kingdomeducationministries

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.

All across the United States family and friends will gather together on Thursday for fellowship, fun and food.  This is because the third Thursday of November is celebrated as Thanksgiving Day.  There are several other countries that take time during the year to pause and give thanks for all of life’s blessings.  Of course, Thanksgiving Day in America is set aside to give thanks to the Lord for all of the blessings He has bestowed on us throughout our 200+ years of history.  Unfortunately, the true meaning of Thanksgiving Day has been lost in the busyness of football games, travel and, of course, Black Friday sales gimmicks.  As with most Christian holidays  in America, Thanksgiving Day has succumbed to the secular culture.  In fact, some secular history textbooks present the first Thanksgiving as a time when the Colonists met and gave thanks to the Indians for their help as they settled in the New World.  God is completely ignored.

Even though it is good to take one day each year to give thanks to the Lord for all of His rich blessings on our lives, thanksgiving should be a way of life for the Christian.  It isn’t supposed to be something we just do on a national holiday.  Paul makes this clear in many of his letters in the New Testament.  Two specific verses come to my mind when I think about being thankful for what God does for me each and everyday.

 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.  1 Thessalonians 5:18 (KJV)

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  Philippians 4:6 (KJV)

Recently I sat down and started thinking about how much God has done for me over the course of my life.  Let me share a few of the things for which I am thankful to God.

My Salvation

Sad to say, there are too many days that I allow the urgent to take control of my life and I find myself not consciously being aware of the tremendous price God paid for my salvation.  It goes beyond any human comprehension that the Creator of the universe would give His only Son as a ransom for my sin debt.  When I think about what Christ did for me by laying down His life to redeem me out of sin, it continually amazes me.  It is my desire to never take my salvation for granted but to give God thanks each and every day for this precious gift.

My Family

Next month my wife and I celebrate 50 years of marriage.  Like every marriage, there have been those rough days through which we had to navigate.  But God blessed me with a godly wife who has supported me in everything that God has led me to do.  God also has blessed the two of us with three wonderful children, their spouses and six fantastic grandchildren.  Again, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing but 3 John 4 is so true — There is no greater joy than to hear that your children walk in truth.  I thank God everyday that my three children are walking in truth today.

My Pastors

Sometimes we fail to take time to thank God for the people that God brings into our lives to guide us in the paths He wants us to walk.  I have been overwhelmingly blessed by several pastors who have taught me truth that equipped me for life and ministry.  Spending 16 years under the preaching and leadership of Dr. Jerry Falwell taught me what true faith in God is and how to live by faith each day.  Then sitting under the teaching of Dr. James Merritt and Dr. Glenn Weekly took be deeper into the truths of Scripture.  I also had the privilege to serve with Dr. Michael Catt for nine years at Sherwood Baptist Church.  God used Michael to teach me the importance of prayer in my daily life.  I have also been blessed by the friendships that I have forged with Pastor Mike Lewis at Cathedral of Praise and Pastor James McMenis at Word of God Ministries.  These two men have provided me with biblical counsel and guidance so that my life and ministry would stay focused on Christ.  God has truly blessed me by allowing me to sit under the preaching of such godly men.  One day is not enough to thank Him for providing me with these ministers of God’s Word.

My Mentors

I have also been privileged to serve under and glean from several Christian educators who helped me form a biblical worldview and biblical philosophy of life.  I probably would not have survived being a school leader if it weren’t for the guidance and instruction that I received regularly from Dr. Roy Lowrie, Dr. Jack Layman, Dr. Tony Fortosis, Dr. Gene Garrick, and others.  These men had gone through the trials of leadership and were a source of encouragement and always provided me with a model for what Christ-like, servant leadership looked liked.  A special note of gratitude must go to Dr. Paul Kienel.  He had the courage to take a young Christian school administrator and give him the opportunity to serve Christian schools in 8 Southeast states as Southeast Regional Director of ACSI.  Much of my understanding of kingdom education resulted from Dr. Kienel’s exhortation for me to present a biblical philosophy of education to others.  Again, one day a year is not enough time to thank God for these and other mentors that He has brought into my life over the years.

My Ministry

I have to start by saying that Kingdom Education Ministries really isn’t my ministry — it is His ministry that He allows me to be a part of.  If it were not for God’s leading me that took me to LifeWay Christian Resources, my book, Kingdom Education, would never have been written.  It blows my mind how this little book has been used all around the world to challenge parents, church leaders and Christian educators to follow God’s plan for educating future generations.  Anything I may have been able to accomplish in proclaiming this message to others is due only to the grace of God.  I fully understand the meaning of Jesus’ words in John 15 where His said, without Jesus I can do NOTHING!

My Encouragers

Who are my encouragers?  They are those who receive and read this blog each week.  YOU are one of my encouragers and you do not know what a tremendous blessing you are are to me as you read and share my weekly ramblings with others who want to provide a biblical worldview education to as many children and youth as possible.  There is not a day that goes by that God doesn’t bring to my mind a school leader, a pastor, teacher or fellow laborer in ministry that I have had the privilege of serving and getting to know.  You are in the trenches doing the “grunt” work of putting kingdom education into practice and for that I am eternally indebted and grateful.

I could go on and on listing things for which I must daily give thanks to God.  However, my point for doing this is to encourage all of us to always be thankful for God’s blessings on our lives.  No matter what you and I may face, the truth is that God is at work to make all things good for His glory.  If you live where a specific Thanksgiving Day is observed, by all means take the time to give Him the praise He deserves.  But more importantly, in every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.  Have a blessed week!

I had the privilege of speaking at the BJ Press Worldview Conference at the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter last week.  I came away from the conference encouraged, challenged and convicted.  One of the presentations that brought the most conviction to my spirit was the one given by George Barna.  In his presentation he showed where the country was in relation to a biblical worldview.  Barna noted that:

• Only 10% of adults in the country have a biblical worldview
• When this is broken down by age group, only 1 out of every 25 Millennials (4%) have a biblical worldview
• A child’s worldview is basically formed by age 13
• The primary parenting generation [and teaching generation in schools] today is the Millennial generation

Barna’s premise was that every person, individually, and groups of individuals, corporately, only do what he/she/they believe!  This means that today’s children have a much higher probability of developing a secular worldview than a biblical one because their teachers can only give them what they, themselves, possess.

Upon returning home, I went to my bookshelves and pulled two books out that address this serious condition that we are facing in today’s Church.  The first book was The Christian Mind: How Should a Chrisitan Think?, by Harry Blamires.  As I opened the pages of this book, that I have read on a couple of occasions, I was taken captive by the first sentence in the book.  It simply states, There is no longer a Christian Mind.  Wow!  Is Blarmires stating that Christians don’t have minds?  Absolutely not.  What he is proposing is that Christians no longer possess the ability to address all of life from a biblical perspective.  In fact, Blamires states unashamedly that the Christian mind has succumbed to the secular drift with a degree of weakness unmatched in Christian History.  He postures that, in Christianity, there is

• a Christian ethic that Christians subscribe to in their personal lives that non-Christians don’t.
• a Christian practice that, as members of a church, Christians observe that is ignored by the non-Christian.
• a Christian spirituality such as prayer and meditation that a Christian might practice that is unexplored by the non-Christian.

However, when it comes to all of life, there is not any Chrisitan thinking commonly taking place.  In Blamires’ mind, most Christians accept the morality, worship and spiritual culture of religion but reject the “religious” view of life.  Christians have succumbed to the secularization of the mind.  This is evidenced by thinking that ignores the supernatural as having any part to play in everyday life.  There are those who will share their grave concerns as to the direction society is going.  In many cases, these concerns are in line with the concerns we, as Christians, have as well.  However, they can only address these issues from a humanistic view and, therefore, cannot begin to address the cause and/or the cure for the direction we are all heading in.  The alarming thing about what Blamires so accurately described is that he wrote this book in 1963.

The second book that I pulled from my book shelves was one written by Os Guinness, written 30 years after Blamires’ book was published.  I must admit that I first bought this book only because of its title — Fit Bodies, Fat Minds.  However, the subtitle of the book is what really caught my full attention the other day.  It reads, Why Evangelicals Don’t Think and What To Do About It.  Again, I found myself asking the question, Is it true that Christians don’t think?  Once again, I had to admit that all Christians think.  That is a reality of life — human beings all think!  So what was Guinness trying to say.  His main premise is that the average Christian no longer has the ability to think Christianly.  The result, according to Guinness is,

Failing to think Christianly, evangelicals have been forced into the role of cultural imitators and adapters rather than originators.  In biblical terms, it is to be worldly and conformist, not decisively Christian.

Guinness goes on to point out how evangelicals take their “religious” life seriously but Christianity does not have much, if any, influence on our everyday, non-religious life.  He makes this point when he writes,

We are a people with a true, sometimes a deep, experience of God.  But we are no longer people of truth.

Blamires and Guinness talk a great deal about “Christian” things.  I struggle with using Christian as an adjective to describe anything related to life today because the term has become so subjective.  What does Christian mean?  What does it mean to have a Christian mind?  What does Guinness mean when he says we need to think Christianly?  I am thankful that Guinness goes on to define what thinking Christianly really means.

…thinking Christianly is thinking by Christians about anything and everything in a consistently Christian way — in a manner that is shaped, directed, and restrained by the truth of God’s Word and God’s Spirit.  (emphasis mine)

This is what needs to take place in our homes, churches and schools if we are going to be able to instill a biblical worldview into the hearts and minds of children and youth.  Barna summarized his findings as he closed his presentation last week by stating,

• Most parents do not have a biblical worldview and are not seeking to develop one in their children.
• The media to which our children are exposed do not reflect biblical principles and are not seeking to develop a biblical worldview among our children.
• A huge majority of Protestant churches do not have ministries that are focused  upon helping to establish a biblical worldview in the minds and hearts of children.
• Government laws are not geared to facilitating a biblical worldview among children.

Barna then left the attendees with this challenge.

So…who is called to, and capable of, leading movement to lead the development of a biblical worldview in the minds and hearts of America’s children?

I believe the only hope is for Christians to repent of the sin of giving our children to the world for it to develop a secular mindset in them.  Then the home, church and school must unite and address the issue of education biblically!  As Nancy Pearcey puts it in her book, Total Truth,

We have to insist on presenting Christianity as a comprehensive, unified worldview that addresses all of life and reality.  It is not just religious truth but total truth!

Once we do this, we must then be committed to following God’s plan for educating future generations.

This past Friday I had the distinct privilege of attending a powerful Veterans Day Program.  I have always enjoyed and been moved at these types of programs over the years.  In fact, one the highlights of my time at Sherwood Christian Academy was participating in our annual Veterans Day Program.  However, Friday’s event was one of the most moving Veterans Day Program I have ever attended.

Vietnam War Memorial

The reason why the program had such an impact on me was because of the men who planned, prepared and presented it.  These men had spent many, many hours planning and putting together the program.  In fact, on display were three tributes to veterans and their sacrificial service to the County.

• A full-size Willys jeep made out of two pallets of cardboard, 9 gallons of glue, and 3 gallons of paint.  This work took over 750 man-hours and can actually hold a person weighing up to 200 lbs.
• A detailed replica of the Vietnam War Memorial Wall; complete with the names of the 58,300 US military persons who lost their lives in this war.  This project took over 9000 man-hours, 65 days, and over 3500 lbs. of cardboard.
• A life-size replica of the Bataan Death March Statue and Walkway.  This project was also constructed out of cardboard and glue.  It even shows the footprints beneath the three figures that represented those prisoners of war that died on the march.

The theme for this Veterans Day Program was Never Forgotten and was a tribute to the more than 80,000 US P.O.W.s and M.I.A.s that still are unaccounted for today.  This is probably the case in other countries where men and women have stood up for freedom and were taken into captivity.  The audience was brought to tears through videos and songs that were performed live by this group of men.  Several pieces, including the songs Never Forgotten, Freedom Flies, Memories and the poem, P.O.W./M/I.A., were written and performed by individuals in this group.

Bataan Death March Statue

I was literally blown-away by the sacrifice and talent that these men put into making this event so meaningful.  This is because the program was held inside Walker State Prison and the men who presented the program were inmates there.  While inside the prison compound, I reflected on the reality that many people, including myself, have forgotten that there are so many P.O.W.s and M.I.A.s that are still unaccounted for from past wars.  The theme, Never Forgotten, was not only a reminder that we cannot forget that men and women never returned home from war and no one knows where they might be but also that there are scores of men and women who are serving time in prisons all across the country whose friends and family members seem to have forgotten them and they are all alone.

Since attending this event, my mind has been meditating on how important it is to remember certain things in life.  Unfortunately, the educational systems of the world have led to many people, including thousands, if not millions, of Christians, to suffer from severe memory loss.  Our children and youth are told that they must remember facts and pieces of knowledge in order to score well on tests, be accepted into the university and have a successful life or career.

However, secular education does not place any importance on remembering the most important thing that every person must keep in the forefront of their minds in order to find peace and joy in all of life. What is the culture and the church not remembering that is so dangerous?  It is the reality that we have forgotten God!  When I began studying what God’s Word says about the dangers that come one’s way when he/she forgets God, I became aware of how important it is that God is at the center of all that we think, say and do; including the education we give our children.  I encourage you to take the time and read what the Bible says about the consequences that will always result from forgetting God.  Here is just a sample of what God’s Word says about this subject.

• Deuteronomy 6:10-12; 8:10-14; 8:19-20
• Judges 8:33-34
• Psalm 50:22; 78:7, 42; 103:2; 106:19-22; 106:13
• Isaiah 51:12-13
• Jeremiah 2:31-32
• Hosea 4:1; 5:4; 13:6

Even though it is terrible when men and women become prisoners of war, it is much more disastrous when they become prisoners because of sin and are bond slaves of Satan.  When people, even Christians, forget God, they always end up in chains.  As I have presented in earlier posts, the real danger of giving our children and youth a secular education is found in the fact that God is ignored in the entire process.  Therefore, even though certain lessons may be factually accurate, God is not seen as being the source of wisdom and knowledge for any study and/or area of life that is studied.  The student develops a secular worldview and lives his/her everyday life as if God doesn’t exist.  This always results in imprisonment.

In my book, Kingdom Education, I present 10 biblical principles that I found in Scripture to help guide Christians on how God wants them to educate their children.  Since writing the book, God has revealed three additional principles to me.  The first of these additional principles is of utmost importance.  It reads:

The education of children and youth must have as its primary focus the increase in the knowledge of God.

Here are some Scriptures to support this principle.

John 17:3; Romans 1:20; Romans 11:33-36; Psalm 19:1-6; Ephesians 1:16-19; 3:15-19; 4:13; Philippians 1:9; 3:8-10, 13-14; Colossians 1:9-10; 2:2-3; 2 Peter 3:18; Proverbs 2:5; Hosea 4:1; 6:6; and 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

Our children are asked to remember a lot of stuff throughout their years in school.  Like you and me, they will forget much of it.  However, we must do everything in our power to make sure that they never forget God.  The best way to make sure this doesn’t happen, is for us to always remember Him.  May God never be forgotten!

Every person forms a worldview.  One’s worldview determines how he/she interprets all of life and, therefore, drives his/her everyday actions and attitudes.  Depending on what definition one refers to, a worldview is determined by one’s beliefs about several key components such as:

• God
• Creation/Universe
• Humanity
• Purpose
• Moral Order/Behavior
• Knowledge
• Future
• History
• Work

One’s beliefs about each of these components is important; but one component is more important than all of the others put together.  The foundation stone of every worldview is formed by how one answers this one question.

Who or what is my ultimate authority?

How one answers this question, determines his/her beliefs about God.  What one believes about God, in turn, shapes what he/she believes about every other component of his/her worldview.  A biblical worldview is based on who God is.  If one doesn’t know God, he/she will never have a true biblical worldview that will direct all of life.

Secular education attempts to simply ignore God by teaching every subject as a compilation of neutral, observable facts that have no spiritual meaning.  This type of teaching results in students developing a secular or man-centered worldview where God has no relevance to their everyday lives.

Solomon wrote:

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7 (NKJV)

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 9:10 (NKJV)

As I have studied the Scriptures to find what God says about educating future generations, I discovered a very important principle that every parent, church leader and educator must understand and embrace.  Simply stated, it is:

The education of children and youth must have as its primary focus the increase in the knowledge of God.

In order to obey this principle, parents, church leaders and educators must make sure that they know God fully.  If we are not constantly growing in our knowledge of God, we will fail to provide our children and youth with a biblical worldview education.  I remember being challenged recently by something that Tim Keller wrote.  He stated:

The beginning of all wisdom is the “fear of the Lord.” But how do we know if we are relating to the real God? The answer is there is no real knowing of God unless we know him through his Word. Otherwise we are creating a God out of our imagination.

The only way we can know the real God is by being in His Word daily.  It is true that we can see and understand God’s invisible attributes by studying His creation (Romans 1:20).  However, we will only have a superficial understanding of the real God if we are not immersed in God’s Word.  Even though most Christians would say that reading the Bible is important, few do it on a daily basis.  When we aren’t in His Word regularly, Keller says that we are creating God according to what we conjure Him up to we want Him to be.

When a person is not in the Word daily, he/she may actually forget who God is.  The results of forgetting who God is leads to severe consequences in one’s life.   Again, I want to share with you what Keller warns about what happens when we forget who God is.  He says,

• When one forgets God’s wisdom, it results in worry.
• When one forgets God’s mercy, it results in resentment.
• When one forgets God’s beauty, it results in covetousness.
• When one forgets God’s holiness, it results in a life of sin.
• When one forgets God’s sovereignty, it results in fear.

As I read these points, I asked myself are any of these results evident in my life?  If so, I need to know God better.  When I don’t know God the way I should, I forget what He can do in my life.  One of my former pastors, Dr. James Merritt, explains it this way.

When you forget what God has done for you in the past, you will doubt what God can do for you in the present and what he will do for you in the future.

Erwin Lutzer said it best.

If you accomplish nothing in life at all except to know God and to worship Him, you will have delighted His heart.

How well do you know God?  I encourage you to discipline yourself to be in the Word daily.  As you read it, always be asking yourself what does this passage tell me about who God is?   Knowing Him changes everything!!!

I share this link as an encouragement to know Him.  Have a blessed day!