Public Blog

There is no doubt about it.  The United States is a secular country.  Even though the founding of this country was grounded on biblical principles, we have drifted far from them.

Secular humanism is firmly entrenched as our society’s religion.  This religion declares that man is autonomous.  Of course, whenever a society becomes completely secularized, it also must become anti-Christian.  This is because Christianity stands opposed to the very concept of man being autonomous.  Christianity makes man accountable to his Creator and that is forbidden according to the beliefs and values of secular humanism.

In its effort to be “religiously neutral”, a secular society stands opposed to any recognition of one true God; especially the name of Jesus Christ.  This was very evident in two recent prayers offered at government proceedings.  The prayer given to open the 117th Congress concluded with these words,

We ask it in the name of the monotheistic god, Brahma, and god known by many names by many different faiths. Amen and awoman.

The second prayer was given at the recent Presidential Inauguration.  This prayer closed with these words.

In the strong name of our collective faith, Amen.

Last week I shared that, unless there is a supernatural revival in the land, Christianity will come under ever-increasing attacks.  To stand for Jesus Christ publicly will bring greater and greater persecution.

The new administration has already made policy decisions that have expanded government funding of abortion and advanced the LGBTQ agenda.  If the Equality Act becomes law, as promised by this administration, it will become illegal for an organization, including Christian organizations, to discriminate when hiring individuals based on one’s sexual orientation.

In my last post, I shared that in order to survive and thrive in a secular, anti-Christian culture, every Christian must be intentional in growing in his/her knowledge of two things—God and Truth!

We must develop a strong, personal, and intimate relationship with the God of the universe.  It is not enough to know God by His love, mercy and forgiveness.  We must also know Him as One who is holy, righteous and just.  When we truly know God, we will fear Him and this, in turn, will result in us trusting Him.  In the days to come, we will not survive if we don’t put our total trust in God.

We must also grow in our knowledge of truth.  If we don’t know truth, we will very easily be taken captive by the false ideas and worldviews that today’s secular culture constantly bombards us with.  As we strive to know truth, it is important to remember that truth is a person—Jesus Christ (John 14:6).

In order to grow in our knowledge of God and truth, there are three things that I believe we must do.  These actions must be intentional and continual.  They are not optional; especially when it comes to how we educate future generations.

These actions were foundational in the life of Ezra.  Ezra lived in a day that is very similar to the one we find ourselves in today.  God’s people were in captivity to a pagan culture.  However, Ezra was able to fulfill God’s will for his life in a miraculous way.

This priest was part of the remnant that went back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple.  Of course, when they tried to do this, they faced fierce opposition from the pagan culture that was all around them.  The opposition was able to stop the work of rebuilding God’s temple.

Then something amazing happened.  Ezra went up from Babylon to join the effort to rebuild the temple of God.  Here is where you find something that seemed impossible taking place.  Not only was Ezra allowed to go to Jerusalem but the pagan king of Babylon gave Ezra everything that he requested for the journey.  The Bible records that the reason this happened was because God’s hand was upon him (Ezra).

If there was ever a time when God’s people need God’s hand upon them, it is now.  This didn’t happen because Ezra was a special superhero or that he simply prayed and asked for God’s hand to be on him.  No, there were three things that were part of Ezra’s life that brought God’s blessing on all he did.

On the first day of the first month he began his journey from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him.  For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statues and ordinances in Israel.  Ezra 7:9-10 (NKJV)

Ezra was a man much like Daniel.  Ezra had prepared his heart to do certain things.  Daniel had purposed in his heart not to do certain things.  They both were men of conviction.  This is exactly what is needed in the church today—men and women who prepare and purpose in their hearts to do three things.

Action #1:  We must study God’s Word!

The only way to know God and truth is to study God’s Word.  This is because God reveals Himself through the pages of Holy Scripture.  Studying God’s Word is different from merely reading it from time to time.  The original meaning of the word, study, carries with it the connotation of following or pursuing something.  It means that one is seeking something and, therefore, searches for it.  Today, God’s people need to pursue His Word and search for truth like never before in our country’s history.

I can remember the challenges I had trying to discern truth during my doctoral studies at the University of Virginia.  So many times, the professor and/or the textbook presented material that seemed right—but was it true?  In order to know truth, I had to search the Scriptures.  It was difficult but necessary.  Without a conviction to know truth as found in the Bible, I would have been susceptible to being taken captive by false beliefs (Colossians 2:8)

Parents, church leaders, and school educators must prepare their hearts to pursue God’s Word every day.  It isn’t an option as the future of our children and grandchildren hangs in the balance.

Action #2:  We must obey God’s Word!

It is one thing to study God’s Word; it is something else all together to obey it.  Just knowing truth is not sufficient to surviving the challenges before us today.  We must “do” the Word!

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving ourselves.  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.  But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.  James 1:22-25 (NKJV)

Unfortunately, we have a lot of hearers of the Word and few doers in our homes, churches and schools today.  I am convinced that if the majority of those who claim to be Christians “did” the truth they knew, they would turn the world upside down.

We go to church, say amen to the sermon and then go out and live life as if we never heard a word that was preached.  We have become like the person who defines a good sermon as one that goes over his shoulder and hits his neighbor.  Studying God’s Word will have little impact on the culture if we don’t put it into practice.

Action #3:  We must teach God’s Word!

This is where the rubber hits the road.  It is this action where Christians have failed miserably over the past several decades.  The home, church and school must be united in teaching God’s Word to the next generation.

This will require the church to teach and train parents about their God-given responsibility to biblically educate their children.  Christian schools must also help train parents in this all-important task.  Then, the home, church and school must unite to teach God’s Word to future generations.

Over the past several decades we have turned our children over to the State to educate them.  Since the State is secular, it has indoctrinated several generations of young people in its religion of secular humanism.  The result is they have become what they have been taught!

God’s hand of favor is no longer on our country and, sad to say, on us as Christians.  The only way to have His favor return to our homes, churches and schools is to follow Ezra’s example.  Kingdom Education Ministries is determined to help this become a reality.  There are a couple of things that I want to encourage you to consider.

1. Be sure to register your school at this summer’s Kingdom Education Summit.  Registration is now open.  We need Christian school leaders, pastors and other church leaders, and individuals who are committed to providing our children and grandchildren with a biblical education to attend.  Remember that KEM Prime Member schools receive a discount on their registration.
2. If you are a Christian school administrator, make sure your school is a KEM Prime Member.  If you are a teacher at a Christian school, check and see if your school is a member.  If not, encourage your administrator to consider becoming a member.  By becoming a KEM Prime Member, your staff, board and enrolled families have full access to resources that will equip them with a biblical worldview and philosophy of education.
3. To join, click here.  Use the discount coupon code, KESDISC21, to receive a $50 discount off the low annual fee.

There is no question that the nations, including my own country, are raging against God.  However, I was reminded that I am serving the Ancient of Days when I listened to these words.  I trust that they will be a blessing to you.  You can watch by clicking here.

‘Ancient of Days‘

Words and Music by Jonny Robinson, Rich Thompson, Michael Farren & Jesse Reeves © 2018 CityAlight Music

Verse 1

Though the nations rage Kingdoms rise and fall; There is still one king; Reigning over all; So I will not fear; For this truth remains; That my God is, the Ancient of Days

Chorus

None above him, none before him; All of time in His hands; For His throne it shall remain and ever stand; All the power all the glory; I will trust in His name; For my God is, the Ancient of Days

Verse 2

Though the dread of night; Overwhelms my soul; He is here with me; I am not alone; O his love is sure; And He knows my name; For my God is, the Ancient of Days

Verse 3

Though I may not see; What the future brings; I will watch and wait; For the Saviour king; Then my joy complete; Standing face to face; In the presence of the Ancient of Days

Chorus

None above him, none before him; All of time in His hands; For His throne it shall remain and ever stand; All the power all the glory; I will trust in His name; For my God is, the Ancient of Days

I think a lot of people were hoping that once 2020 ended and a new year began, life would be better.  However, having witnessed what has happened in the country in just the first week of 2021, I believe we are in for some very difficult days.  A lot of attention has been given to the events that took place in the nation’s capital this past Wednesday.

I have to admit that I did not watch or listen to the coverage of the march that took place in Washington DC, the joint session of Congress or the “news” coverage of the violent entering of the Capitol Building by a group of rioters.  I have stopped watching/listening to the “news” for some time now as reporting the news has ceased to take place and has been replaced by the spouting of one’s ideology/worldview.

When a group of rioters broke into the Capitol Building, my Twitter feed exploded.  Most of the people I follow on Twitter are Christian leaders.  There was a common theme that most of these leaders tweeted.  They all were referring to what was unfolding in Washington, DC as the saddest day in American history.

This phrase has captivated my attention ever since then.  Was Wednesday, January 6, 2021 really the saddest day in the history of our country?  Should we be shocked at what has been taking place before our very eyes over the past few years that seemed to come to a climax on that day?  Are we troubled over the censoring of free speech that has escalated since Wednesday?

As I contemplated all that was swirling around me, God reminded me of the very first creation ordinance He established by which He would govern and sustain His creation.  This creation ordinance was established whenever He created a new form of life.  This ordinance is found in these words, according to its kind.  God set in motion the principle that one harvests what one plants!

Plants reproduce only have their own kind, as do birds, fish and animals.  Of course, humans also have to obey this creation ordinance and will only reproduce other men and women.  This life principle doesn’t only apply to reproduction but also to all of life.  That is why Paul wrote,

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.  For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.  Galatians 6:7-8 (NKJV)

What we have recently witnessed and continue to watch unfold before our eyes is simply the harvest of what we have sown over the years.  As I thought of this, Erwin Lutzer’s book, When a Nation Forgets God, came to my mind.  Lutzer wrote this book warning us about what happened in Germany that led to the rise of Hitler and terrible worldwide devastation.

There is no doubt about it, our country has forgotten God.  He has been removed from public discourse and there has been a slow but constant purging of any reference to Christianity in our legislative and judicial systems.

 

Today the rule of law really doesn’t exist.  This is because there is no longer a belief in absolute moral values.  Truth is relative and the Bible is no longer the foundation our legal system.  Legislators act and judges and justices make rulings based primarily on their individual beliefs and values.  This is a far cry from what Alexis de Tocqueville saw when he visited America in 1831 to see why we were so prosperous.  He observed,

In America, religion is the road to knowledge and the observance of divine law leads man to civil freedom.

By forgetting God in our country, we have become a completely secular society.  The reality that has resulted is that even the Constitution is open to individual interpretation because its foundation, which was taken from the Scriptures, has been destroyed.  We are a nation where everyone does what is right in his/her own eyes.  In 1798, John Adams predicted that if the nation forgot God, the government that the founders had established would lose all of its power.

Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.

When contemplating this reality, I question whether January 6, 2021 was the saddest day in American history.  Even though no one can put a specific date down, the saddest day in our history may be the day when the nation forgot God.

Even though the consequences that we are reaping because the country has forgotten God are frightening, these terrible results pale in comparison to what we are reaping because the church has forgotten God.  In past blogs I have shared the statistics that show today’s Christians are the most biblically illiterate generation in modern day church history.

Os Guinness, in his book Fit Bodies, Fat Minds, gives this chilling description of today’s North American church.

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

Guinness was stating what Blamires already realized when he wrote The Christian Mind in 1963.

The mind of modern man has been secularized..the Christian mind has succumbed to the secular drift with a degree of weakness and nervelessness unmatched in Christian history…There is no longer a Christian mind.

Guinness went on to explain what happened when the Christian mind disappeared in today’s church.

Failing to think Christianly, evangelicals have been forced into the role of cultural imitators and adapters rather than originators.

Maybe this is why, throughout 2020, I heard more from church leaders about Critical Race Theory than I did about how God created one race in His image and the real problem is man’s sinful heart with the answer being the Gospel and not what the world is putting out in its theories and philosophies.

Today’s church didn’t forget God overnight as explained by Guinness.

From 1700 to the Civil War there was a long, slow retreat from the Christian mind to the creation of a “ghost mind.” A “ghost mind” has few distinctively Christian strengths left.

From the Civil War to the present there has been a long, slow rise of a mass mind and the creation of an “idiot culture.”

Many might disagree with me and say that God has not been forgotten in the church.  But listen to what John Piper observed about us.

Man is the star in our contemporary drama and his comfort, his prosperity and his health are the great goals.  Of course God is there on stage, but only as a kind of co-star or supporting actor to round out the picture for religious and cultural expectations.

I will never forget reading something that Dr. Jimmy Draper sent to all of the employees when I was at LifeWay.  Draper told us that he had read a quote that had haunted him for over 20 years and he could not refute what this person said.  More than 30 years have now passed since Anglican priest David Watson made this profound prediction.

It is widely held that the battle of the century will be between Marxism, Islam, and Third-world Christianity.  Western Christianity is considered too weak and ineffective to contribute anything significant to this universal struggle.

How did the nation and the church forget God?  How did we get to where we are today?  It has been a slow, long and deliberate journey to get us to our current condition.  The vehicle that has brought us here is the secular educational system that has shaped the hearts and minds of the current adult population.  Christian parents and church leaders have voluntarily and, in many ways, enthusiastically placed their children on this bus for several generations and we are now reaping the harvest.

I can well remember sitting and listening to Dr. Christian Smith present his findings from a massive research project he was conducting on religion and North American youth.  One of his statements that still haunts me today is,

The lives and faith of most youth closely reflect the lives, faith, culture and institutional values of the adult world they inhabit. Youth are good barometers, telltale indicators of the larger adult culture.

Smith, then, made this startling statement.  We will get what we are!  The reality is that we have educated several generations of young people to think and, therefore, act from a secular, anti-Christian worldview.  In their book, Already Compromised, Ken Ham and Greg Hall explain it this way.

It is possible to raise kids in church and subsequently turn them over to secular institutions for education without having thought through the potential outcomes of them losing faith in the process…We have turned over generation and generation of young men and women to be fully inculcated with the thoughts, ideas, and precepts that are absolutely contrary to our Christian faith…the Church systematically, seemingly without guilt, turns one generation after another of children over to a pagan, godless, secular education system that turns them from the faith.  We do it in public elementary and high schools and colleges and  universities.  And we pay the enemy to steal their souls.

Frank Gaebelein noted that this was taking place when he wrote Education in a Democracy back in 1945,

The fact is that, as both home and church have lost their grip on American youth, the people of this country have looked to education to fill the gap…With a confidence that would be touching were it not based on evasion of responsibility, [parents] have turned their youth—body, mind and spirit—over to the most extensive and highly organized system of education that the world has ever known.

What we witnessed this past Wednesday and for much of 2020 are basically the consequences of the seeds we, as Christians, have planted in the hearts and minds of past generations through secular education.  WE HAVE GOTTEN WHAT WE HAVE BEEN!

Maybe the saddest day in American history is that day when Christians turned the education of their children over to the State.  So, where do we go from here?  What does the future hold for us?  My good friend, Mark Kennedy, made a comment on last week’s blog that I believe answers these questions.  Mark has witnessed similar things that are happing here take place in his country of Canada.

It’s pretty clear that, barring a continent-wide spiritual revival, the last faint vestiges of a biblically-based society will soon disappear. It will, of course, be replaced by a new kind of society – one where our ideas about truth, morality and freedom of speech won’t be tolerated. And so we will join the multitude of believers throughout history whose version of a normal life was (and still is) a constant state of persecution.

Jesus said that those of us who name the name of Christ will suffer persecution.  Are we ready for it?

As I close this blog, I am wondering if the saddest day in American history has yet to take place.  Maybe the saddest day in our history will be every day that believers, starting with me, don’t fall on our knees before a holy, just, and righteous God, confess our sin, repent of our evil ways, throw away our idols and beg Him for forgiveness and mercy.  I am finding it hard to pray and ask God to bless our country but I am praying that God will have mercy on us!

I have witnessed an attack on the family like I have never thought possible.  This attempt to destroy the family isn’t new but it has accelerated at an unprecedented rate over the past couple of years.  It seems like even the government wants to make the family powerless and nonexistent.

During the month of December I found myself studying the role of the home as it relates to the education of children.  As I studied this topic, I was convicted that the home does not have the position of priority that God desires it to have.  One of the resources I pulled out to study was Dr. Robert L. Dabney’s Discussions published in 1897.  Dr. Dabney was a professor of theology in the Union Theological Seminary in Virginia and a professor of moral philosophy in the University of Texas.  He was an outspoken critic of State sponsored “public” schools.

ln an 1876 letter to W.H. Ruffner, Superintendent of State Schools in Virginia, Dabney got right to the major objection that he had against public schools.

…the principle upon which the State intrudes into the parental obligations and function of educating children is dangerous and agrarian.  It is the teaching of the Bible and of sound political ethics that the education of children belongs to the sphere of the family and its the duty of parents.

He went on to state that,

The parents are the real architects of their children’s destiny, and the State cannot help it.

Dabney was even more forcible in demanding that parents control their children’s education in another letter to Ruffner that same year.  In this letter he wrote,

Since religious education is so essential a part [of education], it is obvious that a wise Providence must have allotted the right and duty of giving it to some other of the independent spheres between which He has distributed the social interests of man.  This duty rests with the parents.  Such is the Protestant doctrine–the Bible doctrine.  Neither State nor Church are to usurp it; but both are to enlighten, encourage and assist the parent in his inalienable task.

I have also been reading a transcript of a sermon my former pastor, Dr. Glenn Weekley, gave back in 2002. In this sermon, Weekley boldly explained,

There are too many people today who believe that the state is responsible for educating their children.  Folks, I don’t know where it came from.  I don’t know where it happened.  I don’t know where it started, but today there are people who say, “now you take my children and you educate my children, and you teach my children.”  We’re losing our children because of that!  Even Christian parents today are abdicating their God-given responsibility to others!

One of the verses Dr. Weekley referred to was Deuteronomy 6:7.  In explaining this verse, he noted,

You teach these diligently to your children.  You teach them.  In other words, it’s my responsibility in the family, our responsibility as parents, to provide our children with a truth apologetic…God said that this whole teaching system starts with you, and it requires you to teach your children.

It is critical that the family be given its rightful place in society in general and in educating future generations specifically.  God designed the family to be the primary place where children will be nurtured and trained.  Once again, consider the words of Dr. Dabney in his discussion on Secularized Education.  He gave three reasons why parents must be responsible and in control of their children’s education.

First, we read in holy writ that God ordained the family by the union of one woman to one man, in one flesh, for life, for the declared end of “seeking a godly seed.”  He also in the fifth Commandment connected the child proximately, not with either presbyter or magistrate, but with parents.

This argument appears again in the very order of  the historical genesis of the family and State, as well as of the visible Church.  The family was first.  Parents at the outset were the only social heads existing.  The right rearing of children by them was in order to the right creation of the other two institutes.

Second, the dispensation of Divine Providence in the course of nature shows where the power and duty of educating are deposited.  That ordering is that the parents decide in what status the child shall begin his adult career.

Third, God has provided for the parents social and moral influences so unique, so extensive, that no other earthly power, or all others together, can substitute them in fashioning the child’s character…Doubtless God has deposited the duty in the safest place.

Today, most people have added the school as an institution along with the home, church and state.  Of course, as Dabney pointed out, God only ordained three institutions–the family, the State and the Church. In many ways we have gotten some things backwards.  One common way of saying this is that we may have put the cart before the horse.

It appears that many people, including a vast majority of Christians, think that if we have the right government and excellent schools, we will develop strong families.  The truth is that strong, biblically based families are needed to produce a godly citizenship and build strong churches.  Dabney saw this back in his day when he wrote,

The competitions of the State and the Church for the educating power have been so engrossing that we have almost forgotten the parent, as the third and the rightful competitor.  And now many look at his [parent] claim almost contemptuously.  Because the civic and ecclesiastical spheres are so much wider and more populous than his [parent], they are prone to regard it as every way inferior.

As I begin another year of ministry, God has convicted me about the need to empower the home.  We must give greater attention to helping parents understand their God-given responsibility when it comes to educating their children.  Then, we must come alongside of them and give them the support needed to accomplish this all-important task.  I will be addressing more about empowering the home over the next couple of weeks.

That is also why we decided last month to expand the KEM Prime Member benefits to include the enrolled families in all  member schools.  Any school that is a KEM Prime Member can now share the school’s generic Username and Password with their families.  This will give parents full access to these valuable training resources.

It was exciting to see so many new schools become members in December.  If your school is not a member, this is a great time to join.  Simply click HERE to begin the process.  Be sure to include the special discount coupon, KESDISC21, and receive a $50 discount off of the already low annual rate.  We need to train as many parents as possible in 2021.

Don’t forget to register for the Kingdom Education Summit this summer.  This event will focus on how we can restore individuals, empower the home, engage the church and transform the school through kingdom education.  To find out more information about being a part of this exciting event click HERE.

Christmas is almost here!  Are you ready for it?  Have you taken time to think about what really happened 2000 years ago?

It is at this time of year that we hear the word “Immanuel” and when it is spoken, it is usually followed by “God is with us.”  Why is this so important?

I was recently going through some old notes and came across a few references to the book, Sharing God’s Passion, by Paul H. Jones.  Jones makes a profound observation about God’s passion or ultimate desire when he wrote,

What does God want more than anything?  What motivates Him to speak, to act, to make Himself known to us?  As the Bible tells it, from the ‘beginning’ (Genesis 1:1) to the final ‘Amen’ (Revelation 22:21), God desires to live in His creation among us, His creatures…whether we speak of God establishing His kingdom on earth, or renewing His creation, or the covenant vows between God and humanity, God’s underlying passion is the same: to live among the people He created.

Have you ever given this any thought?  We find this passion of God in Genesis 3:8 when Adam and Eve heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.  It wasn’t unusual for God to “walk in the garden” and be with the two that He had created in His image.

However, on that day, Adam and Eve hid themselves from God because of the guilt and shame that filled their hearts due to sin.  It is interesting that God’s first words to Adam were, Where are you?  

Even though sin had entered the world and man was separated from God, it didn’t change God’s desire to live among the people He had created.  Consider the following passages of Scripture.

I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.  Leviticus 26:12  (NKJV)

And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel.  1 Kings 6:13 (NKJV)

“Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For behold, I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,” says the Lord. “Many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and they shall become My people. And I will dwell in your midst.  Zechariah 2:10-11 (NKJV)

God chose Israel to be His people and, throughout the Old Testament, His passion was to dwell and walk in their midst.  However, this could only take place temporarily until something amazing happened.  John captured the essence of Christmas when he wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God…And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.  John 1:1-2,14 (NKJV)

God sent His Son to earth, born of a virgin to dwell among us — Immanuel!  God’s passion to live and walk among His people became a reality for all of eternity!  When a person is born again, he/she is indwelt by the Holy Spirit and his/her body becomes God’s temple.

Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?  1 Corinthians 3:16 (NKJV)

Why does God’s Spirit indwell a believer?  It is to fulfill God’s desire to live with His people.

For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them and walk among them.  I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”  2 Corinthians 6:16 (NKJV)

Of course, God’s passion to live with His people will become an eternal reality when this old earth passes away and a new heaven and earth will be brought into existence.

Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.”  Revelation 21:1-3  (NKJV)

As you and I prepare for Christmas, may we celebrate the amazing coming of Immanuel and because of that first Christmas morning, God is with us!  May God find our hearts clean and pure for Him to dwell and walk among us.

I will be taking time to be with family so I won’t be posting a weekly blog.  I look forward to sharing with you in 2021.  Have a blessed Christmas and joyous New Year!

Psalm 78 has been a very important passage of Scripture to me over the years.  In the first seven verses of this Psalm, God challenges fathers to be leaders in the education of their children.  [Even though the focus in Psalm 78 is on fathers, these same truths can be applied to mothers and, even, teachers.]  The efforts of fathers in training their children is supposed to be so constant and intentional that it will impact the lives of future generations all the way down to their great grandchildren.

I have written about these verses on several different occasions.  However, in this post, I want to focus on what God says in verse 8.  After challenging fathers to biblically educate their children, God gives a very stern warning.

And may not be like their fathers… Psalm 78:8 (NKJV)

God tells a generation of fathers not to be like their own fathers.  God wanted this generation of parents (fathers in particular) to be different.  Why did God give such a harsh warning?  It was because the influence of fathers carries over to several generations of young people who will follow them.

It is important to note what characteristics this earlier generation of fathers exhibited that would produce such a grim admonition.  We find that these fathers had some major flaws in their lives.  God said they were:

A stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not set its heart aright, and whose spirit was not faithful to God.  Psalm 78:8 (NKJV)

God condemns a generation of fathers because they were stubborn  and rebellious.  When reading this, we might think that these dads didn’t believe in God.  However, that was probably not the case.  These Israelite fathers may have been very religious but God still considered them to be stubborn and rebellious.

Why did God judge them to be so?  The rest of verse 8 gives us the answer to this all-important question. They were not steadfast toward God in their hearts and they ended up not being faithful to Him.  They may have had the appearance of being very spiritual but they had set their hearts on things other than God.

As one reads through the rest of this Psalm, he/she will see several characteristics that marked this stubborn and rebellious generation of fathers.  In verse 10, it says that they refused to walk in His law.  It doesn’t say that they didn’t know God’s law.  They probably quoted the law and taught it to their children.  However, they refused to live their everyday lives according to the law.  It is one thing to know what the Bible says.  It is something else to believe it and obey it!

A second thing that caused this generation of fathers to be rebellious was that they forgot His works and wonders (verse 11).  Even though they had seen all the marvelous works that God had performed on behalf of the people, these fathers had wiped them out of their memories.

When one forgets God’s works and miracles, the result will always be disastrous.  Verse 17 says that these fathers (parents) continually sinned against God.  One of the most common ways that one sins against God that results from forgetting all of His wondrous works is testing God in their hearts (verse 18).

Testing God in one’s heart is usually done when he/she is never satisfied with what God has done or provided.  The Israelites were constantly complaining and, no matter what God did, it was never enough.  One  example is found when He provided manna for them to eat; but they wanted meat.  Whatever He did, these fathers demanded more.

This resulted in God bringing judgement on His people.  God had to bring judgement on them because their testing of Him was actually evidence that they did not believe in God, and did not trust in His salvation (verse 22).  Even when God brought judgement on them, they still sinned and did not believe in His wondrous works (verse 32).

The Psalmist records how this generation of fathers returned and sought earnestly for God when God’s judgement and discipline became too harsh.  However, this apparent change of heart was merely in word only.

Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth, and they lied to Him with their tongue; for their heart was not steadfast with Him, nor were they faithful in His covenant.  Psalm 78:36-37 (NKJV)

As one reads this Psalm, there is one thing that is clearly seen.  When fathers (parents) are not faithful to God in raising their children biblically, society quickly crumbles.  This is what happed with Israel.  In fact, God eventually caused them to be taken into captivity by their pagan enemies (verses 61-64).

This is exactly what we are witnessing in our country today.  Parents (I include myself in this group), in a very real sense, have become stubborn and rebellious.  They have not been steadfast in heart toward God.  They have forgotten all the wondrous things God did for them by bringing them out of the bondage of sin and into the abundant life in Christ.  This has led them to constantly test God by never being satisfied and always wanting something more.

There have been some efforts to repent but they have proven to be all talk but there is no evidence of true repentance.  We are now experiencing what it is like to be taken into captivity by a pagan culture that is out to destroy Christianity.  What can be done to alter the current path of destruction that we are on?

The answer to this question is found in verses 1-7.  Parents, in general, and fathers, specifically, need to step up to the plate and diligently educate their children biblically.  What character qualities must this new generation of parents/fathers exhibit in order to be successful?

Let’s look at the closing verses of this Psalm to find out what type of person God will choose to accomplish this all-important task.

He also chose David His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds; from following the ewes that had young He brought him, to shepherd Jacob His people, and Israel His inheritance.  Psalm 78:70-71 (NKJV)

God chose a man who was faithful and obedient in the little things He had given him to do.  David willingly kept his earthly father’s sheep.  So, God picked David to do the same thing with God’s people that he had faithfully done with his father’s sheep.

We need parents, fathers in particular, to shepherd their children like David shepherded Israel.  This means that every child needs to be educated in such a way that they will know God and all His wondrous works.  In order to do this, there must be two character qualities in their lives that were in David’s life as he fulfilled his assigned task.

 

So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.  Psalm 78:72 (NKJV)

God is looking for parents (fathers), church leaders and teachers who have integrity of heart and skilled hands to shepherd the next generation of young people.  May we be that kind of people and not like those who were stubborn and rebellious.

Many times things are not what they appear to be.  When this happens, we can very easily succumb to an illusion.  The picture to the right is an example of an optical illusion that makes an impossibility seem real.

Here in the United States, we have experienced what it is like to live in a land of freedom.   There is no doubt about it; we have a history that has been marked by unprecedented abundance and blessings.

It has become very easy to become complacent and live in the illusion that we will continue to live in a country where we will always enjoy such basic freedoms as freedom of worship, speech, the right to bear arms, to own private property, etc.  However, there have been some dark clouds forming on the horizon over the past couple of years that should be shaking us to the core.  It is time for a reality check!

I have reviewed several studies that have recently been conducted.  These studies were done by such groups as:

• The Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University
• The Pinetops Foundation
• The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation

I don’t have time to share all the results from these various projects.  However, here are some alarming findings that are fast becoming realities in our culture today — especially when it comes to the younger generations.

• Even though 6 out of 10 Millennials consider themselves to be Christians, only 2% possess a biblical worldview.
• Between 40 and 50% of Millennials no longer believe in the sanctity of human life.
• 49% of Gen Z view socialism as favorable and 30% have warmed up to Marxism.
• It is estimated that between 35 and 42 million young people will leave the church by 2050.
• Over 55% of evangelical/pentacostal Millennials reject the idea that there is absolute moral truth.
• 51% of Gen Z-ers believe the United States is a racist nation with a long history of discrimination.
• 75% of evangelical Millennials believe that all people are basically good.

There is no question about it.  The younger generations are rejecting the fundamental truths, that are grounded in Scripture, on which this country was founded.  As Harry Blamires wrote in the 1960s, there is no longer a Christian mind.  How did we get ourselves into this terrible condition?

The answer to this million dollar question is really quite simple.  We have embraced a secular philosophy of education in our homes, churches and schools.  In reality, we have educated our children and youth to think this way.

We should not be surprised by what we see taking place throughout society.  I have been fascinated by the predictions that Dr. Robert Lewis Dabney made in his book, Disscussions (1897).  In Volume IV: Secular, Dabney made this observation.

If the State assumes responsibility for education, there is therefore a great risk that the education of youth will be perverted to serve an ideological faction.  This will occur by the hateful means of filling their minds with error and passion in place of truth and right.  If the State in America becomes the educator, education must be secularized totally.

He went on to explain what he believed would eventually happen in the country (remember he said this in the late 1800s).

We are attempting therefore an absolute novelty…State education among Americans tends to be entirely secularized.  What is the result?  In this country, there is a general revolt from the Christian faith, even though the country is full of churches, preachers, and a redundant Christian literature.

When you consider the results from the studies noted above, you would have to agree that we are seeing a general revolt from the Christian faith taking place right before our very eyes.  Dabney made one more prediction that has become a reality in this country’s educational system.

But nearly all public men and preachers declare that the public schools are the glory of America.  They are a finality, and in no event to be surrendered.  We have seen that their complete secularization is logically inevitable.  Christians must prepare themselves then, for the following results:  All prayers, catechisms, and Bibles will ultimately be driven out of the schools.

When God’s Word is removed from education, that system can only produce a secular, anti-Christian worldview in the hearts and minds of its students.  It is time for a reality check!  Some things have to change!

This is why Kingdom Education Ministries will be conducting its first ever Kingdom Education Summit this coming summer.  At this Summit, we will be addressing the issue of education from a completely biblical perspective.  As we do so, we want to develop strategies for individuals, homes, churches and schools that will help us raise up a new generation of young people who think and act from a biblical worldview.

 

For more details on this summer’s Kingdom Education Summit click here.  We are offering a special discount on the registration fee to all KEM Prime Members.  If your school or organization is not a KEM Prime Member, now is the time to take advantage of this very affordable membership that will help your staff develop a biblical worldview and philosophy of education.  When joining, enter this discount code, KESDISC21, for an even lower membership fee.  For more information on how you can become a KEM Prime Member click here.

It is time that all Christians conduct a reality check.  Once we do this, we must get back to the Scriptures and address the issue of education from a biblical perspective.  I look forward to seeing many of you in July at the Kingdom Education Summit!

 

It is Thanksgiving week here in the United States.  Throughout my life, it has been a time when family gathered together for fellowship and good food.  We always took time to express our gratitude for all that God had done for us.  I have many fond memories of those times that I got to share with family and friends.

For many people, Thanksgiving is going to be very different this year.  Of course, one could say that everything has been different in 2020; so why should Thanksgiving be the same.  Who would have ever thought that government officials would try to ban families from traveling and being together on Thanksgiving Day.

Even though the world we live in has been turned upside down and life as we have known it seems a distant memory, there is much to be thankful for.  We are going to be gathering together as a family.  It will be the first time in almost 5 years that we will have all six of our grandchildren with us to share in some mighty fine eating.

My oldest son and his son will join me for our annual golf outing that we have done every Thanksgiving Day morning.  Our scores are never very impressive but the laughter and times looking for a wayward shot are worth being together even when the weather has been windy and cold.

As I have been getting ready for Thanksgiving 2020, I have been reminded about how good God has been, is and will be forever.  Yes, I can find a lot of things to be frustrated with.  I find myself easily complaining about Covid restrictions, political bickering, disruptions to my schedule and cancelations of several engagements.

There is one topic in Scripture that has captured much of my thinking over the past few weeks.  It is the topic of contentment.  I will probably share more on this in future blogs, but, for now, I want to share a couple of truths that have put everything that is going on in this crazy, fallen world into its proper perspective.

In Hebrews, we find these words.

Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear.  What can man do to me?”  Hebrews 13:5-6 (NKJV)

At a time when we are supposed to be thankful, it is so easy to be covetous instead.  It is natural to wish we could get back to normal and not have to wear a mask whenever we enter a building.  (As a side note, I find it fascinating that the Covid virus hovers at restaurant doors so a mask is required.  However, the virus disappears once you get to a table so you can take it off.)

The writer of Hebrews says that we should live without covetousness.  I know most of the time we equate this with money or possessions.  However, we can live a life of covetousness when we wish our candidate for some office would’ve won, we want to go to church again and give fellow believers a good handshake or hug, or want the freedom to go back to school or work.  Covetousness is simply wanting something that we don’t have more than being thankful for what we have been graciously given.

The key to being free of covetousness is learning to be content.  Again, look at these verses in Hebrew.  You and I are told to be content with what we have!  You might be thinking but I have lost so much and I have so little how can I be content?

No matter what you and I are facing today, we have something that we can never lose and, therefore, we can be content.  What do we possess that we can never lose and, therefore, be content?  It is God, Himself!

God promises us that He will never leave you or me and will never forsake us!  God has promised us His eternal presence no matter what comes our way.

Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.  Deuteronomy 31:6 (NKJV)

No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.  Joshua 1:5 (NKJV)

When we realize that God will never leave nor forsake us, it always results in us not being afraid but being courageous and strong.  And we all know that we need some courage in order to live in today’s world.  When I know that God is with me, I am not afraid of what man might do to me.  Why?  Because God is there to be my helper and, with Him helping me, what can man do to me?

I don’t know what you are facing this Thanksgiving.  I understand that we have gone through a lot in 2020. Many of our plans have been completely blown up.  It may seem hopeless and we don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel.

However, I want to encourage you to take some time and reflect back over this year.  When you do, look to see how God was with you and helped you get through everything you faced (it could’ve been worse).  Even if I had lost everything I once had in this world, I am content with what I haven’t lost and never will — God’s presence and help!  For this I am eternally thankful.

I know that the Psalmist was right when he wrote,

Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. Psalm 37:1 (NKJV)

However, I have to admit that I struggle with this at times.  And one of those times is now.  It is hard not to become frustrated when you see the evil that is taking place all around you and it seems like those committing it not only get away with it but almost flaunt it.

Some of the things that can be frustrating are:

• Being told that churches can’t meet but casinos, liquor stores and abortion clinics keep right on operating as usual.
• Seeing people physically assault others, burn down private businesses and destroy public property and no one ever seems to be held accountable.
• Seeing “famous” individuals commit crimes, be given sentences as short as 2 months and then being let out early so they don’t have to be away from home for Christmas while the ordinary person is given much longer sentences with no early release.

It can appear that when you try to live a godly life, you get attacked.  But those who don’t even attempt to hide their wrongdoing seem to get let “off the hook” without any consequences.  How can we live out Psalm 37:1 in today’s crazy world?

When trying to make sense of what is going on around me, I find it helpful to realize my feelings of frustration aren’t something that Christians are just now facing.  God’s people have had these frustrations throughout human history.  It is encouraging to read the Bible and see others struggle with the same things that I struggle with.

One of my Bible heroes is a man named Asaph.  Asaph was a Levite who headed the service of music under the reigns of David and Solomon.  He wrote several Psalms.  In one Psalm, Asaph expressed how he struggled with some of the same things that I wrestle with.

…as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped.  For I was envious of the boastful, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.  Psalm 73:2-3 (NKJV)

What did Asaph mean by the “boastful” person and the “prosperity of the wicked?”  He explains exactly what he meant by these phrases when he wrote that these people were ones who,

• were strong and not in trouble like other men (vs 4-5)
• were not plagued or held accountable (vs 5)
• were proud (vs 6)
• wore violence like one would but on a garment (vs 6)
• were blessed with abundance to the point that they had more than their hearts could desire (vs 7)
• talked in boastful ways that even mocked God (vs 8,9,11)
• were always at ease and growing in material possessions (vs 12)

This is what I find myself struggling with more and more as the days wax evil.  In fact, Asaph was so discouraged that he even thought that he was wasting his time trying to live a godly life.  It seemed useless to do so.

Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence.  For all day long I have been plagued, and chastened every morning.  Psalm 73:13-14 (NKJV)

Let’s be honest with each other and God.  Do you sometimes feel this way?   Is Asaph possibly speaking for you?  I am thankful that everyone wrestles with the same things that I face on a daily basis while I am living in this fallen world.

But, let’s get back to my original question.  Even though I see the prosperity of the wicked all around me and it seems like they are prospering more and more each day, how do I stop fretting about them?   It is one thing to say I am battling what Asaph did in his life.  But it is another thing to not let it overtake you with worry (fretting) and envy.

I am thankful that Asaph didn’t stop at verse 14.  Even though he was having a hard time trying to understand all of this, he knew that living a godly life was not in vain.  The key to seeing the prosperity of the wicked  but not giving up was found in Asaph’s daily habit that is explained starting in verse 16 of this Psalm.

When I thought how to understand this, it was too painful for me—until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end.  Psalm 73:16-17 (NKJV)

When Asaph spent time alone with God, he saw the big eternal picture and not just the temporal happenings that were causing him so much heartache.  It is the same thing that David understood when he wrote Psalm 37.