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EMPOWER the home

God established the home as the fundamental building block of society.  It is my conviction that parents were intended, by God, to be the primary influencers on a child’s life.  As God gave KEM a fresh mission, it became clear that there must be a greater effort to EMPOWER the home.

Empowerment is a hot topic in today’s world.  You hear about efforts to empower women, employees and/or even the individual.  The dictionary defines the term empower this way.

It is to give power or authority to do something.

If there is one group of people that needs to be empowered today, it is parents.  But who can EMPOWER parents?  The only one that can EMPOWER the home is the One who ordained the home from the beginning of time — God.  God has specifically given parents the authority to do certain things.  The most important task that He has authorized parents to do is to bring them [children] up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4).

There are many passages of Scriptures that prove that God has empowered parents for this task.  Some of the most familiar passages are Deuteronomy 6:4-7, Psalm 78:1-7, Psalm 127:3-5.  God has empowered parents for the all-important task of raising their children biblically.

Not only has God given parents the legal and moral authority to raise their children, He also enables them to do this.  God would not merely tell parents that they are the ones who are to raise their children in Lord and then leave it up to parents to figure out how to do it. He also empowers them by telling them how they should do this.  Parents are empowered to fulfill this God-given mandate by knowing and understanding key biblical principles found in the Bible.

God has laid upon my heart the conviction and desire to EMPOWER the home through kingdom education.  KEM will do this by helping parents understand their God-given mandate to provide their children with a biblical worldview education.  Parents must understand that they are primarily responsible for the education of their children.

However, too many parents believe that it is the church’s, school’s or state’s responsibility to educate children.  If that were true, then God would have given children to the church, school or government.  God didn’t do that He gave children to parents.

It is also important that every effort is made to make sure that the home understands the biblical principles that can guide parents in completing this vital task.  I have found 14 biblical principles that tell us how God wants us to educate future generations.  It is critical that every effort is made to make these principles known to parents.

As parents we must accept our responsibility to educate our children biblically and embrace the biblical principles that will show us how to fulfill this assignment from the Lord.  God wants to EMPOWER the home to educate future generations so that they will become disciples of Jesus Christ.

Last week I shared with readers a fresh mission and vision that God has laid on my heart related to Kingdom Education Ministries.  This fresh mission is,

God has called Kingdom Education Ministries to RESTORE individuals, EMPOWER the home, ENGAGE the church and TRANSFORM schools through kingdom education.

I believe that education is a multi-faceted process of preparing future generations for life and eternity.  This process is multi-faceted because it takes place in the home, church and school.  The three-legged stool model is a foundational building block in a biblical philosophy of education.

Some may wonder why “individuals” have been included in this fresh mission statement.  There is no doubt that the home, church and school are the three main institutions that shape the hearts and minds of children and youth.  However, you cannot bring change in a home, church or school if you don’t begin by bringing change in individuals’ lives.

This is why there must be an effort to RESTORE individuals if we are going to see homes empowered, churches engaged and schools transformed.  It is my desire to RESTORE individuals by establishing an understanding of kingdom education that will also deepen one’s knowledge of God.

Websters 1828 dictionary includes the following definitions for the word restore.

To return to a person, as a specific thing which he has lost, or which has been taken from him and unjustly detained.

To bring back or recover from lapse, degeneracy, declension or ruin to its former state.

To revive; to resuscitate; to bring back to life.

To return or bring back after absence.

Each of these definitions are applicable to KEM’s mission to RESTORE individuals through kingdom education.  Individual Christians have lost some things and/or had some things taken from them that need to be restored.  It is also true that many Christians need to be brought back to a former state that has degenerated over time.  Thus Christians need to be resuscitated or revived to a former state that is currently absent in their lives.

The above definitions apply to all individuals, whether they are parents, pastors, church leaders, and/or educators.  This is especially true when it comes to understanding God’s plan for educating future generations.  Kingdom education only takes place when God reigns in the entire process of educating one’s children and youth.  He reigns as King only when His Word is obeyed.

God’s Word contains several principles that guide us in knowing how God wants us to educate our children and youth.  Every individual must know and obey these principles if God is to reign in his/her life as King.

The first thing that must be RESTORED in individuals’ lives is that parents have the primary responsibility for the education of children and youth.  Several years ago I read the results of a study that Barna Group did.  In this study, Barna found that 87% of Christian parents believed that they were responsible for the spiritual and moral development of their children.  This appears to be a very positive finding.

However, Barna did not find that the vast majority of parents believed that they were responsible for the “education” of their children.  The fact that Christian parents believed that they were only responsible for the spiritual formation of their children may indicate that they were operating from a dualistic worldview.

Thus, parents can believe that they are to focus on the spiritual aspects of their children’s lives but the “education” or the mental training of their children may not be their responsibility but that of the school.  It is crucial that individuals are RESTORED to the reality that parents are primarily responsible for their children’s education.

Another area where individuals must be RESTORED is the place that Jesus holds in the education of children and youth.  In Colossians, Paul declared that Jesus was the image of God and everything was created by and for Him.  He went on to write that Jesus was the head of the body and the first born from the dead.  Because of who Jesus is and what He did for mankind by dying on the cross, God declares that He, Jesus, must be preeminent in ALL things.

Once again, I believe that most Christians try to keep Christ central in their spiritual lives.  However, is Christ at the center of the education we give our children and youth, especially at the school to which we send them?  Individual Christians must be RESTORED to the reality that Jesus Christ is to be preeminent in all of life.  As Webster defines the term, Jesus is to be superior in rank and dignity.

We live in an existential life where most peoples’ main focus is on the temporal.  We live with defective  near sightedness.  This is especially true for parents.  They have pretty clear vision for the first 5, 10 and maybe 20 years of their children’s lives.  However, beyond this their vision for their children is quite blurry or even nonexistent.

In a booklet, 20/20 Vision, that I wrote a few years ago, I ask parents a very challenging question.  Where do you want your child in 10,000 years?  Whenever, I ask this question to parents, I get somewhat of a blank stare.  Then they will hesitantly say, I guess heaven.  I follow up by asking them what are they specifically doing to make sure that their children will be there in 10,000 years?

Here are some questions that each of us must answer.

1. Is God King of your entire life?
2. Do we believe and live out the biblical principle that states that parents are primarily responsible for the education of their children?
3. Do we hold Jesus Christ preeminent in every area of our lives?
4. Are we living everyday life with a conscious focus on eternity?

If we cannot answer each of these questions with a confident YES, then we may be individuals who need to be RESTORED!!

It is hard to believe that another school year is here.  It is even more difficult to try and comprehend what the year will be like.  There is one thing for certain.  It will be different from any other one we have ever had before.

This past weekend I invited two men to meet and pray with me about what God wants to do through Kingdom Education Ministries in the days ahead.  Luke Bowers and Tim Euler, heads of two different Christian schools, have been long-time friends and are very committed to message of kingdom education.

I had developed a tentative agenda for our two days together.  However, after spending a concentrated time in prayer seeking God’s direction, we went away from the agenda within minutes of starting the meeting.  Several hours later we found ourselves overwhelmed with the direction God took us.

As I reflect back on what took place, all I can think about is that, with the new year, God wanted to renew my vision for the work He had called me to.  There is no question about it.  We must enter this new school year with a greater conviction and determination to instill a biblical worldview in the hearts and minds of the next generation.  As I look to the future, I know that I need a laser focus on what specifically must be done through Kingdom Education Ministries.

The first thing that God showed us, as we sought His wisdom, was a fresh mission statement.  I believe that God has called Kingdom Education Ministries to:

RESTORE the individual, EMPOWER the home, ENGAGE the church, and TRANSFORM the school through kingdom education.

Over the past several months I have been wrestling with how to address all of the turmoil and hate that is in the world today.  I have attempted to write about this struggle on several occasions but I didn’t have peace about it.  It seemed like anything that I wrote would only stir up more division and strife.

Then I saw a diagram that hit me between the eyes.  It pictured the real problem behind all the insanity that has taken over society.  However, it also pictured the only solution to all of our problems.  This diagram depicted the battle that has been going on throughout human history.  It is the cosmic battle of worldviews that we face each and every day because we live in a fallen world.

There are only two ways that you and I look at and interpret every area of life.  I have written about these two ways before but I never saw it like I did when I studied this diagram.  The two options we have when trying to make sense out of life are:

• A God-centered worldview/belief system
• A man-centered worldview/belief system

Autonomous Man

I realized afresh that I can try to make sense out of life by allowing God to interpret or define it or trying to interpret life through man’s thinking.  I am going to present these two options with two diagrams.  First, let’s consider how man tries to interpret and make sense of everything taking place around us.

In a man-centered worldview, human reasoning becomes the answer to all of man’s problems.  Man becomes autonomous and, therefore, determines what is right and wrong.  However, this leads to chaos because there cannot be any absolute moral standards by which one lives his/her life.  Everything is subjective and relative.

Man will decide what is moral.  He, alone, will make laws, interpret history, establish government and even try to define “God.”  This is why we find ourselves in such a mess today.  Even Christians are looking to man for the answers to life’s problems.

Sovereign God

On the other hand, a biblical worldview puts God at the center of everything.  God is the One who, not only created life, but orders it.  This option is depicted by a similar diagram.  Instead of man defining all of life, God does it.  God’s character defines morality.  He determines the role of government and He is the basis for law and justice.

In order for me to understand myself and all of life, I must do so by looking at everything through God.  God not only tells me who man is but He is also the only One who can give me a true perspective of everything taking place in the world around me.

The problem is that Christians too often try to live their lives by attempting to be autonomous and depending on God at the same time.  We do this by adding man’s opinions to what God says about certain areas of life.

This was a problem that Jesus saw with the religious leaders of His day.  In Matthew 15, we find these words.

Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” Matthew 15:1-2 (NKJV)

In response to their question, Jesus turns them on their heads by saying,

Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? Matthew 15:3 (NKJV)

Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.  Matthew 15:6 (NKJV)

One translation puts it this way.  By this you invalidated the Word of God for the sake of your tradition.  It is dangerous and disastrous to try and mix man’s opinions with God’s Word in an effort to interpret any aspect of our lives.  When we do this, we end up teaching as doctrines the commandments of men (Matthew 15:9).

Jesus furthered explained that when this happens, we become hypocrites and end up honoring Him with our lips but not with our hearts.  This is something that I have to continually wrestle with in my own life.

It is also something that I see happing in the church today.  We do this when we think that we need to study what the world is saying about certain things in order to know how we should respond.  I have seen Christian leaders recommend books, messages, etc. that are not based on Scripture in order to know what we should do.  Christian schools can be guilty of this when they think that they have to turn to secular worldview textbooks as their primary sources in their subject areas.

These trends are only leading us into greater confusion and not providing the real solutions to the chaos and division that are tearing us apart.  This may be controversial to say but I am more convicted than ever before that it is time for the body of Christ to cling to the sufficiency of Scripture!

As you study the two diagrams above, which one best defines how you live your life, raise your children, educate your students and address the cultural issues facing you today?  Do you spend more time reading books written by men from a secular worldview or digging deep into God’s Word?  Are you making decisions based on research, news reports, various movements or what God’s Word says?  Do you believe God’s Word to be not only true but totally sufficient?

God’s Word is sufficient to show us the solution to any problem we face in the world today.  I must know His Word in order to find the solution!

You might be asking yourself what does this question mean for my life and ministry?  You might not even think about an individual having leaven.  Recently, in my quiet time I found Jesus warning His disciples in Matthew 16:6 with these words.

Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

The disciples were also confused about Jesus’ warning.  They thought He was talking about actual bread.  In Mark 8:15, Jesus added to this warning by saying,

Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.

Again, the disciples thought that Jesus said this because He knew that they had not brought any bread with them.  Jesus was aware of their thoughts and explained to them that He wasn’t concerned about them not having any bread.  After all, He had just finished feeding 5,000 people with just a few loaves of bread.

Jesus was talking about something much more important than having bread to eat.  He made this clear when He explained to His disciples what He meant by the leaven of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herod.

Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Matthew 16:12 (NKJV)

Jesus was warning them of the doctrine or the teaching of these people.  Jesus equated teaching to leaven.  So, when you read the title of this blog, you should read it this way.

Is Your Teaching Good or Bad?

As I pondered Jesus’ warning, several things related to leaven came to my mind.  Today, the most common leavening agent is yeast.  Yeast is put into dough and mixed thoroughly.  Once it is mixed in dough, you cannot separate it out.

Also, yeast or leaven influences all of the dough.  There won’t be one portion of the dough that is not impacted by the yeast.  Yeast changes the entire loaf of bread.

Finally, I realized that you do not see the influence of the yeast or leaven right away.  If you have ever prepared bread with yeast in it, you know that you set the dough aside and let it “proof”.  After a period of time, the “proof” of the yeast is seen because the dough will rise or get larger in volume.

This is what teaching does in a young person’s life.  One’s teaching is a leavening action that will always impact the student’s life.  First, once a young person is taught, the teaching he/she received cannot be removed.  Someone has accurately said, one can never erase the influence of a teacher.

Finally, the impact of one’s teaching is not seen right away.  Sometimes, the end result is not noticeable until months or even years later in the child’s life.  However, even when the impact is not noticeable, one’s teaching is “proofing” just like the yeast proofs in the dough.  Eventually, the person’s life will rise and reflect the teaching he/she received.

Since Jesus warned His disciples about the teaching of the Pharisees, Sadducees and Herod, it meant that some teaching is dangerous or bad.  It also implies that there is also good teaching.  What makes the difference between good and bad teaching?

It is the worldview or the belief system that the teacher has developed in his/her own life.  One’s worldview is really the leavening agent that is in every educational effort.  The Pharisees and Sadducees had developed a religious belief system that was not based on the truth of God’s Word.  The leaven of Herod represents a man-centered worldview that denies the existence of God.  Therefore, these people’s teachings were to be avoided.

As a new school year is beginning all across the country, God still warns His children to beware of bad leaven or false teaching.  Every parent, church leader and educator must make sure that his/her teaching springs from a biblical worldview.  When this is consistently true for all the teaching that takes place in the home, church and school and our children and youth have matured and “proofed”, they will think and act from a biblical worldview.

There is an old saying that goes like this.  The proof is in the pudding.  In the olden days when this statement was first used, pudding referred to a savory meat dish.  One of the main ingredients in “pudding” was sausage.

Since people didn’t have the modern methods of refrigeration we have today, there was always the danger of the meat going bad.  Therefore, it was important to test it to see if it was good.  This is how one “proofed” the dish.  A more accurate way of stating this common saying would be the test of the pudding is in eating it.

This expression means that the best way to find out if something is good or bad is to test it yourself.  We need to test or proof our teaching ourselves before we instill it in our children and youth.  Does our teaching line up with reality and with God’s Word?  If not, what needs to change so our teaching does?

I never want God to tell someone to beware of my leaven!

What Is True?

I am deeply burdened over what is taking place in the country today.  I am even more broken of what I see happening in the body of Christ related to the turmoil in society.  Brothers and sisters in Christ are taking sides and criticizing one another on social media platforms on a daily basis.  What is the answer to all of this confusion and hateful rhetoric and actions we are witnessing?

Maybe my take on everything is too simplistic but I actually believe that the only answer to the division, hate, and destruction that is tearing us apart is found in the person of Jesus Christ.  That means that God’s Word, the Bible, is the only place I need to look to in order to know what is true and what I need to do.

I have been asking myself a lot of questions lately.  Questions such as:

• What is behind all of the division I am seeing all around me?
• What should my response be to what I am seeing, reading and hearing from all sides?
• What is the truth behind various slogans/movements such as white, male, etc. privilege, black lives matter, systemic racism and critical theory?

In an attempt to answer these and other questions that are constantly on my mind, I have turned to the Scriptures like never before in my life.  The words of Solomon rang true in my heart when he wrote,

…righteous men, wise men, and their deeds are in the hand of God. Man does not know whether it will be love or hatred; anything awaits him. Ecclesiastes 9:1 (NASB)

God is sovereign over everything, including my life, and I don’t know what He has in store for me.  Therefore, I must hold on to truth if I am going to survive in this sin-filled world.  Even when I write a blog, my heart’s desire is the same as Solomon.

The Preacher sought to find acceptable words; and what was written was upright—words of truth. Ecclesiastes 12:10 (NKJV)

There is one thing I know for certain.  This world doesn’t need any more opinions, especially mine.  So, how am I trying to respond to all the noise that is bombarding me on a daily basis?

First, I had to be reminded that God wants His children to be united.  Paul explains how and why this should be the driving force in our lives.

…that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Colossians 2:2-3 (NKJV)

Here, I found that the only way for such unity is in Christ because He is the only source of wisdom and knowledge.  The reason why Paul stressed this is because he didn’t want Christians to be deceived.

Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words. Colossians 2:4 (NKJV)

Then, Paul gave this strong warning.

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 2:8 (NKJV)

That word cheat is better translated taken captive.  God does not want you and me to be taken captive by false ideas.  In order to make sure this doesn’t happen today, I need to filter all of the rhetoric, protests, and/or movements, etc. and see if they follow human tradition and the basic principles/beliefs of the world or culture.  Are they in line with Christ and the Word?

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. 1 John 4:1-3 (NKJV)

I have learned that I can’t merely jump on an emotional bandwagon because it sounds good and it seems like everyone else is doing it.  I must test everything to make sure it is in line with Jesus Christ and His Word.  In another one of his epistles, John is even more emphatic about the importance of doing this.

For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward. Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds. 2 John 7-11 (NKJV)

Here God’s Word tells us that if any type of teaching, position or rhetoric is not in line with the doctrine of Christ, we are not even supposed to allow it in our homes. It goes beyond this to commanding us not to give it our approval.  When we do either of these things, we are actually partaking in the evil ourselves.

I have heard some say that it is okay to agree with a statement even when the statement is tied to an evil movement.  Agreeing with the statement doesn’t mean that one is approving the movement that is directly tied to the statement.  Again, I have to turn to the Scriptures for truth as I decide whether this is right or not.

When doing this, one might quickly quote this verse.

Abstain from all appearance of evil. 1 Thessalonians 5:22 (KJV)

I fully realize that this verse is too often taken out of context and a better translation is “any form of evil.”  However, sometimes the appearance of something can be detrimental.  Maybe a better Scripture reference that we must consider in these situations would be Paul’s exhortation to the church in Corinth.

Beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak. I Corinthians 8:9 (NKJV)

We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed. 2 Corinthians 6:3 (NKJV)

I believe that Jesus’ instruction to His followers in Matthew 17:24-27 also applies to this situation.  We must be very careful that we do not put a stumbling block before others or offend others.  Why? It is for the sake of the ministry that God has given us.

There is one other truth taught in Scripture that I have found is extremely important in guiding my thoughts, words and actions.  It is a very familiar verse that states,

Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 (NKJV)

Paul explains this in more detail earlier in his letter when he wrote,

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?  For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. 1 Corinthians 6:19&20 (NKJV)

Now, glorifying God in everything we think, say and/or do, is not just a trite little saying.  It has deep significance.  Dr. Gary Inrig says it best when he writes,

Glorifying God means to live one’s life in such a way that God’s character (attributes) are revealed resulting in His praise being increased.

It is very important that we, as Christians, be careful of our words and actions in tumultuous times as these.  We often forget the influence we have on others. As Christians, we must never forget that every one of our words and deeds are scrutinized by those we have contact with.

I am not writing this to tell you what you should or should not do related to all that is going on.  I am simply sharing with you what I have studied in God’s Word that I have tried to obey as I respond to the evil all around me.

Father, may my thoughts, words and actions exalt the name of Jesus.  May my life bring glory and honor to You.  As others see any good works in me, may they realize it is not by my effort but by Your Spirit that I can even do them.  I pray that the difference You make in my life, draws others to You. In Jesus name, Amen!

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