September 2019

As I have been studying the Scriptures, I have become increasingly aware of two themes that run throughout the Bible.  The first theme is most often found in words like these.

…then they will know that I am the Lord God.  Ezekiel 28:24 (NASB)

I have found it fascinating that this seems to be the motivation behind everything that God does.  You find these words, or very similar statements made, whenever God:

• worked a miracle such as parting the waters of the Red Sea for the Israelites to cross through on dry ground.
• gave victory to one of His followers like when David defeated Goliath.
• judged the wicked which was a common prophecy that He gave about several nations through the prophet Ezekiel.
• brought judgement on His children when they followed after idols rather than following after Him.

God’s desire to be known by all people as the Lord God can even be seen in His decision to create the heavens and the earth.  Psalm 19:1-3 and Romans 1:20 tell us that even lost people have no excuse for not knowing that there is a God because all of creation shouts His existence.

I am sure that you have marveled when reading about how God did supernatural things through ordinary people in Scripture.  What I found intriguing as I studied so many of these accounts in Scripture was the heart motivation of the people that God used.  For example, when David stood before Goliath, he made this bold statement.

This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.   I Samuel 17:46 (NKJV)

One can also see this motivation driving Elijah when he confronted the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel.  After he repaired and prepared the altar, Elijah prayed this prayer.

Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.  1 Kings 18:37 (NKJV)

Following this theme in Scripture has challenged me to realize that God will do whatever is needed in my life so that others will know that He alone is the Lord God.  If I follow after the gods of this world, He will accomplish this through His judgement on my life.

However, if I follow after Him with all my heart, soul and mind, He can show others that He is God by blessing me and/or working through me.  This has caused me to search my heart and check my motivation behind everything I do.  It is my desire to serve Him in such a way that others will see Christ in me and know that He is the Lord God.

What would happen in homes, churches and Christian schools if parents, pastors and educators would pray that God would do a work in their lives so that their children would know that He is the Lord God?  I believe we would be able to witness the next generation surrendering to Christ and possibly turning their world upside down.

Next week I will share with you the second theme that has captured my attention as I study His Word.

What Is The Key To Freedom?

Last week we looked at how a vast majority of people, including the majority of Christians, are being held captive by false ideas.  Many, if not all, of these false ideas are a result of the education that they received.   This is because no education is neutral or void of spiritual meaning.  The reason why education cannot be neutral is that all education is presented from the teacher’s, parent’s and/or church leader’s worldview.

Since there is a person will either walk in freedom or be held in captivity, we need to know how one can choose freedom over captivity.  Parents, church leaders and educators must understand that education is the determining factor on whether or not a person walks in freedom or is held in the chains of captivity.  This should cause us to realize that we must give our children and youth an education that will lead them into freedom and not into captivity.

The only type of education that leads people to live lives of freedom is a biblical worldview education.  This is because a biblical worldview education is based on truth and the existence of God, who created and sustains all things.  The apostle John, under the inspiration Holy Spirit, wrote,

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  John 8:31-32 (NKJV)

Here we find Jesus identifying three groups of people.  There were the:

• unbelievers — these were the Jews who didn’t believe.
• believers — these were the Jews who did believe.
• disciples — these were the believers who continued or abided in God’s Word.

Jesus made the bold statement that His disciples, those who continued/abided in the Word, would know truth and truth will bring freedom into their lives.  We must give our children and youth an education, at home, church and school, that is grounded on God’s Word.  Then, the education they receive must teach all subjects and all lessons from a biblical worldview context.  This is the only way we can guide our children to walk in truth and be free.

This year I am helping the Christian school at the church I attend by teaching biology, chemistry and physics.  The school had lost its secondary science teacher and was finding it difficult to fill the vacancy.  It was sad to learn that the school interviewed several candidates but none of them believed the biblical account of creation.  So, I offered to fill this void till another science teacher could be found.

It has been both challenging and exciting to put the philosophy of kingdom education into practice.  I am spending a lot of time helping these teens understand that the study of science isn’t about merely learning the theories and laws that govern life and creation.  They are beginning to see that science helps man solve problems that everyone faces due to living in a fallen world.  These students are coming to understand that everyone is created in the image of God.  Because of this, man has been given the ability to observe, experiment and understand God’s creation ordinances that rule the universe.  Through these courses they can understand the very nature of God, Himself (see Psalm 19:1; Romans 1:20).

When this takes place in a person’s education, he/she comes to know that there is a God who created everything.  They also come to know Him personally and are challenged to abide in Him (His Word).  This results in them breaking free from the captivity of having a false worldview.  Of course, this isn’t relegated merely to the science classroom.  All education should be aimed at this same goal.  This is because all subjects come from some aspect of creation and, therefore, is way of God making Himself known to the students that are studying these courses.

I have been fascinated by what other scientist knew about studying science and coming to know God.  One such scientist was Werner Heisenberg.  Heisenberg was a Noble laureate physicist and one of the fathers of quantum mechanics.  He stated,

Galileo argued that nature, God’s second book, is written in mathematical letters…Kepler is even more explicit in his work on world harmony; he says: God created the world in accordance with His ideas of creation.  These ideas are the pure archetypal forms which Plato termed Ideas, and they can be understood by man as mathematical constructs.  They can be understood by Man, because Man was created in the spiritual image of God.  Physics is reflection on the divine Ideas of Creation, therefore physics is divine service.

Lord William Kelvin helped form the basis of modern physics, the second law of thermodynamics and the absolute temperature scale, the dynamic theory of heat, the basic concepts for electromagnetic theory of light and the fundamental works in hydrodynamics.  As he studied science and discovered God’s marvelous creation ordinances (some people call them laws of nature), he said,

If you study science deep enough and long enough, it will force you to believe in God.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of our children and youth are not getting an education that is guiding them to know and understand that God is the creator and sustainer of the universe.  Instead, they are being indoctrinated in a secular educational system that denies or ignores the very existence of God.  As a result they are being taken captive by false ideas and this captivity leads to destruction and ruin (see Hosea 4).

It is time for the home, church and school to become a unified force that provides children with a biblical worldview education.  When this happens they can go from being an unbeliever to becoming a believer and finally to become a disciple of Jesus.  The result will be life-changing and culture-shaping — because they will be FREE!

Desire To Be Free!

There is one thing that I have witnessed throughout my time here on earth.  Every person longs to be free.  No matter one’s condition in life, there is that desire to live in freedom.  In fact, the reason why tyrannical dictators are known for their horrific destruction of human life is because they are fearful of losing their power.  They know, better than anyone else, that if the smallest glimmer of freedom is seen by their citizens, it may lead to a revolt in an effort to bring freedom to the masses.

Even though this desire to be free from captivity is found in every person, there are many people today who are living in total captivity and don’t even know it.  This is especially true for many Christians.  The Apostle Paul was keenly aware of the subtleness of being taken captive without knowing that it is happening.  This is why he warns Christians to be on guard and don’t allow themselves to be taken captive.

 Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words…Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.  Colossians 2:4 & 8 (NKJV)

Paul is talking about a form of captivity that is more dangerous than being taken captive physically by an oppressive government.  He is warning Christians not to be taken captive through persuasive words and false ideas.  This type of captivity is taking place all around us on a daily basis.  What is so troubling about this is that most Christians are not aware of it and may even be complicit in it happening.

The reason why this is extremely dangerous is that there isn’t a person or group of people that come in with weapons and physically attack people and put them in bondage.  Instead, it takes place right before our eyes, throughout each and every day.  The targets of this attempt to take people captive are our children and youth.  We find this occurring in the media, entertainment industry and educational institutions.

We may not see this happening but we are very much aware of the results of it happening.  Most of us seem shocked when we hear of such things as:

• drag queen story hours taking place with young children in public libraries and school classrooms
• children thinking that they are a different gender than their biological sex says they are
• more and more individuals of the z generation desiring to live under socialism and/or communism
• an alarming number of young adults who describe themselves as being religious nones

Dr. Christian Overman, in his recent blog Delusional Thinking Among Educators Today, gives an example of a school policy that clearly shows that there is an all-out effort to take students captive.

Some students may feel uncomfortable with a transgender student using the same sex-segregated restroom, locker room or changing facility. This discomfort is not a reason to deny access to the transgender student.

Secular education has become more and more intent on taking every student’s mind captive through persuasive words and false philosophy.  The result is that the vast majority of young people, including Christians, are now living their lives in captivity to mere human traditions that are in line with the basic principles of the world.  Recently, a person tweeted about this type of dangerous captivity that is all too common throughout America and around the world.  He related what is happening with people today to what happened to Lot in Genesis 14.

Compromise with the world eventually leads to being captured by the world.  Jeff Johnson

Unfortunately, this doesn’t just take place in secular educational institutions.  It can also take place in Christian homes, churches and schools.  For this to take place all that is needed is to compromise just a little on the truth of God’s Word.  When we place human opinion and research above what God’s Word states, we are headed down the road to compromise and eventually into captivity.

Os Guinness gets right at the heart of the matter when he wrote,

Either we conform our desires to the truth or we conform the truth to our desires.

There is a solution to this massive effort to make every young person’s mind captive to today’s culture.  That solution is to give them a biblical worldview education.  Christian parents, pastors and educators must be as intentional, or even more intentional, about educating their children and youth from a biblical worldview perspective than the world is from its perspective.  Again, I call your attention to something that Jeff Johnson shared recently on social media.  He wrote,

The Christian who is not intentional in developing a biblical worldview will find himself with a worldview that is more culturally shaped than biblically shaped.

As a new school year begins all across the United States, it is imperative that Christian school administrators and teachers be trained to develop a strong biblical worldview and a biblical philosophy of education.  Then, church leaders and parents must also receive training in these two critical areas.  If not, Christians will not have the biblical worldview that they need to have so that they can, then, give it to the next generation.  This is why I have put so much energy into developing needed resources over the past several years.  It is my desire to have such training available to the home, church and school.  It has been exciting to see more and more schools and individuals become KEM Prime Members and use these valuable resources to be better prepared for the battle.

Why is this so important?  It is because the freedom of future generations depend on it!  I pray hundreds and thousands will join me in this battle to bring true freedom to our children and youth.

The first Monday of September is designated as Labor Day in the United States.  Each time I think of this holiday, I try to reflect on the meaning of my labor or work.  I recently asked a high school student what her plans were when she finished high school.  She didn’t hesitate at all when she told me what she wanted to do in life.

I want to get a job that is a lot of fun where I can make a lot of money.

Unfortunately, this is the mindset of a lot of people when it comes to their goals for the future and work.  They want to do something that they really enjoy as long as it pays well.  One person has said that work is now defined as something that people do that enables them to consume.  The more they can consume, the happier they will be.

Many other people worship their work.  They put as much time and energy as possible in their work; even if it takes away from spending time with their families.  Many times this group of people are called workaholics because their work consumes almost all of their waking hours.  Their identity is their work.  They seem to be saying, I am what I do!

This is a far cry from how God wants His people to view work.  Christians have lost the idea that work is to be a vocation to which God calls them to serve Him and others.  In addition to the fact that most Christians see work as simply a job to pay the bills and accumulate as much stuff as possible, their children and youth are taking this shortcoming to an all new level.  Recent studies indicate that the majority of millennials actually prefer to live in a communistic or socialistic society where the government is supposed to meet all their needs.

Author and pastor, Tim Keller, gives us a warning about not viewing work as something we do to glorify God.

You will not have a meaningful life without work, but you will lose yourself if you say work is the meaning of your life.

Whether you are celebrating Labor Day somewhere in the United States or you are at work somewhere around the world, I want to challenge you to see your work as something God has called you to do in order to steward some aspect of His creation.  Let’s make sure we do our work for His glory and the good of others.