LAST LESSONS #119 – LAST THINGS – PART 8 – REFUSE TO AGREE

 “Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.” Romans 1:32

I am sure you have observed that today those who practice sin want everyone to agree with them that their sin is not really sin. They call it something else, and they want you to agree with them. Adultery is no longer sin, it’s freedom to love; murder of the unborn is no longer sin, it’s a woman’s right to choose; same-sex marriage is no longer sin, it’s who I love. Even destruction of government property is no longer crime, it’s the right to protest. Furthermore, those who commit these sins are not satisfied unless you agree with them.

Christians know that we must call sin sin. We also know that we must not give our approval to those who practice sin. It doesn’t matter how many laws are passed that legalize sin, Christians must not agree with them. Just because there is no law against the use of marijuana does not mean that we must use drugs nor approve its use by anybody. Just because the government has recently passed a law legalizing same-sex marriage doesn’t mean that the Bible says it’s OK. Just because abortion is legal in many states now, that doesn’t mean that Christians may kill babies. Nor does it mean that we agree with organ harvesting in China. Christians must not agree with murder, and we must do everything we can to prevent it. Destruction of other people’s property is wrong, stealing is wrong, lying is wrong. It doesn’t matter what the society calls these things, they are still wrong and we must not agree with them.

When you do not agree with today’s culture, you are likely to be cancelled, banned, or persecuted. They persecuted Jesus too. Jesus reminded his disciples that, “Remember the word that I said to you; ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” John 15:20

The question for you and me today is whether or not we are willing to refuse to agree with those who sin. We all know of the woman who refused to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex marriage, and the woman who refused to allow same-sex posts on her website, and Chick-fil-A who lost money because they refused to agree with what they believed was sin. We should applaud them.

When a country begins to say that wrong is right, and that right is wrong, that country is doomed to fail. It has begun the spiral down to destruction. This spiral down to destruction has happened throughout history and it will happen to the United States too unless God in his mercy raises up enough Christians who refuse to agree that sin is not sin.

Please do not cave-in to the culture. Politicians cave-in. Unbelievers cave-in. Liberal churches cave-in. But mature Christians do not cave-in. There are enough mature Christians in the USA to turn this country around. We simply need to be brave enough to refuse to agree with those who have been deceived by the devil into believing that wrong is right and right is wrong.

Who do you believe? Do you believe the culture and the devil? Or do you believe the Bible?

LAST LESSONS #118 – LAST THINGS – PART 7 – STAND UP

 “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1

When I was a teenager in church, we often sang the hymn written in 1858 by George Duffield “Stand up, Stand up for Jesus”. I loved it because it made me feel so strong and so brave and I wanted to stand up for Jesus. I still want to stand up for Jesus, but it is not as easy now as it was then. When I was a teenager going to church talking about Jesus was expected of Christian young people. My sister Cecil and I made our parents proud when we both married doctors and went to the mission field. No one ridiculed or persecuted us. Things are different today. Today Christians who want to talk about Jesus are banned in schools and colleges. Students are taught to “discard your parents’ religion so you can be free to be yourself.” But not all Christians have fallen for that lie. There are some who know that we have a right to stand for Jesus and are willing to exercise that right.

There are many in the church who are willing to stand for Jesus but don’t really know who he is. We cannot stand for what we do not know. If we want to know Jesus, we must know him through the Scriptures. It’s in the Bible that we learn who Jesus is and what he has done for us. And it’s in the Bible that we learn that finally Jesus will win over all the evil in the world. So it’s important to know what you are talking about when you exercise your right to free speech. But when you do know who Jesus is, you must stand up and speak for him.

Where I live, there are some who say that in the dining room we should not talk about religion or politics. Since I believe I have first amendment rights, I tell them that I will speak of Jesus and whatever else I believe to be right. If I don’t stand up for Jesus in such little ways, then the devil will win in little ways. When he wins in little ways, eventually all those little ways become the norm and we begin to believe that we can’t speak of Jesus anywhere except in church. We are constantly told by the party in power that we can’t speak about Jesus in the secular world. Yes we can!

Eric Metaxas said, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil.” When we should speak up for Jesus but are silent out of fear, we are complicit in evil. We still have freedom of speech in this country, but we may not have it long if Christians become afraid to stand up for Jesus with our words.

When your teacher (either in school or college) tells you that you may not speak or write about Jesus, you need to say, “I will speak of Jesus because I have free speech.”

When your workplace tells you that you may not speak about Jesus, you need to say, “I will speak of Jesus because I have free speech.”

When your club or your friends tell you that you may not speak about Jesus, you need to say, “I will speak of Jesus because I have free speech.” If we do not exercise our free speech while we have it, we may lose it.

If the disciples had been silent instead of taking the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world, where would we be today?

It’s easy to be discouraged as a Christian to live in today’s world. We need to remind each other that we are to “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13). We know that in the end, Christ will win, and if we are in Christ, we win too.

Stand up for Jesus today!

LAST LESSONS #117 – LAST THINGS – PART 6 – WORK

“We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.” John 9:4 

All I know is that night is coming pretty fast for me now that I am 93 years old. I want to do as much as I can before it gets dark, but “as much as I can” is not much these days. I have a little RBS in the “old folks home” where I live, and I am reorganizing the RBS into Sunday school lessons for the churches in Africa, and I manage the RJBF that sends out Bible commentaries along with the Sunday school lessons, but a younger person could do what I do in half the time it takes me. I am willing but not able. What concerns me these days is that there are too many people who are able but not willing. I’m speaking about doing the work of the Lord. Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few” (Luke 10:2). Why is that? Why do Americans these days not send out missionaries or involve themselves in mercy ministries? I recently heard a missionary to Japan speak and he told us that in Japan there is only one Christian missionary for every 78,000 people. No wonder there are so few Christians in Japan. In Japan the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 

But what about mercy ministries like Samaritans’ Purse or Mercy Ship that take less of your life than being a full-time missionary to Japan or Africa? There are many Christian mercy ministries in the United States today. But what about those works that are not organized? Could you consider taking in foster children or cooking food to take to the sick or visiting nursing homes?

There are many “works” that we can do in the name of the Lord. But the laborers are few. Why is that?

I believe one reason is because there are many people who are not willing to work at all! If the government, or their parents, or somebody else will subsidize them, then why should they work? Why? Because God expects us to work. God gave us work to do way back in Genesis. God created us to “have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth” (Genesis1:26). Exercising dominion over all the animals in the world takes work. Just ask anyone who raises cattle or chickens.

Furthermore, God “took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it” (Genesis 2:15). Planting orchards and raising vegetables sounds like work to me.

If God wants us to work, why do we not work? Perhaps it is because we do not know that one of the greatest gifts God has given us is the gift of work. Work is satisfying. Unhappy people are the bored ones who are not doing anything productive. Work gives a person a sense of purpose. I am familiar with some young people today who do not understand the value of work because their parents did not teach them nor model a work ethic for them. How can children understand work when their parents (or usually one parent) are on welfare? It’s interesting that in Genesis God did not suggest that mankind should work. He commanded it! Furthermore, Paul said, “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living” (2 Thessalonians 3:10-12).

Finally, Jesus said, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work” (John 4:34).

That is what I want to do. I want to do God’s will for me and accomplish the work he has for me to do in the short time I have left in this life.

What work does the Lord have for you to accomplish at your age? If you do it, it will feed your soul.

LAST LESSONS #116 – LAST THINGS – PART 5 – GRATITUDE

 “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Since next week is Thanksgiving, I won’t be writing a blog. But I can’t miss writing on gratitude. So here goes—

Being grateful in all circumstances is not easy. When we are sick or hurting, when we lose a loved one or even a pet, when we see crime and murder of unborn babies, when money is short and food too expensive, when we can’t send our children to good schools and our churches don’t teach them well, when we see friends and relatives turn away from God it’s hard to be thankful.

I am not a scholar, but I am an English teacher, so I notice 1 Thessalonians 5:18 does not say that we are to give thanks “for” all circumstances. It says we are to give thanks “in” all circumstances. Prepositions are important. One little preposition can totally change the meaning of a sentence. We certainly are not thankful for all the evil in the world, but we can give thanks in evil because we know that no matter how bad things look, God is not surprised. He controls all things, even the bad things, and it is he who allows them to happen. So, let’s see how we can still give thanks even in the bad things.

• When we are sick or hurting, we can give thanks for doctors and medicine.
• When we lose a loved one or a pet, we can give thanks that God comforts us.
• When there is crime or abortions, we can give thanks for our police and pro-life pregnancy centers.
• When money is short and food is expensive, we can give thanks that we have a welfare system and food stamps if necessary.
• When we can’t send our children to private schools and our church does not teach them well, we can give thanks for school choice and the possibility of moving to another church.
• When we see our friends and relatives turn away from God, we can give thanks that we can pray for them and ask God to give us opportunities to tell them of God’s love.

Becoming a grateful person will do wonders in your life. The author of a delightful book on gratitude gave me her book and it helped me tremendously. I’m talking about Mary Mohler’s book Growing in Gratitude: Rediscovering the Joy of a Thankful Heart.

We all give thanks at the Thanksgiving table. Each person comes up with at least one thing he or she is thankful for. Right? It’s so good to hear each person tell something for which they are thankful, even the special ones like “We get TWO days off from school.” or “I can eat all the pie and ice cream I want!” or “I’m thankful for my mommy.”

But I remember when our kids were young, each night at the supper table instead of asking them what they learned at school, we would ask them, “What is the best thing that happened to you today?” It’s amazing what we learned! I still use that question sometimes when my “elderly” friends spend too much time complaining about the food we are served.

Giving thanks in all circumstances is God’s will for us “in Christ Jesus.” Only Christians can give thanks in all circumstances because we Christians know another verse that reminds us that “for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” Romans 8:28.

Yes, even sick or hurting, losing a loved one, seeing the crime rate and abortions go up, not enough money, no good schools for our kids, and no good churches nearby, seeing friends and relatives turn away from God. In all these things Christians can give thanks because we have God—and he has us in the palm of his hand.

LAST LESSONS #115 – LAST THINGS – PART 4 – LEARN

 “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly of heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:29

How do we learn as adults? An old proverb says:

    Tell me, I forget,

    Show me, I remember,

    Involve me, I understand.

More recent studies show that people remember: 10% of what they hear—20% of what they read—80% of what they see. And this is because the human brain processes visual cues better rather than the written language. The studies do not include learning from being involved.

As I age, I still want to learn things: things about other people, things that are going on in the world, things that enrich life. That is why I listen to others talk and read biographies (a good one is BIBI My Story by Benjamin Netanyahu), that is why I watch the news and listen to Al Mohler’s “The Briefing”, that is why I read good novels, listen to music, and watch my daughter paint!

But most important, I want to learn more of Jesus. I want to learn from him, as our verse says, but I also want to learn about him. I want to know him!

There are numerous ways we learn of him, but I will mention only four: listen, read, see, and experience.

1. Listen: It’s important to go to church and listen to good sermons, enroll in a Bible course where you listen to lectures, go to the Ligonier Conference every year where you will hear from the best Bible speakers of our day. There are other ways to listen, but make sure you listen to those who have their doctrine straight!

2. Read: Reading is better than listening because you will remember more. Of most importance is to read the Bible—every day! Along with my personal reading of the Bible I read a chapter in a good commentary every day. For your information, I have suggested a commentary to read with every book of the Bible. You can find this on Rafiki’s website on the page describing the Rafiki Bible Study. I also like to read biographies of Christian leaders and the history of Christianity. One short but great little book I suggest is CHURCH HISTORY 101: THE HIGHLIGHTS OF TWENTY CENTURIES by Sinclair Ferguson.

3. See: See Christ in nature, and in other people. This takes practice. We practice thinking about Christ as Creator of nature when we look at the clouds and the stars, the flowers and the birds, the grasshoppers, and the elephants. We see Christ in those he has created in his own image. Not only in babies do we see Christ, but haven’t you seen a person who “shows you Jesus” by the way he or she lives? 

It takes more practice seeing Christ in the less than lovely. Even though it is hard for me to do, I try to see a person Christ died for when someone treats me unkindly or does things that I don’t like. That takes practice and prayer and I’ll admit I have a long way to go!

But to see Christ there is nothing to compare with traveling to Israel. Go there and you can see where Jesus lived, and taught, and died. Seeing those places has never left my memory. If possible, make the trip. It will make a lasting impression on you. Jesus was there.

4. Experience: To experience learning more of Jesus I suggest being involved in the things he was involved in and doing it for his sake.

• Jesus taught so maybe you could teach a Sunday School class or a Rafiki Bible Study or even become a pastor or seminary professor—for Jesus’ sake.
• Jesus fed people so maybe you could help at a soup kitchen, or fix meals for the sick or elderly—for Jesus’ sake.
• Jesus healed so maybe you could become a doctor, a nurse, a paramedic, or nurse’s aide—for Jesus’ sake.
• Jesus comforted so maybe you could become a counselor, or make hospital visits, or visit the elderly in nursing homes—for Jesus’ sake.
• Jesus proclaimed the gospel so maybe you could become a missionary to Africa, or to your friends and neighbors—for Jesus’ sake.
• Jesus prayed so maybe you could set a regular time to pray specifically for the needs of others—for Jesus’ sake.

Learn to know Jesus by hearing, reading, seeing, and experiencing him. Nothing is more enjoyable or restful for your soul.

LAST LESSONS #114 – LAST THINGS – PART 3 – COACH

 “But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” Hebrews 5:14

In the same way that a football coach trains a quarterback to throw the ball to the wide receiver by constant practice, so those who coach less mature Christians teach them how to distinguish good from evil or right from wrong. Knowing good from evil or right from wrong keeps people from making life-long mistakes. But this kind of discernment takes practice. It takes training and that’s where coaching comes in.

I’ve watched my great-grandsons (one a quarterback and the other a wide receiver in high school) practice throwing and catching by the hour. But it’s when their coach shows them how to improve their performance (because he has practiced for years and learned the right and wrong ways to throw and catch balls), that they excel.

Every one of us who has lived past sixty should be coaching at least a few younger people in the areas of work where we have succeeded through much practice. Maybe in sports, maybe in business, maybe in art or music, maybe in ministry, or maybe in being a good mom or dad.

I am grateful for the coaching that Wetherell Johnson (the founder of BSF) gave me for many years. I would never made it in the ministry of BSF without the teaching and example of Wetherell Johnson.

The Lutheran Church in Tanzania also set an example for me of preparing the next generation. Bishops in the Lutheran Church in Tanzania elect an Assistant Bishop who may be in that position for as much as twenty years before becoming the Bishop! It takes time and a lot of practice for a person to learn how to do something well, and a good coach is his most helpful asset.

A good coach is essential for the next generation of Christian leaders, whether they are to lead in the home, in the church, in the school, in the workplace, in the arts, in sports, or in politics. Every Christian needs a good coach—and every mature Christian needs to be a coach to those following him or her. How do we who are older coach the young? 

1. By example: We must give them a picture of what success looks like.
2. By advice or counsel: We must talk to them and tell them what we have learned.
3. By listening to them: We must ask them where their trouble-spots are and listen to what they tell us.
4. By wanting their success more than our own: We must want them to surpass us in whatever field we are coaching them.

The best coach who ever lived was Jesus. He coached his disciples for three years (the Gospels) and then he left them to build his church (Acts) until he returns (Revelation).

We live in the days of building the church. Our job is to learn from our Coach Jesus as we study the Scriptures. We also look for a godly human coach to help us in our practice sessions. Then as we mature, we coach those who will follow us in our particular calling.

Have you thanked God for the people who have coached you throughout your life?

How can you be a better coach to those who will follow you in a particular work to build the church of Jesus Christ?

LAST LESSONS #113 – LAST THINGS – PART 2

       
“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”  Proverbs 22:6

Aging prompts me to think less of myself and more about the next generation. It is said that I was part of the “Great Generation.” What advice can I give to the next generation to make them even greater? 

One thing that comes to mind is schools. My generation went to school and learned how to read (remember “Dick and Jane”?). We learned cursive writing (it is quicker than printing!), and we learned to add, subtract, multiply, and divide without a calculator. And we didn’t need a cellphone to figure out how much a tip should be. We actually had to memorize the multiplication tables up to twelve times twelve! People today can’t believe how handy that is when shopping, banking, or keeping score at games. 

But public schools today are no longer teaching the important things that children need to learn. CRT is not what children need to hear. Besides the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic, they need to learn the true history of this country. And they need to learn geography, world history, science, art, good music, and yes, computers!

But most of all, they need to learn who God is and who they are in relation to him. They will not learn this in public schools today.

Therefore, my advice is to send young children to Christian (classical, if possible) schools or homeschool them. There are co-op home schools. No matter what it costs you, do not send four-year-old to seven-year-olds to public school. At these ages, children are most impressionable so do whatever is necessary to keep them from public schools where their minds can be indoctrinated with wrong things. Check with churches in your area to see if they have early childhood schools. Many do.

If there is no Christian classical school in the area, maybe God wants you to start one! Call or write Karen Elliott (Executive Director of Rafiki) and ask her how to start a school. You can reach Karen at www.rafikifoundation.org. She will help you because she and a couple of us are starting a Christian classical school in Eustis, FL, where we live. We will be starting with four to seven-year-old children. We will use the facilities of a local church since they are not in use during the week. This is a win-win situation since it helps the church, and it helps local children. You can do it! PLEASE DO NOT SEND YOUR YOUNG CHILDREN TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
It’s more difficult when it comes to teenagers. Christian middle and high schools are expensive. But if you can possibly afford it, PLEASE send your children to a private Christian school where they will learn the Bible and receive a good education. You can find Christian classical schools by checking out The Association of Classical Christian Schools. The ACCS is the largest advocacy organization for K-12 classical Christian education in the US. (https://classicalchristian.org).

For sure, you do not want your children being taught CRT or associating with friends who don’t even know what gender they are.

A close friend of mine (well qualified with a master’s degree) visited me last week and told me that she had resigned from the teaching job she had because two of the teenage girls she taught told her that she must call them by their preferred gender “she-her” or “he-him”! They said they would report her if she did not. She didn’t wait to be reported. She resigned from teaching in public school and got a good secular job. How sad!

If you cannot afford to send teenagers to private schools, then at least get involved in their public schools. Get on the board and make sure you know what your children are learning and what they are reading! Furthermore, take them to Sunday school and conduct devotions in your home. Invite their school friends to your house to influence them. My granddaughter has a Bible study for teenagers in her home every week—and of course, she always serves refreshments!

As far as college is concerned, the same goes. If at all possible, send college-age students to Christian colleges. Christian colleges are a thousand times better than secular schools even if Christian colleges are less prestigious. If a state school is your only option, then make sure your students join a Christian group on campus like RUF (Reformed University Fellowship). I highly recommend RUF because it had a wonderful influence on one of my grandsons. After college, he went to seminary and became a minister.

Finally, a good education is essential. Do whatever you can to keep your children from secular schools. If that is not possible, I have one more suggestion: send your child to school as a missionary! We sent our three teenage daughters to a public school out of necessity. But we told them that because they were Christians, they would be sent to that school to tell their friends about Christ. That was their mission. Then every evening at home we would talk about what was happening in school and the people they talked to about Jesus. By God’s grace, there are some people (mostly boys!) who are Christians today because God used my daughters in a public school as missionaries.