Last Lessons #51 - ADULTERY

"You shall not commit adultery.”  Exodus 20:14

“So do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

“Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.”  Hebrews 13:4

We obey this commandment depending on whether we listen to today’s culture or to God’s Word.  Our culture says that any sexual activity is permissible because the culture listens to the world, the flesh, and the devil.  The culture listens, agrees, and acts.  That is why there is so much promiscuity today.  If Christians did not have the Holy Spirit to help them resist the tempting words of the world, the flesh, and the devil, Christians would also agree and act. 

There is no point in making a case for why a person should not indulge in adultery, or homosexuality, or pornography, or other sexual activity that I will not even mention.  There are certainly physical, psychological, and legal reasons to avoid wrongful sexual activity, but people do what they want to do.  If you want sex you will have it, either as God has designed it for the first couple he created, or as the culture tells you is a “loving” way to relate to others.   

Christians and non-Christians should be thankful that laws have been made to limit sexual activity that harms others.  Years ago, there was a law against adultery, but today adultery is no longer illegal.  Our culture has lost the understanding that adultery always hurts others – men, women, and children. 

Whether the law prohibits adultery or not, the Bible to tell us that adultery is wrong.  It hurts others, but it will also hurt us physically, mentally, and emotionally.  God wants to protect his people from being hurt in these ways.  He has given us this commandment and all the other nine because he loves us.

Ephesians 5:22-33 gives us a beautiful picture of how God loves his own. Christ loved his bride, the church, and gave himself up for her.  Not even the tiniest thought of adultery.  Husbands and wives are to do the same.

Actually, the question of adultery is simple.  The culture says that adultery is ok.  God says it is not ok.  Who we listen to is our decision.  Will we listen to God or listen to the culture?  Listening to the culture will ruin our lives.  And remember, the culture will never save us, only the Lord Jesus Christ will save us.

I have learned that the way we listen to God is through reading, studying, and acting on what the Bible tells us (I can tell you some good ways to study the Bible!).  As for me I want to listen to God more each day and I pray you do too.

Last Lessons #50 - MURDER

 “You shall not murder.”  Exodus 20:13

Murder is wrong.  I do not believe that anyone reading this blog would disagree with that statement.  However, there are different reasons why people believe that murder is wrong. 

The reason Christians believe murder is wrong is because the Bible says it is – period!  It is not wrong because there is a law against it - there is a law against it because it is wrong!  At least in the USA.  Communist countries do not have a law against killing.  However, what should we believe about killing in Christian countries today aside from wartime killing (which we will not discuss in this blog)?

The Scripture says that murder is wrong because human beings are made in God’s image.  God created them that way. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.  Genesis 1:27. Even the New Testament claims that “With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God” James 3:9.  It is a sin to murder someone who is made in the image of God. 

Capital punishment is not murder.  Capital punishment is required in Scripture because human beings are all made in God’s image.  Thus when someone murders another person his own life will be required. “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.”  Genesis 9:6

There are those who claim that capital punishment is not loving, but it is loving to God.  It is God’s image that is at issue, not a feeling for another person. 

Abortion is another story.  Abortion is murder.  Abortion is killing a human being who is created from conception in the image of God.  “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations” Jeremiah 1:5.  David also knew very well that he was a person from the time he was in the womb. Read Psalm 139:13-16

What is happening in our country is the worst crime in history.  If for no other reason, God should destroy the USA because the USA has murdered millions and millions of unborn babies created in God’s image.  The numbers are staggering, and the saddest part is that there are many in this country who are “celebrating” these murders. 

What can we as Christians do about this?

• Vote for those who are pro-life Tell others that you endorse the pro-life movement
• Volunteer at a pro-life clinic
• Contribute to pro-life activities 
• Teach your children and grandchildren that murder is wrong and that abortion is murder.

We can all pray that God will forgive us.  I know I am praying.

Last Lessons #49 – HONOR PARENTS

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”  Exodus 20:12 

Honoring my parents was easy because my parents were both good, honest, faithful Christians.  I was born in 1929 during the depression so my parents did not have much money and they had six children.  In spite of that, my parents provided well for us giving us music lessons and making sure that all of us had a college education, even if it meant their going into debt.  My parents loved me and forgave me even when I was not as grateful as I should have been.  I loved them and I tried to honor them when they were alive, and I honor them more today after they are gone.

Not all children have good parents, or even any parents, but somebody raised everybody who is an adult today.  My experience of seeing that orphans in Africa have a “mama” to raise them has taught me that those who care for children should be honored.  Rafiki teaches children to honor their caregivers in Rafiki Villages and in Rafiki schools.  That is because Rafiki believes the Ten Commandments and teaches all ten of them to its children.

It is sad to see this commandment so often ignored in the USA today.  And I wonder if children who do not honor parents will someday regret it.    

The lesson I am glad I learned about honoring my parents is that now when they are gone, I have no regrets.  I was living in Africa when I heard that my mother had cancer and was dying.  My sweet husband agreed that we should take our savings so I could fly to Miami leaving him and my three children in Africa to go be with my mother and my daddy before she died.  My mother lingered for five weeks so I stayed in Miami to be with her, but also to help my devastated father.  My mother was only 67 years old.  As hard as it was to be separated from my husband and my children for such a long time, I am so glad I went because I have no regrets now.  I don’t have to say, “If only ---" for not doing everything I could to honor them when they needed me.  And, by the way, I needed them too!

I am writing this blog from the place where I live now with many old folks.  Most of them are very lonely.  Some of them never have visitors.  Many of them do not have their children making sure that their needs are met. I feel sorry for them, but I cannot take the place of their children.

Please make sure you honor your father and your mother (or whoever raised you) by:

• Thanking them for all they did for you.

• Spending time with them.

• Doing whatever you can to help them.

• Telling them often that you love them.

Someday you will be glad you honored your father and your mother when they were alive, and you will have no regrets when they are gone.     

Last Lessons#48 - SABBATH

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.  On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.  For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day and made it holy.”  Exodus 20:8-11

I have learned that going to church on Sunday determines how I spend the whole day.  Some of us missed church for months, even a year, because of the pandemic.  Even being able to stream church (which I was able to do) is not the same as being there to worship with fellow believers.  One thing I have learned is that when something is taken away from us for a time, we appreciate it more when we get it back.  So, I make sure I go to church in person every Sunday.

God in his grace gave us the Sabbath – one day in seven – to rest.  Now that I am old, I rest plenty!  I don’t have to cook, or clean, and I can shop online.  I am not required to work anymore, but I still do what work I can for Rafiki because I want to.  It gives me a purpose to live.  But I don’t work, even for Rafiki, on Sundays.  I keep that day special.  Jesus healed on the Sabbath (John 9), so I can do good on Sunday.  However, Sundays are the days to rest and worship God. 

It seems that today our culture uses Sunday for almost everything except worship. But Jesus said in John 4:23-24, “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.  God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”  Surely that hour has come and is now here in this time when the Father is seeking people to worship him.  For that reason, I pray that more people will go to church where they hear the truth preached and worship God.  I can pray in church too.  Prayer is a “work” that I may and should do on Sunday.  I love the hymn by Isaac Watts “How Sweet and Awesome Is the Place”.  The last verse helps me pray:

“We long to see your churches full,

that all the chosen race

may, with one voice and heart and soul,

sing your redeeming grace.”

I am grateful that I live in a country where I can be present with other believers to worship God, to hear the truth preached, and to pray. 

Being a simple person, I go to church on Sunday morning to keep the day holy, and I take a nap in the afternoon to rest!

Last Lessons#47 - BOARD

“Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”  Hebrews 13:17

I’m taking time in this blog to encourage those who follow Rafiki.  I want to tell you about our Board of Directors.  Rafiki set up our Board in 1987 and some of us have been members to this day.  We have around ten members, both men and women, belonging to several different Christian denominations.  No one is paid as a board member.  We meet twice a year to formulate the vision and manage the affairs of the Rafiki Foundation.  I trust this Board and so can you!

The reason I am telling you about our Board is because at our last meeting we made a couple of significant changes.  Our motto began as “GOD’S WORD AT WORK” and that remains our motto.  We began Rafiki with two goals: to “HELP PEOPLE KNOW GOD AND TO RAISE THEIR STANDARD OF LIVING” and these two goals have not changed.  The change our Board made was to enlarge these goals to include the whole world, not just Africa.  We still know that the way to know God is by reading and studying the Bible.  We also know that the best way for people to raise their standard of living is by education, particularly Christian Classical Education.  In 1987 Rafiki began to teach the Bible and to educate Africans.  By God’s grace our efforts have been successful.  Ten English -speaking countries now each have a Village where the Bible is taught to every participant and where thousands of children are educated in Christian Classical Schools.  Beyond that, each Village has a Rafiki Institute of Classical Education (RICE) building where teachers are taught the Christian classical method.  The vision in Africa has expanded to include hundreds of schools run by churches using Rafiki curriculum.  These are the only schools in the continent of Africa using Christian classical curriculum.  Furthermore, Rafiki has prepared Sunday School Lessons for adults and children and given them to Africa churches.

Today we realize that God has graced Rafiki with some amazing gifts, especially the Rafiki Bible Study (RBS), Rafiki Sunday School Lessons (RSSL), and Rafiki Christian Classical Curriculum (RCCC).  So at our last meeting the Rafiki Board of Directors agreed that we should make what God has given to us available to any English-speaking countries asking for them. 

Already many RBS Groups have started in the USA, in Europe, and in Asia. Churches in the USA are beginning to start Christian classical schools in their facilities using Rafiki curriculum.  We are trusting that churches in the USA and other countries will take advantage of the Sunday School materials that Rafiki produces.  In anticipation of the increased use of Rafiki materials, a PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION (PAD) building is being built at the Rafiki Home Office. All Rafiki materials can be ordered through Rafiki’s website (www.rafikifoundation,org). 

I have learned through thirty-six years of being involved with Rafiki, that God has given us our BOARD, the Executive Director (Karen Elliott), and all Rafikians to be used for his glory.  We are now praying that many more will join us so that Rafiki can help, as God leads, to give the Word of God to many throughout the WORLD.