him through our lives and those of our children.  I am blessed on this day to see how precious His thoughts are unto me indeed.  How much His love is sufficient for me!  I look to my children and see their sweet faces and wonder why God would bless me so and give me so much when I do not deserve any of it.  But He gives not because we are good (because we are not), but because He is good.

And He is good always, no matter the circumstance.

A Call to Revival

“And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.  Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.  Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.  Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.  He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”   Revelation 3: 1-6

I recently attended a revival meeting.  I always look forward to these events only because I am of the notion that we only talk about revival unless something stinks; unless something is beginning to die.  I know that our faith, our churches, our families can be at the cusp of dying, so revival is always in season, it seems.  Revival, by definition means to revive something, and thus, only something that is dead can be revived.

Revival awakens the mind of the believer to examine herself.  This awakening takes place and the result, it is hoped, is that it brings about more activity for the Kingdom.

We look at the church of Sardis and see that it was a majestic fortress.  It was magnificent until an earthquake devastated the city.  But it was rebuilt and renewed.  The problem with the church of Sardis was not heresy, but spiritual death.  In spite of its reputation for being active, Sardis was infested with sin.  Its deeds were evil.  Its garments were soiled.  The Spirit has no words of commendation for this church that looked good on the outside but was corrupt on the inside.  Even though Christ called Sardis a dead church, He also affirmed the handful of people who were faithful believers.

“I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead,” can be translated as “I know your reputation as an alive church, but you are dead.” (v1)  The church of Sardis was urged to go back to what they first heard and believed, to get back to the basics of the faith.  It is important to grow in our knowledge of the Lord, to deepen our understanding through careful study.  But no matter how much we learn, we must never abandon the basic truths.  The church was also told to wake up.  Their wealth and comfort had lulled them to sleep.  Their self-satisfaction caused them to die spiritually.  Not only had they wandered from the apostles’ teaching, but they were no longer growing in faith and in evangelism.  They lacked compassionate service to others and had no unity or love.

“He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” (v5)  To be clothed in white raiment means to be set apart for God and made pure.  Christ promises future honor and eternal life to those who stand firm in their faith.  The names of all the believers are registered in the Book of Life.  This book symbolizes God’s knowledge of who belongs to Him.  All such people are guaranteed a listing in the Book of Life and introduced to the hosts of heaven as belonging to Christ.

There are two admonitions that we can relate to this passage as we seek revival in our own lives today.

 

Remembrance

I remember my old self before  surrendering my life to Christ as a child of God.  When I remember who I used to be, I recall the people I knew, the work I poured hours into, the places I went to, the books I read, the time I spent.  All of it only now as a memory, reminds me of how God’s mercy saved me from all that sin

As believers, we should not forget our roots, where we once were before the saving power of Christ.  When we remember our old sin, we do so in order to be witnesses of God’s transformative and sanctifying power.  We are not the same as we once were, and should never be again.  We are changed and made anew.

We remember Christ in the last supper when we have communion as a church body at a given time.  Likewise, we ought to reach back to the things of our heritage.  I know that for some churches, it takes about 8 weeks for them to orient congregants into membership.  In this time, new members are learning the history of what a  Baptist is, and why the church has the name Baptist on their letterhead to begin with.  So many churches do not take the time to educate their members on this heritage, however.  It is useless to remember our heritage if we do not keep, own, and  grasp those things that are of our heritage.

 

Repentance

Repentance is a change in attitude that will change a behavior.  I heard a podcast recently that talked about 5 areas in which the church needs to repent in order for us to experience revival and defeat the death of our churches:

1. Biblically qualified leadership
2. Family discipleship
3. Church discipline:  The church will continue to backslide in immorality and relativism if there is no discipline set in action.  How does a Pastor effectively counsel if there is no discipline being exercised in a church?
4. Regenerative church membership:  We need to be honest about who we are.  What are the tenets of what it means to be a Baptist, for instance.
5. Christian education:  A new birth in Christ creates a thirst for knowledge.  Proverbs 26: 10 depart from it.  Luke 6:40 above the teacher.  We fool ourselves to think 14K hours of Caesar is not going to impact your world-view.  We ought to know that who and where and what we learn molds our worldview and if we aren’t watchful, the Lord says He will “come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.”

If you find yourself in a dead church, make sure you preserve your own faithfulness.  Ask God to intervene.  Ask God to help you find other believers, and pray together for a revival in your church.  Are you watchful and alert?  If God has given you a place of responsibility to teach, to lead, or to serve, use that influence to encourage those around you to be spiritually awake and morally prepared.  We need to “be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: “  We have the instruction and the infrastructure in our church, but if we pretend that everything is ok, then nothing gets better and nothing gets stronger for the Kingdom.

The good news is that there are some in Sardis that are still alive.  The garment is white.  It is not to say that they are better, but rather to say that they would like to bring along those that are dead.  We need to beg God to wake us up, to make us miserable in our current circumstance in order for voices to be raised that will tell the truth and not pretend we are alive when the stench of death lingers.

When a Shepherd Leaves

“Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.”  Acts 20: 28

Very commonplace it is to see that Pastors in the Baptist church leave the flock God has entrusted them with for another flock somewhere else.  Gone it seems, are the days when a Pastor remains true to the church in which God placed him, from his calling to that church up to the day of his burial.  With a heavy IFB church network, it seems very easy for Pastors today to follow a corporate approach when it comes to decisions to relocate.  Does being a Pastor nowadays continue to originate in a calling to the pastorate, or is it considered a job that can be transferable at any given moment?  If the latter, is this God’s design?

God gives a Pastor a flock to tend to, but is it justifiable for a shepherd to abandon his current flock to tend to another one that is hurting?

I think about Moses in the Old Testament and how burdened he was for his flock in the desert.  He didn’t abandon it, although their griping and complaining could have been enough for anyone in this age to want to terminate any duty to serve such a crowd.  Moses fulfilled his calling for the name of God to the very end.

One could argue that the Apostle Paul is such an example because he traveled and was in different churches and thus, a Pastor who relocates is completely in line with scripture.  However, we must remember that Paul the Apostle was a missionary and a church planter.  Today, missionaries and church planters come and go as well.  This is to be expected.  This is scriptural.

 

The High-Profile Church

A high-profile church called our Pastor to lead them recently, but the question is whether God called him.

I don’t believe our Shepherd left us for greener pastures.  Suffice to say, our Shepherd left us for another church that has a history of immorality and irresponsible leadership muddled by years of heresy.  The field there has some very rotten fruit and it will be a lonely place for a godly shepherd to lead.  The leadership at that church has fallen so far away from a solid testimony of Christian courtesy that it circumvented any communication between theirs and our deacon board to express interest in pursuing our Pastor, a shepherd with an established calling to our church, a calling that arrived on God’s time and was used to heal our broken church and restore it to honor His name.  However, ultimately, it is the Pastor’s decision to go or to stay.

I am (and I am sure many are also) puzzled that the high-profile church was unable to find a man of God within their church to lead their church body.  Although the Bible lays out a very direct process and requirement list for church leaders (i.e.: pastors/bishops, elders/deacons, deacons’ wives), it is a sad time in Christian history when not a solid man in a church of enormous numbers can be found fitting to lead the house of God!  The scriptural requirements are found in the following passages:

“For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee: if any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; but a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.” Titus 1: 5-9

The Apostle Paul briefly describes some qualifications that the elders, or bishops should have.  Like Titus, he gave Timothy a similar set of instruction for the church in Ephesus.  Notice that most of the qualifications involve character, not knowledge or skill.  Since a person’s lifestyle and relationships provide a window into his character, we ought to consider these qualifications as we evaluate a man for a position of leadership in our churches.  While it is important to have an elder or pastor who can effectively preach the word of God, it is more important to have one who can live out God’s word  and be an example others can follow.

“This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; one that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.  Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”  1 Timothy 3: 1-7

Paul enumerates some of the qualifications of a spiritual leader and the standards are indeed high!  Leaders should  not be elected because they are popular, nor should they be allowed to push their way to the top.  Instead they should be chosen by the church because of their respect for the truth, both in what they believe and in how they live.  Christian leaders sometimes make the poor decision of being so involved in their work that they neglect their families, and especially the firm discipline of their children.  Spiritual leadership, however, must begin at home.  If a man is not willing to care for, discipline, and disciple his children, he is not fit to lead the church.

“Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.  And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.  Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.”  1 Peter 5: 2-5.

Peter describes several characteristics of good leaders in the church. They realize they are caring for God’s flock, not their own; they lead out of eagerness to serve, not out of obligation; they are concerned for what they can give, not for what they can get; they lead by example, not by force.

We need to look at the man’s family.  We need to consider that the teaching gifts are of utmost importance.  We need to ask if this man can manage his household well.

Pastoral search committees continue to ask flagship churches who they would recommend to take on the mantle of Pastor for their church.  The approach many times in this quest may be likened to that of a corporation looking for an executive.  The Apostle Paul, as the church planter and missionary that he was, trained individuals locally to eventually lead the church and it is from within that we see this approach to leadership.  Knowing this then, it is disconcerting to observe what is taking place because when examined carefully, it is evident that this high-profile church saw something good at a humble, growing church across the nation and said, I like the Pastor they have and we want him for ourselves now.  For their benefit, it was justified only through their constant reiterations of conforming their actions to a said will from God, a premise that hides the sin of covetousness quite well.

I think we need to be very careful when we discern the will of God for our lives, as He makes it clear how we can recognize it with certainty and avoid reading tea leaves instead.  When someone roots their actions in the language of a ‘calling,’ they are explicitly stating that God revealed His will to him and to challenge that is to challenge God Himself.

The intention here is not to challenge God at all.  The intention is to challenge believers to look at the scriptures for the answers to questions concerning church order, the will of God, and any other truth we are seeking.  This is written in the spirit of Christian grace and charity and because I don’t have all the answers, I search the scriptures for truth, and would welcome any biblical counsel on matters such as this.

I don’t know the answers to all of what goes on in the body of Christ, but looking at it vigilantly, it would seem that something is seriously amiss in the halls of some well-known IFB churches – something so wrong that Pastors in the fellowship are beginning to disassociate and decide that their participation in the network may no longer be wise.  Considering the heavy influence of the IFB network, it is an appropriate question to ask if the church is local at all, as it so surely identifies itself.

As for us in our current church body, we will need plenty of good examples.  Our Pastor was a part of many people’s lives and it will become evident as such a time as this who the faithful servants of God are.  Like the church in Sardis, God will walk with the few who “have not defiled their garments.”  (Revelation 3: 4)  Many congregants will leave because they won’t be getting what they got from our Pastor, and in a way, that is good.  God will do some spring cleaning here at this time in order to benefit the church body.

In the midst of this journey, my family and I are experiencing some renewed energy and joy.  We find our strength in the Lord alone and in each other.  We seek friends that are wise and that will encourage in a time as this.  We are focused more than ever on the direction God is taking our family, with goals to home-school, with discipleship, with a strong desire to seek the truth in scriptures with fervor.  We have a revival in our home and that is a good thing.  And after all, God is good, and He is good always, no matter the circumstance.