December 2018

It is hard to believe that another year is almost over.  Two thousand and eighteen years have gone by since Jesus entered the world as a baby.  Tomorrow we will begin a new year — 2019.  2018 was a milestone year for me as I marked 50 years of teaching and celebrated 50 years of marriage to my amazing wife.  As I enter 2019, I find myself wondering what the new year will be like and what does God have in store for me, my family and my ministry.

Last week I was reading in the Psalms and a couple of verses jumped off the pages and caused me to stop and reflect for a moment.  I read,

The days of our years are threescore years and ten (70); and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years (80), yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. Psalm 90:10 (KJV)

Of course, I gave this verse a close look because I find myself somewhere between threescore and ten and fourscore years.  It is true that life here on earth is brief and passes by so quickly and the years are filled with labor and sorrow.  I continued reading and paused at another very familiar verse.

So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Psalm 90:12 (KJV)

It is important to pay attention to every single day that God gives us here on earth.  As I numbered my days, I found myself humbled to have been blessed by God in so many ways over the years.  God wants us to take careful account of our lives because that will cause us to acquire a heart filled with wisdom.  When we do this, we would quickly realize that, apart from Him, we can accomplish nothing of eternal significance.

So how should we enter 2019?  To answer this question, I want to reflect on two other verses that I read the other day.  These are found in Psalm 92.

It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High: to shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night, Psalm 92:1-2 (KJV)

Another translation says that we should declare God’s lovingkindness in the morning and His faithfulness at night.  These verses have guided me over recent years on how to start and end each day as I number them.  I wrote in the margin of my Bible next to verse 2 the following thoughts.

At the beginning of each day ‘look forward’ with HOPE!

At the end of each day ‘look back’ with THANKS!

When I start a day, I should focus on God’s never-ending lovingkindness.  This gives me hope no matter what circumstances  I might face throughout any given day.  When the day ends and I look back on all that took place, I become thankful because I am always amazed that He was fully faithful to His Word.  He never fails!

I believe this is a great way to not only start and end a new day but also how to start and end a new year!  As we enter 2019, let’s do so declaring God’s lovingkindness.  I am convinced that if we did this throughout 2019, when the year comes to an end and we look back, we would find that God was completely faithful and we would end the year with thanksgiving in our hearts, singing praises to His name.

I encourage you to take a few minutes and reflect on 2018.  I am sure that we all faced some minor and major challenges over the course of the year.  There may have been a time when you may have wondered how you would even survive to see another day.  As I look back on 2018, I can only give praise to the One who was with me each step of the way.  What an amazing God we serve!  I pray that God will show forth His lovingkindness to you each day of 2019.

Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Philippians 4:20 (KJV)

It is hard to believe that 2018 will soon be over and a brand new year will be here.  As I look forward to 2019 with a sense of excitement, I want to take the opportunity to reflect back on all that God has done in my life and ministry this past year.

A couple of days ago I came to Psalm 71 in my daily Bible reading.  The Psalmist takes time to look back over his life and becomes enthralled by God’s goodness over his many days on earth.  As I read through this powerful psalm, I was reminded that God creates each and every person and actually knows him/her before he/she is formed in the womb.  Then God sustains us from birth until death.

By You I have been upheld from birth;
You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb.
My praise shall be continually of You. Psalm 71:6 (NKJV)

It is because of God’s sustaining lovingkindness, we can trust Him completely for whatever the future might hold.  I found myself praising the Lord when I read these words.

But I will hope continually,
And will praise You yet more and more. Psalm 71:14 (NKJV)

As I continued reading, I saw where I had written in the margin of my Bible the following words, my prayer at age 71.  I had written these words at the beginning of 2018.  Here are the words that I had claimed as my prayer at the beginning of this year.

Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come.  Also Your righteousness, O God, is very high, You who have done great things; O God, who is like You?  You, who have shown me great and severe troubles, shall revive me again, And bring me up again from the depths of the earth. You shall increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side.  Psalm 71:18-21 (NKJV)

I have been reflecting on this prayer that I prayed 12 months ago and find myself amazed at how God has and continues to miraculously answer it.  There is no question that this past year has not been without some difficult valleys that I have had to pass through.  However, God has sustained me through every trial and testing and has allowed me to experience some unbelievable mountaintop experiences.

When I think about the phrase do not forsake me, until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come, I find myself blown away by the doors of opportunity that God opened up to me during 2018.  Here are some of the awesome works that God has done in my life and ministry this year that allowed me to share the message of kingdom education to the current and future generations around the world.

• God has led me to a deeper understanding of kingdom education over the past several months.
• Subscribers to KEM’s weekly blogs has increased significantly throughout 2018.
• Opportunities to travel and conduct seminars and staff inservices increased significantly across the country and even to parts of Australia.
• A series of 32, 30-minute training videos were filmed and edited by a very talented creative team at Word of God Ministries (WOGM) in Shreveport, LA (with more being developed for release in 2019).
• With the help of WOGM, a brand new website for Kingdom Education Ministries rolled out in early 2018.  This new website allowed me to share the message of kingdom education more effectively around the world.
• As part of the new website, a subscription side was developed that allowed schools, churches and families to have access to a wide variety of resources at a very low rate.  This has led to over 100 subscribers (both schools and families) in five different countries to have access to training that would help them develop a stronger biblical worldview and strengthen their commitment to providing future generations with a biblical worldview education.
• New opportunities to join with other individuals and organizations developed and continue to become available which has allowed the message of kingdom education to have a wider impact throughout the world.
• Mentoring opportunities have begun with some godly young leaders in an effort to provide Kingdom Education Ministries with ongoing leadership.

There is no question in my mind that none of this would have been possible if it weren’t for God’s blessing and provision.  Because of God’s awesome work, I agree with the Psalmist.

Also Your righteousness, O God, is very high, You who have done great things; O God, who is like You? Psalm 71:19 (NKJV)

God has placed a greater burden on my heart to develop more resources that will allow many more homes, churches and schools worldwide understand kingdom education.  Who knows how many subscribers to KEM’s subscription website will be added to the growing numbers during the new year.  I believe that thousands of parents, church leaders and educators will be equipped through these resources and be better able to provide future generations with a biblical worldview education. 

If anyone would have asked me what 2018 would be like last January, I wouldn’t have come close to imagining what God would allow me to be a part of.  So as I look forward to 2019, I do so with a spirit of thanksgiving and excitement.  

I pray that everyone who reads this week’s blog will have a blessed and Christ-filled Christmas with family and friends.  I will be taking a couple of weeks off of writing to spend time with my family and celebrate the reality of Emmanuel – God is with us!  I look forward to connecting with you in 2019! Merry Christmas!!

Have you ever received an email or text message that hit you hard and you couldn’t get it out of your mind?  Well, that happened to me last week.  I received a short email from a dear friend.  In the email, he simply shared some questions with me.  After reading it, I tried to move on with some work I had to do.  However, those questions kept coming up in my mind and, no matter what I tried to do, I couldn’t stop thinking about them.

The first question was actually a quote by John Piper from his book, God is the Gospel.

If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there?

I encourage you to carefully read that quote again.  It is a profound question to ponder.  I know what my verbal response would be.  I would boldly declare, of course not.  But then I found myself thinking about how I live my everyday life.  Do I seek the blessings of knowing Christ or do I seek Him?

This would have been convicting enough but my friend’s email took Piper’s quote and applied it to a real life example.  My friend wrote,

Now take that question and change it.

If you could have a school that had all the latest technology, a very competitive sports program, academically excellent, high ACT and SAT scores, a creative arts and drama program, high involvement in community and service projects, humanitarian global mission teams, moral and ethical students, high graduation rates, and a high percentage of students going to college, could you be satisfied with that school, if Christ were not there?

He concluded his email to me with an additional question.  Why would we be okay with anything in our lives if Christ were not there?  There is little doubt in my mind that everyone reading this post would say that Christ is more important than all of these other things that are mentioned above.  Yet, if we think about an average day that goes by, do we really seek Christ in everything or do we strive to accomplish all of the other very worthy things that are mentioned in the questions above?

One of the biblical principles that I present in my book, Kingdom Education, is that the education of children and youth must hold Christ preeminent in the entire educational process.  But is it truly a reality in how we live our lives and fulfill our roles in the home, church and/or school?  I enjoy listening to music while I am traveling.  When I started pondering the questions that my friend posed to me, the chorus of Natalie Grant’s song, More Than Anything, came to my mind.

Help me want the Healer more than the healing
Help me want the Savior more than the saving
Help me want the Giver more than the giving
Help me want you Jesus more than anything

I have listened to those words many times before but for the first time I asked myself do I really want the Healer more than the healing, the Savior more than the saving, or the Giver more than the giving?  Do I want Jesus more than anything else?  I am reminded of Paul’s mindset that was behind all that he did.

But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.  Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know Him… Philippians 3:7-10 (KJV)

What about your life and ministry?  Do you seek Jesus more than anything else?  Maybe an even bigger question is, if not, do you even miss Him?  I am still wrestling with these questions myself!  What are your thoughts?  Share them with others by leaving a comment below.