Category Archives: Getting Started w/ L.E.D.

Continuing from the weekend. A third misconception about the fear of the Lord is a misapplication. Some (who don’t truly know God) would say that to teach the fear of the Lord makes God out to be a very mean ogre, just waiting for us to mess up so He can squash us. This is just the opposite of the Truth. God doesn’t not operate on revengeful whim. The fear of the Lord comforts us that God is faithful; He does not change. He doesn’t have a “bad day” or throw temper tantrums. He isn’t waiting for us to mess up, so He can pour out His wrath. The truth is, we have already messed up. And He, in His abundant mercy, is longsuffering in His awaiting for us to repent, so He can pour out His forgiveness.

A story was told yesterday, that I guess was suppose to be funny. I don’t know if the guy in the story was making a very bad joke or if he had really bad theology. But after a very bad day he said, “I think God is trying to kill me and keeps missing.” I guarentee, if God is “trying” to kill you, He does not miss!

That our consequences are not reaped immediately, does not prove that God winks at sin, or that we are getting away with it, and will not have to pay the consequences. It means that the goodness and mercy of God are allowing us time to repent before the consequences take effect.

Are you beginning to see how the fear of the Lord is the depths of the foundation we must lay for our children to build their life and learning on – for us to build our lives and learning on!?

Continued tomorrow, Lord willing.

Continuing again to expand – that is dig the foundation a little deeper, from the last few days, if you can make the connection. Let’s return again to my favorite – Life Message – topic, The Fear of the Lord and Wisdom. But let’s come from a different angle.

Remember what we are wanting to do is plant seeds that will bear good fruit. To do that we must plant in good soil and cultivate it. This was the job God gave Adam, to “dress” the garden. I’ve heard it explained that this whole Dominion Mandate was for Adam to take what God had given him and work it, be creatively productive with it , and return it back as an offering to God.

If Wisdom is the most important thing for our children to “get” in life, and it is (Pro. 4:7) , then our job as parents is to lead our children to Wisdom. Remember too that Wisdom is personified, it is a person, and that Person is Jesus. Taken one step further, the beginning of Wisdom, or the most important, first part about Wisdom, is the Fear of the Lord (Pro. 9:10). If we can teach our chidlren nothing else, we must teach them the fear of the Lord. For this is the beginning of the most important thing in Life.

Now, it has been said of the Fear of the Lord that,
1) it is an Old Testament concept tied to Law that doesn’t apply to us. Hmm, better go read the New Testment – Heb. 12:28-29: Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. See also: 2 Cor. 7:1, Eph. 5:21, 1 Peter 2:17, Rev. 14:7, Rev. 19:5.

2) it doesn’t really mean fear – it really means respect or awe. Oh really? What do you do with this? Luke 12:4-5: And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him. And Mt. 10:28.

No, fearing God is more than just respecting Him, or being amazed at Him, or thinking He has changed since the Old Testament – He’s “nicer” now. Fearing God means knowing that He is not a man that He should lie. That all the promises of God are Yes and Amen; they will all surely come to pass. But not all His promises are wonderful blessings for everyone. He is not to be mocked, saying “Yea, has God said? You will not surely die.” The idea that “it looks good, tastes good, I want it” is not the test for consequences. The enemy will always lie and tell you that you will not get caught. It won’t happen to you. You can get away with it. No one will ever know. But God will not be mocked. Surely, whatsoever you sow, you will reap. He has promised blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. There is great reason to fear Him. He is just. He executes perfect justice. No one ever gets away with anything. He has the final say.

Our children (and of course, first WE) must understand that every choice has consequences. God will see that the consequences are paid, and justice is done. This is not good news to our flesh. The news that we don’t choose a destiny of our own making. That we are not our own God. Many people including children try to justify themselves (look, even Adam and Eve did so), that what they’ve done isn’t really that bad, that they’ve done more good than bad (as if somehow God is weighing deeds on a scale), that others have done far worse. The fear of the Lord is recognizing that when I do wrong, there are negative consequences to be paid – surely, yes and amen (so be it). I will not get away with it – I WILL reap what I sow .

The Good News, the only Good News we have, is that if we are “in Christ” He has already paid the penalty for us. We, all of us – including our children, must be brought to the point of recognizing our true state. And recognizing that God is to be feared. That is NOT where we END, but it is where we must begin. They must know that God is God, and they are not. He may be our Abba (if we are born again of Him), but we do not have Him wrapped around our little finger to manipulate at whim.

I have only touched the tip of this iceburg. Although the fear of the Lord is not the most “fun” thing to teach and learn, it is the solid, deep foundation for everything else that we teach our children. It is the beginning of Wisdom, which is the most important thing in Life.

I will continue this topic next week, Lord willing. Have a blessed Lord’s Day.

I can’t break my consistency yet, so this is kind of a “cheat” post. It’s a continuation of my thoughts, from yesterday, that I shared with a couple of friends.

I think it is so important that we as parents learn to rest in the finished work of the Lord, (The principle of Christian character through labor 🙂 and not continually strive to build greatness through the flesh. I see far too many hs moms doing this. (We all tend too. We all have external, and perhaps remaining internal, pressures to do so.) Maybe it’s driven home with me because a friend once told me about what she saw in my life was an oak tree, saying: ‘a blade of grass can spring up to its full potential very quickly, but it is short lived and easily withers. It has shallow roots that cannot support anything larger. A mighty oak has roots that go down very deep. It is not easily shaken. It is strong and firm. It is lasting. Its visible greatness is only as big as the roots that support it. There is as much underneath as there is visible. It reaches far and provides shade and comfort to many.’ I have held onto that word and prayed that God would bring it to pass. Especially when things didn’t seem to be growing quickly in the “visible” realm I tried to remember this. I believe it is really applicable to what God wants to do in all of us, (and relates to the house on the rock and house on the sand.)

In Paul Jehle’s tape on sowing and reaping he talks about planting the seed, and the soil needed to receive it (keeping our children’s hearts soft). He says something about taking a machine gun and blasting the seeds into the (hard) soil – as we sometimes want to/tend to try to do that. If they won’t get it, we’ll MAKE them get it. I think we parents can all relate to times we’ve had like that.

But, I can tend to think that way (wish it would work) with adults sometimes. I think, “Why won’t you just receive this? It will make your life so much easier. It will produce so much better fruit than what you have growing now. This would be so much better for your children.” (usually in relation to them pushing academic content early and fast on young children – or home educating at all). My goal and true desire and ministry though is to plow the soil – I just need to always remember that a plow works better than a machine gun.

This (from Jehle) just really spoke to me (on the plowing before planting) because a verse that I have always thought spoke to my life ministry is Jer. 1:9-10.

Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

The idea is that old patterns have to be torn down before new can be built. We have to plow (dig up, root out) before we can plant. We have to prepare the soil/hearts. Oh yea, that’s called the renewing of the mind.

Remember we haven’t been called to transplant full grown trees, we’ve been called to plow, plant seeds and water them!!!! Then God will bring the increase!!!!!!

I’ve made it my 5th day – one more day and I’ll have a half of year’s worth of posts done 🙂

Many years ago I heard that it takes till your third year of home educating until you really feel like you know what you are doing. I think that is probably true. But to take it a step further, I think it applies every time you switch approaches, the way you home educate. It’s all about retraining our minds to think differently and that takes time.

I’ve laid at the foundation of my teaching the principle of Renewing the Mind. It is a process that many home educators would just as soon skip over. They “don’t have time for this”. They just want to know how to teach this way – how to apply this method, and want to know it now. They have children sitting and waiting to learn, and they must start shoveling it in now. The clock is ticking.

But I think there is a reason Jesus walked daily with his disciples for three years. Perhaps it takes that long for us to make a paradigm shift. (Wouldn’t it be great to have a daily mentor for three years! We do, not just for three years, but for a lifetime. It is the Holy Spirit, our Teacher. He really is!!) But, as I was saying, there is no instant transformation except in our spirits when we are born again. Our minds must be laid on the altar daily. And the changes must be internalized. We can read something and “know” it, but it takes time for it to become a part of us, and to become natural for us to automatically apply – to automatically think that way.

We have been so trained in the supposed supremacy of content, “getting that building up”, that we forget that it is the foundation that is important. The things that aren’t always seen. The things that don’t measure on a test. But the things that will allow us/our children to stand, especially when the storms come.

There is no short-cut to renewing our mind to think or teach Biblically. Only study and time will accomplish that (in addition to the work of the Holy Spirit). As we work through Biblical principles as the foundation of our teaching for a Biblical worldview, it may seem like we aren’t “covering the subjects” like we “should”. At first, we may not even understand what the principles are and how they apply to anything, let alone everything. But as we continue our study, and leading our children as Christ leads us, line upon line, precept upon precept, eventually we will notice that it is starting to all come together. Things that made no sense before, suddenly all fall together. Application becomes obvious, and we can begin building the part of our “building” that will be seen. We are thinking differently. The foundation is set.

Never feel that the time laying a foundation on the solid Rock is wasted, unnecessary, or too time consuming. The “house” (education) without a foundation may look grand, big and beautiful, but its fall will be great when the storms of life come. It is only the life that is built upon the time-requiring foundation of Biblical thinking that comes from renewing the mind that will truly stand.

I came across an article today. It’s on preaching – as in, sermons to the church. But I think it’s pertinent to us (in our own lives, and as parents, and in educating our children) too. I believe it is VERY important that we teach/learn Bible Principles (or I wouldn’t be doing it with my children, nor training others in it). Our children (and we) need to know how to reason Biblically to live a Christian life in this world. It is the renewing the mind that transforms us to have the “mind of Christ” and to be able to apply His ways in this world – to obey His command to “take dominion”.

But I think we also must take care that we do not present (nor grasp) the “Letter” without the “Spirit”. It is not my goal to raise children who have a lot of “head knowledge” and can tell you all the right answers, but don’t live it in their own lives. This is God’s whole message, that we can not “do right”. No one can keep the whole law. It is the “school master” that brings us to Christ. But the goal is coming to Christ. It’s not about our works, or our knowledge. It is about His grace that enables us to do what is right, which is only found through the Cross. The Law sets the standard, but through it we also see that we cannot meet the standard. We must not just give our children a moral foundation and Biblical understanding. We must bring them to Jesus, their only hope and salvation, each and every day.

A friend and I have been discussing how not all the Founding Fathers of our nation were converted Christians. Yet, even those who were not, had a more Biblical (God centered) view of the world than most Christians today – and perhaps even lived more “Biblically”. That worldview they had, provided a strong foundation for our nation, and gave us a heritage and advantage as future generations. We are indebted to them. But, it didn’t profit them for eternity.

I am concerned about my children’s eternal souls, not just that they get a good, or even “Biblical” education. I cannot just fill their heads with knowledge, even Biblical knowledge and understanding. I must bring them to Jesus – to the Cross – to meet grace, where it’s all about HIM and what He’s done (and doing), not about “me”.

So yes, we must teach Biblical Principles, but even more so, we must bring our children to Jesus.

Quote from the article by Tim Keller:
“We have said that you must preach the gospel every week–to edify and grow Christians and to convert non-Christians. But if that is the case, you cannot simply ‘instruct in Biblical principles.’ You have to ‘get to Jesus’ every week.

” …There is, in the end, only two ways to read the Bible: is it basically about me or basically about Jesus? In other words, is it basically about what I must do, or basically about what he has done?”

Lifestyle Education through Discipleship is a family discipleship process from and for a Biblical view of God and His world. All learning is for the purpose of knowing God and making Him known through Wisdom. Which is learning from His Word what His perspective is on everything in life, and then walking out our lives in it. For He has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness.

Since everything we teach is from a Christian worldview, we must first have our own minds renewed to that from the worldly and selfish ways of thinking that we have learned and that come naturally. We cannot teach from a Biblical worldview if we don’t have one. As I’ve stated before, this isn’t just what we think, but how we think. It’s the thought processes that affect everything we do and how we do it. This is a paradigm shift. As Romans 12:2 says, a transformation. God’s ways aren’t our ways, and if we don’t see things from His perspective we will not have proper understanding. We will see the same “facts” but interpret them differently. That’s why Wisdom is the principle thing. And we must first get it, before we can operate in it, and help others find it.

We begin by “planting the seeds” of a Biblical worldview in our children – through discipleship. You follow me, as I follow Christ. However we don’t stop there. Teaching from a Biblical worldview is important. We need to teach them what the Scripture says but if we only give them the what, it will be nothing but “head knowledge” of the Word. It is only “the law” and has no essence of life. But the law is the tutor that brings us to Christ, so we must start there. Then we must also educate our children for a Biblical worldview, using that “law” to lead them to “life”.

What’s the difference? I’d liken it to giving them a fish vs. teaching them to fish. They will first “see us fishing” and enjoy the fruits therof. But we are not going to “feed” them forever. That will only make them fat, lazy ingrates. They must learn to feed themselves. They must follow Christ for themselves. We must lead them from what to think to how to think. We teach them how to seek for and dig out Wisdom for themselves. I like what Paul Jehle has to say, that it is not the accumulation of knowledge we seek. That will only make us fat. True growth is the replacement of the old with the new. That is what brings change in our lives that affects everything we do. (paraphrased)

This is transformation. This is when the Spirit brings life and freedom. It is from the Spirit that we follow not the letter of the law, but we gain understanding of the law and its application. It becomes written on our heart, and we are able to put it to work in our lives in a variety of new and different situtations. It is when the Gospel is applied to my life that I am transformed. So too, it is when I seek and find wisdom for myself, that I have internalized it, it becomes mine and I am able to walk in it in freedom.

It is when we have taken our children from “from to for” that they “own” their education and are transformed. Learning becomes life to them. Wisdom, understanding, and knowledge bring freedom. It is then that the seeds we planted have grown to fruitfulness and they are able to reproduce. And that is what discipleship is all about.

May 7, 2005

Earlier this week I started an article that would include my Top 10 home library picks. Our webpages have (or are in the process of having) many recommendations for resources for the Christian family. Yet, in the making of books there is no end. All is vanity. Books are one of the best pursuits man can make on earth – far more beneficial than most of the other things this world has to offer, and yet it is still vanity.

Only one thing is needful. Yet the American Church has strayed so far from it. In becoming people of many books, we are no longer a people of THE Book. We may read devotionals ABOUT the Bible, or story books of Bible stories – or even watch them, or somewhat a remake of them, on video. We may follow along with a few verses (paraphrased beyond recognition) on an overhead screen on Sunday and maybe, Wednesday. But by and large, American Christians are pretty Biblically illiterate.

Though I will probably eventually write the Top 10 list, and we do continue to utilize other resources along side the Bible for educating our children, today I want to just encourage you to get into the Word. Just the Word. No books about the Bible or Biblical ideas. Not even “Bible study” books. But just the Bible alone. Not men’s parphrases or “dynamic equivelents”. Just the literal Word of God (translated into English, if you don’t read Hebrew/ Greek. 🙂

Just read it. Read it as you would any other book, chapter by chapter, beginning to end. Read it slow enough to catch what it is saying – even if you think you’ve “heard that all before”. Think about what you are reading. This is important stuff! God wrote this just to send a message of love to YOU! Think about it as a whole message. If you don’t understand something or have a question, write it down. There’s a good chance it will be clarified/ answered later in the Book. Let Scripture interpret Scripture. Along with that – and even better, ask the Author what He meant. If you have entered into covenant relationship with God, He is your Father and He just loves to hear from you and talk to you and has even given you of Himself to be your Teacher, the Holy Spirit lives in you to reveal God and His Word to you.

Get to know God for yourself, through His Word and prayer alone. Not about, and through, someone else’s relationship with Him. Your life will be transformed by Sola Scriptura.