Tag Archives: way

FOUNDATION STONES – 12

Christian Life,

GUIDE YOUR CHILDREN

Proverbs 22:6 NIV
[6] “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”

Now here’s wise counsel for young parents who have been entrusted with a precious gift but without the maker’s manual! This is not about telling your children about the Lord and His ways so that, when they grow up, they will be good Christians! This is about guiding your children along the way they were created to go, and they will continue on that way when they are adults.

The King James Version translates…

Proverbs 22:6 KJV
[6]”Train up a child in the way he should go: And when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

Every child is born wrapped in irresistible cuteness but also with enormous potential for good or evil. Left to himself, his natural bent towards evil will eventually destroy him. Frustrated by misguided parents, he will rebel either against too many or too few boundaries.

Discipline correctly applied will help a child along the path of functional living…

Proverbs 29:15 NLT
[15] “To discipline a child produces wisdom, but a mother is disgraced by an undisciplined child.”

…but, too much or too harsh discipline will frustrate a child.

Ephesians 6:4 NIV
[4] “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”

So, what’s the answer?

As much as the Bible is a guidebook for everyday adult living, it also provides wise counsel for parents who desire to raise their children in God’s ways.

To apply correct guidance to a child who is unknown at birth, takes time to learn, to know, and to understand one’s offspring. He/she is a mix of our ancestors. What their genes and yours produce is a unique new person, full of potential but vulnerable to the influences that will shape and direct that potential.

Solomon’s wise instruction takes into account the specific bent of each child, not only towards good or evil but also towards the direction that child will take in life.

Foolish parents try to mould their children into the predetermined life they want for their son or daughter. Instead of studying the child as he/ she grows up, recognising likes and dislikes, desires and aspirations, they try to force their child to follow the path of their choice.

Yes, parents do influence their children through participating in parental activities and even careers but…the final choice must never be forced on them.

This consideration is pivotal for a child’s mental and emotional wellbeing as he/she moves along the path towards responsible adulthood. Put it this way, a son who enjoys playing cricket should never be forced to play rugby because his father was an international rugby star! That’s an exaggerated example but, in everyday terms, a child should be given every opportunity to cultivate what he loves and does well within the boundaries of faith in Jesus and good character.

We live in a society which is continually dispensing with boundaries. So-called freedom is measured by throwing off the restrictions put on people from the outside. The fewer the laws, the greater their freedom, so they think.

Trouble is that this kind of “freedom” encroaches on the freedom of others. So, for example, people who think they are free to throw noisy, all-night parties disregard the freedom of neighbours who have the right to a peaceful night’s sleep.

So, parental guidance and discipline includes both the broader, all encompassing boundaries of good morals and ethics, godly behaviour, consideration, and good manners as well as the boundaries of their choice of career path they will follow.

True freedom is inward…freedom from guilt, fear, and shame…through self-discipline and self-control. These are the boundaries in which a child will flourish when he/she moves through childhood into the adult world of work and career.

God creates each person unique and suited to their part in the bigger scheme of His kingdom. Each has a niche to fill that no one else can fill. If wise parents understand this principle, they will study their child, understand his/her unique traits, and guide their child along the path God has prepared for them.

To understand this process and carry it out will produce a happy and fulfilled adult rather than a frustrated and rebellious child who will kick over the traces as soon as he/she is out of the home.

Solomon’s proverbs also provide the nuts and bolts of this training process. Across the book, he gives counsel to parents to shape the way they carry out their mandate to accompany and guide their child towards the place God has prepared for them to occupy.

So, we do well to put this instruction book to good use. Not only does God hold our children accountable for their contribution to this world, but parents also for the part they play in helping their children achieve His purpose.

WHICH WAY?

Christian Life, , ,

Psalm 86:11 has been my prayer since 2008. It’s a prayer and a response. Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth.

The rest of the verse is also a prayer and a response. Give me an undivided heart that I may fear your name.

What are God’s ways? He told the prophet Isaiah that His ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts than our thoughts. Our ways are often patterned on the world’s ways, what works to our advantage, forgetting that what we think is the right way is often the wrong way.

God gave Adam a simple test. “Do not eat the fruit of that one tree.” We think that the fruit was the issue. There must have been something wrong with the fruit of that particular tree. However, the fruit wasn’t the issue at all – the real issue was; would Adam trust God enough to believe what He said and not try it out for himself?

Just like our children who don’t believe our warnings until they get hurt trying out what we warned them not to do, Adam followed Eve who was deceived into believing that God was not telling the truth. Satan insinuated that God was withholding something good from them.

Adam brought death on himself and the entire human race by mistrusting God’s word and deciding for himself what was good and evil.

If and when we pray David’s prayer sincerely, it means that we relinquish the right to decide what is good or bad for us, and trust that God’s ways are always the best, although we may not always understand the things He reveals and the way He works.

God’s ways are always in harmony with who He is. God is love. His ways, though sometimes mysterious and incomprehensible, are always loving towards us. When we follow our own ways, we often get into lots of trouble. When we walk in God’s ways, His love guides us towards knowing Him better and learning more of His truth.

How much better it is to abandon our own stubborn independence and ask Him to show us His ways. In the end, Jesus is the way, and when we follow Him, we will find the path of truth that leads us to the Father. Jesus’ way is the way of gentleness and humility. Caring for and living for others instead of always thinking about and living for ourselves is the beginning of learning God’s ways. It is the way of unending peace.

 

YOUR WAY

Pastor's Desk, ,

Dear Family

We live in society of choice, perhaps otherwise known as a free society, or so it seems.  We have the right to decide on so many issues every single day. This may sometimes feel like a burden, and at other times feel like a blessing.  Sometimes we may even feel like we have not been given enough choices, and at other times we may long for someone just to decide for us.  Depending on how much expendable income one has, the scope of choices can also vary.  The bottom line: in South Africa at the moment we have a wide range of choices we need to make on a daily basis and these choices do affect our quality of life, health, emotional, psychological and spiritual well being. Most often than not the choices we make today will determine what our future will look like. Where we base our choices on prevailing societal trends, we are certain to be subject to them consequentially.  But for the believer, we have the potential to base our choices upon the enduring Word of God, and, when we do so, to enjoy the benefits of full obedience.

In Psalm 86:11 we find the key to be ably to choose wisely: Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.”  Here we find a prayer, deep from the heart, for God to be the Teacher of His Way, so that the psalmist can “walk in your truth”.

God delights in the person whose heart is committed to learning His way of doing things.  When we know and are dedicated to following His way, we then are empowered to make choices that will benefit ourselves and others around us for eternity. No longer will we be choosing and hoping for the best. God’s way is always best in any and in every situation.

Romans 12 teaches us: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Wow! Go for God!

 

Jesus Did Not Say That We Must Accept Him As Our Personal Saviour

Apologetics, , , ,

JESUS DID NOT SAY THAT WE MUST ACCEPT HIM AS OUR PERSONAL SAVIOUR

I suppose that the most common expression that is used today of someone becoming a Christian (and even that idea is not Biblical), is that he has “accepted Jesus as his personal Saviour”. I’m sure you’ve heard that one as well! But I have yet to find any place where it is used in Scripture.

Is it wrong, and if so, why? I understand that people use it to describe what happened to them and what changes it made in their lives, but it does not fit the reality of what the Bible has to say about this experience.

The Bible presents life as a journey, symbolised by Israel’s migration from Egypt to the Promised Land. Their’s was an unknown way through the wilderness where there were dangers all around them and where it was easy to get lost and perish in the desert if they did not stay on the path and follow the landmarks. There are many references in Scripture to a path or way which will take us to our appointed destination. For the Israelites it was the Promised Land, symbolised by the city of God – Jerusalem, which was often called “Zion” – the highest point in the city and the place where God had established His name.

God gave them His torah, His directions for the journey, i.e. His “law” which was summarised in the Ten Commandments. If they followed His way, it would light their path and show them the way to their destination. The “landmarks” they were to follow were the opportunities to treat their fellow Israelites and the strangers among them with kindness and generosity, prescribed in God’s Torah or teachings. If they followed His way, they would become like Him, i.e. they would move towards “Zion” where He had placed His name – His character.

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path. (Psa. 119: 105)

Sin, or going their own way, caused them to leave God’s way and take a way that would lead them to destruction. There was no food or protection for the journey away from God’s path. Those who went their own way were lost and in danger of perishing. He continually called them, through the prophets, to repent, shuv, change their minds and return to God’s way.

Jesus came to restore the wayward hearts of His people that were bent on going their own way in spite of God’s warnings and the judgment that fell on them because of their disobedience. Through His death and resurrection He dealt with and removed the barrier of sin which animal sacrifices only symbolised and could not do. He calls His wayward sons and daughters to shuv, to return to the path we were on before Adam chose to go his own way and took the human race with him.

John the Baptist’s message to Israel was “Repent (shuv) – return to God’s way, for the kingdom of God is near.” Jesus echoed John’s words with the invitation, “Repent (shuv), for the kingdom of God is here.” He came to restore God’s rule of torah, teaching His way of doing life by being merciful, compassionate and generous to all people, in the hearts of those who would follow Him. It was never His intention to do away with the “law” – His directions for following His “landmarks”, but to show us how to fulfil what God required, not by observing rules, but by loving God and people from the heart according to the greatest commandment.

If we have only “accepted Jesus as our personal Saviour”, we have completely missed the point. Jesus did not call His disciples to “accept” Him but to follow Him. That means embracing His yoke – His way of believing and doing life, which was the correct understanding of God’s intention in His word. Life is about unselfishly serving others and sharing our resources with them because God has been merciful and generous towards us, most clearly revealed to us by the cross.

“Becoming a Christian” is much more than accepting Jesus as our personal Saviour, as though we now have a free pass to heaven. It is a commitment to follow Jesus because He is the way to the Father. It is His intention to teach and empower us through the same Spirit that empowered Him, to be true sons and daughters of the Father so that we can bring heaven to earth by becoming replicas of Jesus, our rabbi.

He promised that, through His true followers who live by His yoke, He will transform ever the most wicked and debased people into His church – the visible representation of the kingdom of God on earth.

Jesus did not call us to respond to an altar call or to sign a decision card. He called us to follow Him. It is a step-by-step, day-by-day, decision-by decision to walk with Him in submission and obedience, learning from Him how to “wear” His yoke and how to be sons and daughters of God. He is both our model and our mentor on this journey through His “Other Self”, the Holy Spirit.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my new book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or kindle version or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

My second book, Learning to be a Disciple – The Way of the Master (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing), companion volume to Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart, has been released in paperback and digital format on www.amazon.com.

It can be ordered directly from www.partridgepublishing.com or from your local branch of the publishing company. Details of where you can buy the book will be posted in due course.

Check out my Blog site – www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com

 

 

 

 

Truth Is Intolerant

Bible Study, , , ,

TRUTH IS INTOLERANT

“Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?’ Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him.'” John 14:5-7 NIV.

Sensible question, Thomas!

Jesus had been talking about going away, and yet He had not clearly stated where He was going. Did He assume that they would know what He was talking about? His thoughts and words were on a different level from theirs. Unless He told them, they would surely get it wrong again.

By the way, one thing about Thomas, although for some erroneous reason he got the name “Doubting Thomas”, was that he was honest. This time it wasn’t Peter blurting out his thoughts, but Thomas asking an honest question. If Jesus did not tell them, how were they supposed to know where He was going and why they could not go with Him?

Although He seemed to be speaking in riddles, if they had taken in what He kept telling them, they would have realized that He was once again referring to His death. It took Thomas’ question for Jesus to make the statement that gives all believers the security of knowing that their faith in Jesus alone ensures that they will get to the Father.

It also earns for Christianity the adjective ‘intolerant’ from all the other religions that claim that all roads lead to God. ‘It’s just a different name for God and a different way of looking at things.’ Of course the devil would have people believe that their man-made way is okay because he is behind the false religions and heresies that deny that Jesus is the only way. He will do whatever it takes to deceive people into thinking they are worshipping the true God.

Why is Jesus the only way to the Father?

Sin broke the oneness between God and His human family and barred the way to Him from the first moment when Adam and Eve chose to believe that it was okay to do things their way. God taught His people through the sacrificial system that sin demanded the shedding of blood to pay the debt we owe Him. Animal blood was shed as a picture of the death of God’s pure and sinless lamb, His own beloved Son, whom He would send to live a perfect human life and then be sacrificed as the atonement for the sin of the world.

How can there be any other way to remove the barrier between man and God? The debt of sin is unpayable. Even if we were to obey God perfectly from now on, which is impossible, what of the debt of our past? Because He had no sin of His own, Jesus took the debt of all people for all time on Himself and died in our place. He cried out, ‘Finished!’ Paid in full! Cancelled! The debit column of all our sin has been erased, deleted; there is nothing to pay. We are free to approach the Father with confidence because He looks upon us as He looks upon Jesus, pure, spotless and perfect.

“Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body, and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who has promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:19-23 NIV.

If Jesus did that for us at such cost to Himself, how can we risk even thinking that we can add any other way to His way? No! Jesus is the only way to the Father. And the only God who is the true God is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the WAY to the Father, He is the TRUTH of everything He said and did, and He is the LIFE that He gives when we embrace Him and His Words and follow His way which takes us to the Father.