Finishing the Race

Been too busy to blog - but hopefully once camp starts, I will be less busy. I have been flying through a long check list of things to get ready for camp. I hope to be done with all that by Wednesday this week, but we'll see.

I'll try to blog more this week sometime.

Now that I got Jenette her new little 'puter, maybe she will read my blog more!

jc

When People Are Big and God is Small

I mentioned in a previous post something about the book When People are Big and God is Small by Ed Welch. I wasn't actively reading it at the time, but the title sure impressed me.

Now I am reading it, and have decided to study it with the 5 older J's. I would encourage anyone and everyone to read this and especially to share it with their children (at least older kids.)

Some of the things I have been learning and thinking about based on this book are as follows:

EVERYONE struggles with issues of "fear of people" or peer pressure, or whatever it is called. Those who deny it are fooling themselves or too proud to acknowledge it.

My children all struggle with this in different ways - the boys different from the girls, and each of them different from each other. In our environment living here at the camp and homeschooling, this shows up in several key areas: their relationships with people from other churches (camp people) and their relationships with friends at our own church that they want to try to stay connected with. We had a really great conversation last week, and all of them shared how they struggle with this. I challenged them to remember that everyone deals with this and we need to treat all people with love, honor, and respect because of it.

I also thought of the many young people that I have tried to minister to and mentor over the years (most of them, quite unsuccessfully). Many of them were so busy needing people that they forgot that they needed God more.

Many of those young people at the time said that they loved God. But as I look back on it, they may have "loved" God by feeling a connection to the righteousness of God or the Church, but I don't think they "feared" God. In fact, they, just as I did at that age, had everything backwards. They emotionally "loved" God (or said they did), and feared people, instead of fearing God and loving people. Obviously we need to "love" God. But the Biblical idea of loving God by obeying God (Read 1 John) is different than the cultural idea of "love," which is all about how someone feels.

The book makes an emphasis on the fact that our sinful nature causes us to need people to determine our worth and fill us. The more that we need people, the more that we become a prisoner to them. I remember being at the age that my boys are right now, and how much I needed to fit in. I needed to wear the right clothes. I needed to listen to the right music. I needed to act like, think like, talk like and look like everyone else, so there wouldn't be any "handle" for anyone to grab and exploit. If I could just meld into the crowd, I would be safe. I didn't realize that I was making myself into a safe prisoner in a cage locked up and secured by the thoughts I thought people thought about me.

Oh, how I desperately, pitifully needed the approval of everyone! I needed approval from my friends and my parents and my brothers and my youth minister and everyone else (and they frequently had conflicting ideas about who I needed to be). I jumped through a lot of hoops to do all that - so many hoops that I forgot that I needed to need God first and foremost!

I really think that many Christians, (including myself in the past) don't really want to fear, need or trust God. Sure, we want fire insurance, but in the nitty gritty of life, do I trust God enough to choose to follow him instead of the crowd? Would I be like the three brave young guys in Daniel who refused to bow down to the idol? Or would I be more like all the other good people around them who were bowing down, justifying themselves the entire time? Do I need God more than I need my life?

If I need people, then I am in bondage to them. However, if I love people, and make the active but difficult choice to not need them or fear them, then I can treat others the way that God wants me to. I could never admonish someone I feared, and the Scripture says that we are to admonish one another. How could I share with anyone what they "need" the most - the gospel message, with all it's offense regarding our sinfulness - if I am crippled by the fear of what people think about me?

How can a leader lead in fear of people? How can a Christian teach others if he is afraid of what people think? How can I be a direct influence for Christ if I am afraid that people will think that I am an idiot? How can a dad lead his children to grow to be godly adults if he is afraid that his kids won't like him if he applies godly correction? How can a camp manager effective manage things if he is always afraid that someone won't like something?

I guess one of the applications of all this for me is this: If you are in my sphere of influence, I am going to love you more and fear you less. I am going to obey and follow God to the best of my ability. I am not going to worry about what you think of me. I am not going to try to impress you. I want to serve you and encourage you, but I don't need you to serve or encourage me.

I won't long for a pat on the back, an "atta-boy" or gushing praise. I am not going to need your kind words to bolster my view of myself. I will listen to you, but I don't need you to listen to me. I humbly ask for direction, correction, and admonishment, and I won't punish you for doing it.

God has already declared in His Word that I am His child, and that is enough for me. Who could add anything to that anyway? As a prince of the King, I am going to do my best to serve and love all those that God puts in my path.

The Biblical view of Modesty (to the chagrin of Christian beauty queens)

This video just had me flabbergasted for all kinds of reasons. At the great risk of letting a rambling rant erupt here, allow me to humbly analyze the wacky, inconsistent values of America.

First up, who in their right mind is shocked that this poor girl didn't win because she gave an answer in support of traditional marriage? Have we not realized that the media is firmly in control by those who shun traditional Christian values and that those who speak out otherwise are going to be put into their place? Now, I didn't (and wouldn't) watch this silly beauty pageant, but doesn't the very fact that young women dress up in next to nothing bathing suits and bop around the stage like they are posing for Playboy shout out that traditional Christian values are meaningless in this event?

And along that line (ooh, this might rock someone's boat out there) - I greatly admire Sean Hannity, but I had to laugh out loud when he said to her, regarding the pageant, that the pageant is supposed to be about outward beauty and inward beauty! Are you kidding me? Come on, Sean, if that were the case, wouldn't we have at least a few pudgy ladies involved? I think that is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard. You could almost see him backpedaling as he was saying that. Mr. Hannity is very intelligent and usually shows tremendous discernment. But, come on! These gals don't put on the evening gown and the skimpy swimsuit to show off their inward beauty.

I don't want to judge this young lady's heart or intentions, but the Scripture tells us repeatedly that we can and should judge the actions of people around us to see if we should be following that influence. That is something that we should be doing all the time.

(Even the "Do not judge or you too will be judged" passage in Matthew 7 is clothed in the context of seeing what hypocritical religious leaders are doing and not imitating those ungodly actions. The point of the passage is not "don't judge anyone at all," but, "look at your own heart first"- you must remove the plank from your own eye before you try to help your brother remove the speck from his eye.)

So, in order to encourage the Church in this public forum, let me humbly try to get the speck out of this sister's eye as I get rid of the plank in my own.

I have a real problem with this young lady saying she wants to be "Biblical" and stand on her principles about traditional marriage, but doesn't seem to have any issues with strutting around the stage mostly naked. (And, though I did not watch the pageant, there is enough of her swimsuit walk on the Hannity clip to determine that she absolutely was strutting. - This was a sexually provocative walk that screamed "I am woman, look at my hot bod.")

I know that some will think I'm an idiot, moron, or sexual deviant for thinking these things - oh well.

What about being Biblical in that wearing clothes is a necessary result of sin? Adam and Eve were clothed by God himself after they sinned in order to cover their shameful nakedness. Isn't that enough Scripture alone to give us the theology of modesty?

Or how about being Biblical about what true beauty is? 1 Peter 3:3-4 - to women - "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight."

Or how about being Biblical about not causing a Christian brother to stumble into lustful sin? (See 1 Corinthians 8:8-13) Jesus said that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matt. 5:28) Does she think that the old geezers sitting on their couches at home in Peoria have godly thoughts in their hearts as she goes about the stage? Does she really think the boys in Buffalo are thanking Jesus for what they are seeing? Has this young lady been fooled or is she naive? Maybe a little of both? I really don't know.

I would not have watched this pageant because I know the sinful tendencies of my own heart. (This is the part where I am yanking the plank out of my own eye.) I would not let my sons watch the pageant because I want to train them to "flee the evil desires of youth" - 2 Timothy 2:22. I would not let my daughters watch the pageant because I don't want them to ever think that this type of demonstration of women is ever a good thing. We don't call it pornography, but that's what it is!

How sorrowful and sad that a seemingly nice Christian girl has set before the already confused Christian girls in our culture that you can be Biblical and immodest at the same time. Light and darkness intermingle perfectly! What a deal! You can be a friend of the world and a friend of God at the same time! (James 4:4)

Should we wonder why Christianity in America is so messed up?

There's a reason that we wouldn't let this young lady wear her swimsuit to the Maranatha Bible Camp pool, and it has a whole lot to do with the fact that all the young guys (and many of the old ones) who were checking her out wouldn't be thinkin' about Jesus. Biblical modesty is just as important a principle as Biblical marriage, and they in fact are literally "in bed" together. Just as a fire has it's right, safe place and context when it is in the fireplace, sexuality (which is created by God and is a pure, wonderful thing) has it's right, safe place and context in marriage, and only in marriage.

Actions really do speak louder than words, and it is hard for me to accept that this young woman has a truly Biblical view of marriage because of her "actions" on that stage.

Proverbs 6 & 7 talks about the young man who is lured into sexual sin by a woman who is dressed like a prostitute, and who can "captivate you with her eyes." Is this not what is happening in this so called "beauty pageant?" Isn't the idea that the girl who can wow the judges the most wins the crown? And how does she wow them? With her beautiful body - and to a lesser extent, with her words. That we award a prize for that and put it on TV demonstrates our desire as a country to go against God's standards.

The Biblical principle of modesty, based on the above Scriptures, is that people should not draw undue attention to the fleshly, sexual aspect of their bodies outside of the context of marriage.

Finally, this video clip bothered me for two more reasons. First, Miss California encouraged young people to "follow your heart and stay true to yourself." I think I know what she meant by that, but that is an incredibly unbiblical statement. King David was following his heart and being true to himself when he lusted after and took Bathsheba. Our hearts are wicked. We need to lead our hearts to the cross of Christ, not follow our hearts. We are liars (Romans 3:4) and only God is true all the time. We need to be true to God, not ourselves. Maybe that statement is just the overused, lame thing that is always said at beauty pageants and high school graduations, but it still deserves at least a jab of discernment.

And also, does anyone else beside me find it amazing that this has resulted in a controversy? Why would we expect anything less? Do those that find it controversial think that this is some form of "persecution?" I don't know that for sure, but I would challenge anyone who thinks that this is persecution to ask Christian preachers in India "what do you think Christian persecution is?" Or what about Christians in China or in Muslim countries who sacrifice everything to follow Christ? Maybe we think of it as persecution, because we have no idea what persecution really is.

Another controvery erupted recently when President Obama said that American was not "a Christian nation." Again, why the controversy? Didn't we already know that? Didn't we jettison God out of the public arena a long time ago? Several presidents in the last 20 years or so have been Christian, but has that played out in the court rulings? In the public schools? We can tell people to follow their hearts at high school graduations, but we can't tell them to follow Jesus. Are we not a "post-Christian" nation? Don't we need Christian missionaries to come here and set us on the right track of following King Jesus?

In my last post, a commenter asked when I think our country began to get off track. I think it was when we as a country decided that the Word of God no longer had any place whatsover in guiding our country and our public policy. Our Constitution framers used Biblical principles to create a government that would give religious freedom to all people. In the last 100 years or so, we have drifted further and further from that anchor point. Now it is taboo to talk about the Bible or Christ in any public discourse.

While I hope that we will continue to enjoy the freedoms we have in this country, I don't expect them to last, because people who hate Jesus hate His Word and His Church. I pray that I and my family will be faithful and ready for those challenges.

Am I wrong? Challenge me. Sharpen my truth in the truth of God's Word. Help me refine a correct, Biblical view of modesty and what that means practically. While people have many different views on how modesty should actually be lived out in our world, my prayer is that all Christians would use His Word as our guide and not our own opinions and lame ideas.

So, that's the end of my humble rant. Comments are greatly appreciated.

jc

All the Many Things I Have Been Dwelling On

Well, it has been a few weeks since I have blogged, but here's the run down on the many things I have been working on and thinking about:

1. The Arizona Missions Trip.

All the effort was well worth it. I thoroughly enjoyed spending the week with high school students. I was the driver for the "Girl Van"- (as opposed to the "Man Van"). I got quite an education into "girl world" from those young ladies. They didn't always realize that I was listening, and most of the time I wasn't, but it helped me understand a little bit about where my girls might be in a few years. I will be prepared! Not all of those girls are completely boy crazy, but the fellas were definitely the chief topic of conversation.

These girls are also very techno-savvy. It wasn't so long ago that technogadgets were solely the playground of guys. These girls were mostly very diligent workers and were delighted to be with and play with the kids at the Indian reservation. We did a lot of very hard, demanding, physical labor. Most of the guys seemed to jump right in and take the work in stride, but the girls had to work hard to work hard, and I was encouraged that for the most part, they did that.

I was impressed at the patience and Godly compassion that the couple (Gene & Sherry) had for the kids that they worked with every day on the Reservation. What an incredible example of shining the Light of the gospel in a dark world.

2. Dead Vans.

So after we wrecked our old Ford, the camp let us have the old Chevy van. That was great, but last Sunday, the motor blew, so we were back to square one. In just a few short days, I figured out that it would be crazy expensive to install a rebuilt motor. It seems like such a waste to junk a vehicle that otherwise works. It is difficult to make decisions about things that I know are going to fall apart at a later time anyway. I guess the choice is, do I put money into this vehicle that is going to fall apart soon, or do I put money into that vehicle that is going to fall apart later? Even Amish people who use horses know that their horse is going to die sometime.

So, I spent a little more money to buy a van that will fall apart later, and interestingly, as soon as my brother got the van and my parents went to go pick it up, he noticed that the radiator needs to be replaced. Oh well.

3. And Dead Computers

Our home computer died of multiple organ failure - I guess you could say the brain and the heart were fried. So, I need to figure out how much money to spend on a new computer that will fall apart and die later. (oh, and the camp office computer had a hard drive go south on us - hopefully that has been fixed.)

4. Big Government.

I just can't believe that the government has gone so crazy spending money. This is truly alarming, and I am encouraged by all the "Tea Parties" that are coming up on Tax Day. I am praying that our country will not descend into complete godlessness, led by the secular progressives who have the power of the country.

5. And Bad Government (Godless Government)

I had the great privilege of speaking at the Christian Campus House in Springfield last week. I was asked to talked about Micah chapters 4 & 5. In order to get the historical perspective, I studied the kings of Micah's time. Micah prophesied during the time of three kings of Judah - Joram, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. Ahaz was a bad king who led his country into idolatry. He even shut up the temple of God and used the articles of the temple to set up altars to idols. Ahaz also called on the king of Assyria for help when he got in trouble, and it only brought more trouble, as the Assyrians soon put Jerusalem under seige.

I couldn't help but think about where our country is now - and I think that the obvious testimony of Scripture is, "as the leaders go, so goes the country." And when God's people are not led properly, God does not like that. In Micah 5, we see that God will raise up a leader - the Messiah, who will shepherd His people and give them peace and security. He himself will be our peace. If you are reading this, and you think that you can put your hope in our government to help you do anything, or to provide peace in the world, please remember the lessons of Scripture. I think that our countries leaders right now would appeal to the king of Assyria if we were under seige, instead of calling on God.

2 Timothy 2 says "avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly." Sound familiar?

6. It's getting down to Camp crunch time

I have been getting more busy as we get closer to camp. We are now less than two months away. I am scheduled at different churches every Sunday between now and June except for Easter and Mother's Day. I am humbled by the great numbers of people who love the camp and are excited to get their kids involved. I am wanting to do as much work as I can to encourage as many people as I can to come to camp. I am working on a working list of everything that needs to be done in the next two months. It is exciting, and I can't wait. I am praying earnestly for 2000 campers.

7. Our hope is in Heaven

Last night, I was studying 1 Thessalonians 4 with the kids - I love the simplicity of the explanation in this passage of what will happen when Christ comes again. Will all the crazy nonsense that is passed around about the return of Christ, I wish that people would simply read this passage and, as it says, "encourage one another with these words."

So, allow me to encourage you - Christ himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. The dead in Christ will rise first, and after that happens, the believers and followers in Christ who are alive will be caught up with the arisen dead in Christ, and we together will meet the Lord in the air.

So all the things that we worry about so much and that we put so much of our time and energy into will be completely worthless that day. (In fact, all that stuff is going to burn) The only thing that will really matter on that day is our love for our Lord and how many people we have led to that love.

8. With this post, I have beat my number of posts for all last year!

Endure hardship like a good soldier of Christ

This has been an incredible week here at the camp. The high school youth group from Crossroads Christian Church in Grand Prairie, TX has been here. They were scheduled to go to Mexico for their spring break missions trip, but had to go somewhere else because of all the violence going on down there.

They ended up here because, I believe, God is blessing this camp. As we talked to their group leader, Matt Cameron, we all saw that God had his leading on the group coming to MBC.

One of the major projects that they did was to extend the basketball court - a project that needed to happen for our camper's safety on the BB Court, but was just not going to happen because we didn't have anyone willing to do it. When we first talked to Matt and showed him around the camp, he wanted to know if there was concrete work to be done!

Matt and his group were willing, and they worked hard on the basketball court and many other things.

Let me try to list the things that they did:

• Painted five retreat center rooms
• Extended the concrete all the way around the basketball court
• Painted the entire inside of the Mark Dorm (Left side)
• Cleaned windows and blinds in Mark and Luke
• Completed the framing for the Retreat Center basement laundry room & meeting room
• Cleaned up the burn piles at both entrances
• Moved the pile of broken cement rocks from behind the Retreat Center
• Painted the bathroom shower area of Mark dorm (right side)
• Raked up massive piles of leaves and burned them
• Cleared out areas of the camp that had downed trees and limbs
• Hauled piles upon piles of tree limbs out to the south property
  
• Finished clearing the white pine trail
• Raked leaves around 7 shelters and cleared brush around them
• Moved rocks and cut logs from area in front of Penny's house
• Cleaned the MPB kitchen
• Painted the ball shed & constructed shelves for balls.
• And several other "here and there" things

I am thrilled that this group has chosen to spend their time and energy and money on MBC. I figure that they accomplished almost 1,000 man-hours (and woman-hours!) of work. At just minimum wage, that is worth well over $7,000 worth of work.

I kept mighty busy running around trying to keep them all going. I enjoyed hanging out with Charles, who desperately wanted to chop down a tree. I gave him my axe, and he got after it. I encouraged him that, just as an axe needs to be sharpened in order to be an effective tool, his spiritual life was important to keep "sharp" through the study of the Word and through fellowship with believers. I hope and pray that he will remember the lesson.

I am pretty tired, but I feel like this was a desperately needed boost to getting us toward where we need to be for this summer. Now is the time to endure, and finish the work of preparation. I keep praying that God would lead 2000 campers to come to us this summer. I want the camp to be ready for every single one.

On the third day (Wednesday), I encouraged the group I was working with on the trail clearing that they were doing a great job, but they needed to continue and endure until the end of their time working. I reminded them of the Scripture in 2 Timothy 2 that says to "Endure hardship like a good soldier of Christ Jesus." Many of these young adults were delightful, diligent, and almost cheery about the hard work they were doing. I didn't want to slack off or give in to weariness, because they were being such a good example to me. What better reasons are there to do hard work than to glorify God and to keep up with diligent young people who are working their rears off to glorify God?

Next week, I am off to our Church's youth group missions trip to American Indian Christian Mission in Show Low, Arizona. I pray that I can be as diligent and faithful as the Crossroads Christian people were.

The Theology of Fear

I was actually able to go to Glendale this morning for church. Jeff did a great sermon today about fear, based on this verse:

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28

So this is a timely message, with so much fear running amuck in people's hearts and minds. The economy creates fear - the woeful government creates fear, what doesn't in this day and age? I fear for my children's future - not that they have to have lots of money and stuff, but they are going to become adults in a very ungodly world that is bordering on the national socialism that created so much fear in so many parts of the world in the last century.

I was interested in one of Jeff's key points, that one way to fear God and God alone is to give your reputation to God. Allow Him to be bigger and more awe-inspiring than those around you. Jenette has a book that she has been reading called "When People are Big and God is Small." (By Ed Welch, if I remember right.) I haven't read much of the book, but I love the title. I know I have spent a lot of my waking hours thinking about how to impress people and how to keep up with those around me. I have feared people more than I have feared God. Or, at least, I at times have entrusted myself more to the judgment of others rather than the judgment of God.

Through Christ, God judges me as righteous - His precious child. "Whom then shall I fear?" asks the song.

I made some notes to myself as I listened to the sermon. When I give God my reputation, I need to not only give over my fear of what others think about me, but I also need to give over my fear of offending people when I do what is right. It seems kind of stupid to be worried about offending people by doing what is right, but I worry about that. In fact, I think I fear people worrying about me more than I fear what they think about me.

I need to do what is right - live by the conviction that I am following God to the best of my ability. I need to project nothing to others but humble submission to God. I have occasionally had criticism for some of the decisions that I have made for our family. But not only do I not have to explain myself to anyone, I don't have have to fear their offense.

I gave up a long time ago trying to be "cool" enough to fit "in" to any kind of group. I need to finish that by giving up trying to walk on eggshells around those who are easily offended.

So, just to open a can of worms here, there are many (at least some) who think that we are dumber than a bag of hammers to have eight children - and not just to have eight children, but to not actively practice birth control. I have my story on that, but I will keep that between Jenette and I and the Lord. Those who have been critical have been hurtful because of what they meant to me.

I spent a lot of days worrying that other people would worry about us. That has been a foolish venture. The fact is that the Scripture says that children are a blessing from God. Why would I not want to have God's blessings? And why would anyone be offended by that? I don't know. I posted another blog post several months ago about the football player who had "John 3:16" on his eye black. People were offended by that - greatly offended by the love of God. Why? I guess because people's hearts are hard.

So, this is one small area among so many that I have feared people more than I have feared God. One of my favorite parts of Psalm 34 is verse 7:

The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.

I like that a lot - I want the angel of the Lord to be encamped around me. The petty opinions of people will seem pretty small in comparison to that.

Two years old, with a license to drive.

It hardly seems possible that Josie could already be driving. She turned two today, and there she is in all her glory, driving (or at least being pushed in) her big birthday present, a little plastic car, while holding her little glow bear.

The camp is an outstanding place for these young ones to grow and play. Even though there was a retreat going on at the retreat center, (usually the Retreat Center parking lot is where the kids ride around) yesterday we came down to the circle drive to let Josie truck along on her new ride. Since it can be pushed, there was even some minor squabbles about who would be able to push her and for how long. I was thoroughly impressed that Jason was able to ripstick and push her at the same time. This Saturday was certainly a lot better than last Saturday!

Her new wheels gave me an appreciation for the nice freshness of a brand new car, especially since it was a $36 dollar brand new car, which is probably the only brand new car I will ever buy. I have been thinking about cars and vans and the sort since last Saturday, when our beloved Ford van met it's demise at the base of a rather stout electric pole.

I was impressed at how quickly our insurance company jumped on our claim, and after the value was assessed and a check issue for our loss, it made me realize what a great deal we had found when we bought the van over three years ago.

Since it was such a great bargain, I toyed with the idea of getting the van fixed - maybe it wouldn't be perfect, but it wasn't perfect to start with. Maybe if I could get it to a body shop for an estimate, or have my brother look at it, or salvage it myself and keep the extra money...all the possibilities.

But then I started thinking about the realities. How much would I have to spend just to have it towed to a shop for an estimate? Then, if I didn't like the estimate, how much would it cost to have it towed to another shop, then another? Even if I liked the estimate, how long would it take? Would the insurance company even insure it after they had declared it a total loss? Would the front end ever be the same again? Surely the engine block itself was destroyed by the impact - the frame was twisted and broken and absolutely fried - what was I thinking?

This didn't go on very long before I realized that I would just be better off starting over with a different vehicle - this ole Ford was done, and destined for the scrap pile. After all the Scripture says:

"What is twisted cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted." Ecclesiastes 1:15

Well, there you go. "what is twisted cannot be straightened." Hmm, that's not what the body shop phone book ads say.

I couldn't help but think about this in light of my little two year old and her new car. In fact, it brought to light one of my great struggles that I have faced over the years in my ministry to youth. I spent a lot of time with students who were messed up in their view of life and truth. To think that I could try to "straighten" that out for them in a few hours was maddening and insane. Their twistedness began long before I met them.

The greatest "twisting" that anyone faces ever is truth twisting - not the crunching of metal and fiberglass in a car accident, although that can be truly devastating. The twisting of truth in a person's life stays twisted - only the Lord can straighten that out, and that through many years of readjusting our worldview though the leadership of the Holy Spirit in the life of a Christian. The truth will remain twisted in the life of one who refuses to listen to God's truth.

At my high school, the principal would give a long speech over the school intercom at the beginning of every semester. I don't remember any of it other than the refrain of "no note, no change," which had something to do with changing classes. Only with a note of permission to change from parents (or was it teachers?) could a student go to the office and request a class change. The principal would say this "no note, no change" thing at least a dozen times each time he gave this speech, and it was a common thing for us to joke about.

The refrain of the Bible is "no truth, no change." If you listen to the father of lies, you will speak his language and lies will be your native tongue. Jesus said in John 8

⁴³Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. ⁴⁴You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me!

Like my poor old Ford, what is twisted cannot be straightened. When a child grows up with twisted truth, listening to lies, speaking lies, living lies, and believing lies, that child becomes an adult whose native language is falsehood, and he doesn't even know it.

What I want for little Josie, (and all the 8 J's ) is that truth - God's truth, is always front and center for her. It's her North Star - her Polaris. It's her point of reference. I want God's Word to be my kid's default setting - their basic assumption about life - their native tongue. Of course they all have a sinful nature - sin's twisting is evident in their young lives. But if there is no point of reference - no Polaris, no unshakable absolute truth, then that twisting will continue unabated.

At two years old, Josie's heart is a lot like her new car - not perfect, but clean. She will become the product of her influences, just like every other child in the world. If she is immersed in the flood of the lies of our culture, and that is the dominating influence in her life, she will grow up with lies as her native language - but that's not going to happen on my watch.

My job as a Christian father is to help establish a Biblical worldview in my children - not just tell them a bunch of unrelated Bible facts. I don't care if they win Bible trivia games, I want them to follow after God's heart. Like the Ford van, it is better to start with a correct and true frame than to try to straighten what has been twisted.

I could spend a lot of time and energy later on in their lives running around trying to straighten them out, or I could be busting my rear right now to make sure that I am doing everything I can do to give them a proper understanding of God's truth, so that they can make the choice to accept that or reject it as they become adults. I will let them choose, and I will pray that they will choose wisely.

My theory is - if their framework is right and they understand the reality of what they might be rejecting, I think they will choose to follow and obey God. Doesn't the Scripture say the same thing in Proverbs?

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6

God, help me to build your truth as the true and right framework into each of the 8 J's.

Another picture of the carcass

The Death of the Ford Van

Jenette accidently found a telephone pole the hard way this morning. She was being careful on the snowy road, but she slipped off anyway. Life is rough sometimes. She walked away with a busted lip and a very distraught spirit. God took care of her, so I am very thankful. This has been a hard day.

Lessons in the Night Sky

"Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all He created." James 1:16-18

Jenette and I had our date today - we went to a workshop at a local tree nursery about growing fruit trees. We are looking forward to starting our journey with fruit trees. Our family can easily eat an entire case of apples in just one week, so a little family orchard is something we are wanting to get established. We are still wrestling with where and how to plant the trees - we essentially live on a classic Missouri glade, with little but rocks beneath the ground's surface.

While it is freezing cold tonight, just two days ago it was quite balmy. We took the opportunity to do some stargazing on Wednesday night. It was truly a perfect night - no wind, just a little cool, and a clear, moonless night. In fact, it was warm enough that we could hear spring peepers starting to sing their song for the first time this year. Hopefully all those little frogs won't freeze to death tonight.

One of the great things about living here at the camp is that there is a great place to observe the night sky - away from city lights and open enough to see the whole sky. It's on the south property, away from all the lights, out on the open glade that is only used as a cow pasture for right now.

We saw Orion so clearly - and Pleades as clear as I have ever seen. Canis Major (the Big Dog) is one that I have never noticed before, but we saw that one, as well as Cassiopeia and Ursa Major (and Minor) - We pointed out the North Star (Polaris), Sirius, and Venus - so bright that it dominated the sky. The Milky Way was bright and obvious - especially after we had been out there for an hour or so. Joel is our family's official science teacher (by popular vote and by expert status), so I let him do most of the instruction. The kids wanted to quote Psalm 19, so we did that. It was a beautiful night. To sit and consider the glories of the night sky is something that many people never do - yet it just shouts out the power of God and the smallness of people.

Joel told me a quote he read in a book or heard somewhere - that if you put three grains of sand into a cathedral, that the sand in the cathedral would be more dense in filling up the cathedral's space than all the known stars filling up the space of the universe. Of course the assumption there is that the universe has some limited, known space, which is little more than just a random guess by so called scientists.

We have a little book about space and stars that someone gave us, and it begins like this: "In the beginning, there was nothing..." Obviously, without any reference point or reality or truth, everything else in the book is questionable. Without Polaris being fixed in space as we look at it, it wouldn't have guided sailors and adventurers all over the world for hundreds - even thousands of years. Without a point of reference, there is no reality or truth to live by. The book might has well have started, "in the beginning, giant pink bunnies played basketball with plastic mannequin heads." Because if one ridiculous nonsense statement could be made, the option is left open for many others.

If I don't fix my life and the lives of my children on the one reference point - the reality of God and His interaction with us in His Word, then my children can and will believe anything about the world, themselves, and their interaction with God. Is it any wonder that our culture is so twisted, when we haven't pointed the next generation to their spiritual North Star?

Our culture is more like the thinking of a toddler, instead of being "mature and complete," as it says in James. One of the delightful things that happened the other night was that Josie found something and lovingly gave it to Jenette. (Well, actually, she threw it at Jenette). Josie has this fondness for finding random things and giving them to people. Sometimes, she throws it when she is trying to give it to us. She is always very excited about giving something to someone, so she almost squeals in happiness: "Hee, mommy," (or daddy, or whoever.) "Hee" in Josie-ese is translated into English as "Here."

So, out there in the dark, looking at the stars, Josie finds something, and being the very helpful little girl that she is, says "Hee, Mommy!" and tosses this thing at Jenette. Jenette is somewhat startled and dismayed to find that Josie had thrown a cowpie at her. After we turned on the flashlights to find the flung dung, Jenette's panic subsided when she realized that it was a fairly dry pie.

All the other kids and I were thankful that Josie had chosen her mother to endow with such a glorious gift.

Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you

I have been memorizing 2 Timothy and studying it in the light of my role as a parent. I think that application is valid in the sense that Timothy was a young leader of a Church - a local family of God that most likely got along like many families do. Those who are immature (like my little girls) are constantly bickering because of their selfishness, and those who are older and wiser (my now four budding young adults) have to exercise great patience with the little squirts and great discernment in their interaction with the wider world. Paul spoke to Timothy as a father to a son - the letter is almost like an impassioned plea for Timothy to stay the course - to endure as a Godly leader.

So, in the sense of application, I take it that way as well - I need to stay the course -to endure hardship, to remain faithful in the ministry and duty of teaching and training my own children to be Godly adults. I think that parents too many times forget that we are not supposed to be "raising children," but we are to be training our children to be godly adults.

"...and of this gospel I was appointed a herald, and an apostle, and a teacher," Paul says in 2 Timothy 1:11. I think that defines my role as a father - I need to be a herald - an announcer and proclaimer of warnings and blessings, in advance of the coming King. I need to be an apostle - a communicator of a specific message directed to my kids - that they are sinners and they need to humbly offer their lives to the Lord. I need to be a teacher - to explain to them what the Scripture means to the best of my ability. It was the lack of guidance in these key areas that led the Israelites to falter - because they didn't pass it down to the next generation.

It's interesting that many key Bible leaders did not pass down their faithfulness to God to the next generation. We are only one generation away from complete Biblical ignorance.

So, I am trying to take my role seriously. Trying to tackle this with the kids, we did a study last night about understanding the Scripture. I think my lesson went a little long, as they were kind of getting squirrelly toward the end, but that's how it goes sometimes. It has helped greatly since we have been putting Josie in bed before our Bible Study. She is the reigning "Queen of Squirrelly" and the class clown at age 23 months.

Anyway, I reminded them that three questions we should always ask when approaching the Bible are:

1. What does it say?
2. What is the author's intended meaning (AIM)?
3. How do I put this into practice in my own life?

Or, another simple way to put it is, read it, understand it, and apply it. We have been digging in to James - helping them read, understand, and challenging them to apply it. Even through the squirrellyness - (is that at word?) - we have had some great discussions.

Does Christ-likeness just ooze into a young person's life? Obviously not, as I have simply observed eight children as they grow through all their issues. In fact, it is exactly the opposite, as UN-Christ-likeness actually oozes out of a young person's heart because our hearts, even as small children, are hardened against righteousness. I have thought many times before that someone might call me a "one point Calvinist," because I do think we are evil, and completely prone to sin.

If that evil is not trained out of the child, it will take root in his little life and become a monster.

Paul says in 2 Timothy 1:13-14 -

"What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you. Guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit, who lives in us."

I think Paul is talking about the Salvation that God gives us (if you look at the context), but again, I am thinking about being a godly herald, apostle, and teacher to my children in applying these verses. Is it not equally true that I need to be keeping as the pattern of right teaching what God says in his Word? And I need to be guarding this thing that has been entrusted to me - the spiritual health and guidance of my children - it has been entrusted to me, and to me alone, with the help of my wonderful wife.

Fathers, what are we waiting for? The reason this generation is morally bankrupt and Biblically ignorant is because we have become too friendly with the world. We spend more time and energy pursuing our careers and our pleasures than seeking God and teaching His Word. We have ignored Moses' warnings to not forget God's commands. We have ignored Moses' call for fathers to teach their children diligently who God is and how we need to live for him. Even in the Christians homeschooling movement, it is primarily led by women - moms who teach their kids.

Where are the parenting Elijahs? - Fathers who will call out this generation and cause a ruckus by asking "How long are you going to waver between the two sides of the fence? Who are you going to serve?"

I hope that some day, when I croak, my kids will remember that a relationship with God and the diligent knowing, understanding, and applying of God's Word was more important for me to pass on to them than anything else.

If you are a dad, reading this, then I encourage you to obey the Scripture and make a concerted effort to teach your children who God is and how to live for Him by giving them the Word! That's what I want to do, what I am trying to do, and I ask any godly man to help me stay at it by keeping me accountable.

My Latest Read

What a fascinating book. This is a trilogy of three books, Black, Red, and White. This trilogy will challenge you to consider the love of our Savior in a wonderful way. I had thought before that C.S. Lewis had done fiction about the redemptive work of Christ in a way that no one else could. Dekker has an "edgier" work here for sure, but he demonstrates God's great love and wisdom here in a powerful way.

Be warned, though, it's hard to put down!

jc

Out on the wild frontier

We went for a hike today at Talbot Conservation Area. Josie wouldn't cooperate for this picture, but we all had a good time in general!

Bill Gothard - General Teachings/Activities

Bill Gothard - General Teachings/Activities

It looks like good ole' Bill Gothard is still around, preaching a lot of nonsense. Unfortunately, Gothard has a lot of good in his teaching, with a focus on marriage and parenting. This is unfortunate because many Christians are following his "system" instead of following Christ. My main concern and problem with the Duggar book is that they talk about the Gothard homeschooling material. I have been familiar with Gothard stuff for a long time, and it seems that little of it has changed. Read the article that I have linked to for a good review. It is scary to think that this teaching has had such influence.

Here's another link to a good Gothard review.

The brother in humble circumstances & other things.

Things I have been thinking about:

1. James 1 (I finally finished memorizing James)

James 1 says that the brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position, but the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower.

It is amazing sometimes to think about the amazing depth and cultural relevance that just one small verse of Scripture can bring. Our family studied this verse tonight (Jenette had to take the two little ones out - they were howling like monkeys). Kids can think about such deep things when they are challenged to. Jason said that it was interesting that rich people are compared to a wild flower - not a flower in a garden that is cared for and is constantly tended to. I couldn't help but think of all the so called beautiful, and famous and popular people who bring so much attention to themselves by the fame, beauty, power or whatever. But each of them are nothing but a wild flower that will pass away even while they go about their business.

But James also says that God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. At the risk of being too "flowery," I would rather be a dandylion in God's garden than a daffodil in the world's ways.

As I look around and listen to the news about the government spending money it doesn't have to do things it shouldn't do, I also can't help but think that our country is very much like that wild flower. Maybe it used to be within God's garden - tended and cared for, but the forces of worldly freedom and worldly thinking have moved the flower out into the wild places of the world. Sadly, I think that sometime in the future, the blossom will fall and the beauty will be destroyed.

I have been studying Deuteronomy, and there is a constant call to the Israelite nations to either obey God and continue with God's blessing, or forget God and fall under curses. Not only have we forgotten God, but it seems like our country's leaders have gone past all wisdom and have gone straight to outright foolishness.

God, help me to continue to be a "brother in humble circumstances." I want to inherit the kingdom He promised to those who love Him.

2. More "extreme gardening."

My project to actually have a back yard for the kids has been moving along - we actually can get to the creek now, and after another day out there, I think the kids will actually be able to get in the creek without fighting through a million rose vines. We have found the perfect tree for a tree house, although it is still in the uncleared area. We also transplanted six small pine trees from a forested area of the camp to our front yard.

3. Prayer for the Camp

I am praying that MBC will be blessed because of my efforts - like Joseph, whom God blessed because of his faithfulness. I am praying for 2000 campers and 200 decisions.

4. Being the Spiritual mentor and teacher that I need to be for the 8 J's

We have changed some of our routines to help make this work better. I am making progress in this area. I think this is an area that got kind of lost (at least in the regular practice) in our coming to work at MBC transition. After spending several hours praying the other day one of the conservation areas nearby (I'm glad there weren't any hunters there!) - I have seen the importance of getting this back into regular practice.

Fireproof Movie

What a great movie. I have not been too excited about movies recently, because there is so much garbage in them, but this was a real winner. Made by the same guys as Facing the Giants, this one was so much better. I liked that this movie demonstrated the sin of selfishness in all it's ugliness. Our culture is just so full of people like the couple they portray in this movie. I think the writers and directors did a great job of creating characters that people could identify with.
If you haven't seen it yet, you need to.

Duggars Book

My latest read - another great example about how God uses ordinary but faithful people to bring glory to Him. Everyone asks us if we have seen this family on TV - of course, only having 8 kids makes our family look, well, small in comparison. This book was a bit of a family history - I guess I would have liked to see it go a little deeper, but I liked the overview. I would really like to meet Jim Bob Duggar some day - just to talk about life and the importance of obedience. This family has taken lots of hits - lots of negative stuff. It's amazing how much vitriol one Godly family can produce. And isn't it great that the Discovery Channel is the one sending out their message? I pray that I will have the faith and obedience of Mr. Duggar.

Well, today was another day of "extreme gardening," as I like to call it. We pushed back toward the creek just a bit more today, cut up several more huge trees, and burned lots and lots and lots of thorns. I got a brush blade for the camp weedeater and it made the going really easy with those rose vines. Jenna enjoyed sitting on the log stacks. You can see Joel and Jon in the background working on burning rose vines. Our back yard has come a long way. We still have a long way to go.

A great book for Teens by Teens

I really liked this book - it blows away the cultural myth and expectations of that dreaded animal "the teenager." Joel liked this book too. I think he could relate to much of this book, being the oldest of eight and being in a family living and working at Camp.

I would encourage not just youth, but parents as well to read this. Here is a quote from the authors:

Most people don’t expect you to understand what we’re going to tell you in this book. And even if you understand, they don’t expect you to care. And even if you care, they don’t expect you to do anything about it. And even if you do something about it, they don’t expect it to last. We do. – Alex and Brett

I hope to see more in the future from these young writers.

jc

Eric's Blogosphere: The Economy & Our Opportunity

Eric's Blogosphere: The Economy & Our Opportunity

From the mind of my great friend, Eric Keller.

I think this is well said. Churches that are nervous about going out of business in this recession should be asking themselves if they are truly following God's plan for their Church. Is it possible that God will use this time of economic trouble to weed out Churches that are not faithful to Him and His Word?

Has anyone noticed that the Church of today is so unlike the New Testament Church that we don't even recognize it anymore?

jc

Fun with a box

North Carolina Ice Fishing

Well, it was supposed to be fly fishing, but it might as well have been ice fishing. The trout were as sluggish as my children are on a very cold day. But I enjoyed being out there.

Tim Tebow and John 3:16

Tim Tebow and John 3:16

John 3:16 -- Latest Bible Verse to Be Featured On Tim Tebow's Eye Black - NCAA Football FanHouse

John 3:16 -- Latest Bible Verse to Be Featured On Tim Tebow's Eye Black - NCAA Football FanHouse

BCS Aftermath and John 3:16

So the biggest suprise of the BCS championship game was not that OU lost. Disappointing, but not suprising. It was not that Florida won. It was not that both defenses played very well. It was not that my little girls had fun spreading popcorn all over the TV room. It was not that my mom made sure all my kids had an OU shirt for Christmas. It wasn't even that Tim Tebow wore "John 3:16" on his eye black.

It was that people freaked out about it.

My first reaction - three words -"Get over it." But then I started thinking more about it.

I was very interested to find that google hot trends had "john 3:16" at a medium level Friday morning that peaked just after the game ended.
Of course some people didn't make that big a deal about it - but how amazing that Tebow's eye black made the google hot trends light up. I guess it was that people thought is was a big deal is what surprised me.

One blog post (from a site I won't link to) said that his eye black caused "an unholy controversy."

Yep - just little ol' John 3:16 - how controversial is God's love? Maybe Tim should have put Romans 1:27 on his eye black. Boy, that would have caused some real excitement. Then, google hot trends would have had it as "volcanic" and not just "medium."

How often does John 3:16 show up on Google hot trends? That may never, ever happen again. Although Tebow spanked my team, I am amazed that God could use something as small and insignificant as Tebow's eye black to cause people to search for the Bible verse.

I can certainly handle another Sooner big game loss if it magnifies God's Glory.

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18

After Christmas - they all have OU shirts

My Winter Park Ski Buddies

Winter Park, CO

Jason & Jon in Limon, CO

Josie on Christmas

Merry Christmas!

Random Wierd Picture

Plastic Death heads fall into line - Is this what CPR instructors have nightmares about?

MBC Calendar - Experiment

Christian Worldview Network - Brannon Howse - Is Bernard Madoff Running the Federal Government?

Christian Worldview Network - Brannon Howse - Is Bernard Madoff Running the Federal Government?

This article makes an interesting point - that having congress lecture automakers about poor management, decline into debt, and ridiculous spending practices is a little like having the fox lecture the chickens about their lax security policies.

The Name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run to it, and the are safe. Proverbs 18:10

College Without Compromise

I am very thankful to the authors of this fine book. The foreward by RC Sproul Jr. resounded with me - that many homeschoolers have fumbled when asked about the "college" thing - including myself.

I truthfully had not wanted to ... more » think about college for my kids, because I thought we could never afford it and I was not excited about sending my kids off to an environment that I knew would be negative for them.

I read this book and Accelerated Distance Learning at the same time (I bought them both from Global Learning Strategies.)

While the ADL book was very practical, and overwhelming at times, this book helped me see the big picture of a homeschool family using these principles to see their students through college - and it was more specific in it's practicality. While ADL exploded my vision of my kid's education, CWC refined it. Where were these books 20 years ago?

All the years of youth ministry I spent agonizing about the students I loved and cared for (and attempted to teach and disciple for the Lord) as they spritually withered away at college are bitter memories for me. I will be giving this book as a gift to all those I care about.

What a blessing it is that not only homeschool students but anyone can now receive a great education for a reasonable price in the best way possible - at home at your own pace.

I recommend this book to anyone!

What some others have said about the book:

http://servenclan.blogspot.com/2006/01/spotlight-college-without-compromise.html

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/missouri/135726/

Random posting about this that and the other thing

This is what I have been thinking about/praying about/studying/ and generally being obsessed with lately:

1. College for my children.

Two great books have held my attention lately:

Accelerated Distance Learning & College without Compromise

Click here to see these books at my Google Books library

I suppose it is beyond the scope of this blog to state how amazing these books are - I have written short reviews at the google site.

I had been really struggling with the whole idea of college for the 8 J's - too much money, too many bad influences, too much wasted time, too much opportunity to do all the wrong things.

Since I have read these books, I have learned that there are opportunities to get a degree in and learn the kinds of computery things that Joel is interested in - in an affordable, distance learning system. Everyone needs to get these books and read them.

2. It's the economy, stupid.

Living at and working for a non-profit Christian camp is an interesting adventure. While the government seems to be having a wild spending party right before complete bankruptcy (bailing out this and that and the other thing with money they don't have), it seems like the proverbial light is at the end of the tunnel. The only problem is that the light is a freight train barreling towards us. Here is what I am resolved to do.

• Get out of debt. If anyone has followed my blog at all (Maybe my wife and Janet Stephens - thank you both) in the last few years, you know that I have said this before, but it is getting down to crunch time.

• Be wise in spending and investing. Below is a link to an interesting article. (disclaimer - I certainly do not agree with everything the Christian Worldview Network says) http://www.christianworldviewnetwork.com/article.php/4354/Brannon-Howse/By-Gary-Kah Perhaps if more people would take this guys simple advice (get out of debt, save, invest in hard assets, buy some land and learn how to live/survive without the gov't) -we might all be better off with or without an economic crisis.

• Learn more about how to live and survive independently - After making our "Great Transitions" to the camp over the last several years, we were able to finally reestablish our garden this last summer with some success - we need to do more and learn more.

While I am not scared- because I trust in the Lord - I am greatly concerned how this coming economy is going to cause great harm - with the potential of causing our nation to make even worse decisions than it has.

3. 2 Timothy 3 & 4

I have never read these before in light of family life - I had always thought of them strictly as a church life kind of thing. Read it - thinking about your family, kids, roles of parents, teaching them, etc. "How from infancy you have known the holy Scripture, which is able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." As I memorize Scripture, it immerses me into the thinking and the process of understanding God's truth. Someone said that you can learn God's words by reading the Bible, but that you can learn God's thoughts by memorizing the Bible. That is so true.

4. Woeful Bible teaching and interpretation

I won't go into it too much on this public blog, but my older sons had an interesting Bible class experience (not at our home church - at a different church) - I am sick to death of churches who use secular psychology as a form of teaching -whenever I get to write one of my rants on the blog I will talk about this more.

See my latest sermon posted below for my humble attempt to address this. There has to be some solid answers - people should not be allowed to teach Church classes (especially JH & SH) who simply don't know their way around the Bible. Maybe there is a way to train people better. I guess the problem is that they don't know they need to be trained. I learned so well at Bible College, and I am thankful for that ministry, but Bible college is so expensive now that it is out of reach. I need to look into their distance learning options on interpretation!

5. Chain saw chains don't mix well with rocks.

I should have taken a before and after picture (well, after has still not occured), but I have been working through the "Roman Barricade" (as Jenette called it) behind our house. When the house was built, all the trees were just pushed up in a 60 yard long pile. I have been dismantling that pile, log by log, so that a friend can come and level it out for us. I have already done in several brain new chains by getting them into the rocks mixed up with the rootwads and piles.

In case you didn't know it about me - I am one of those "chainsaw guys" that loves cutting up trees. I even made a little bench for the girls with my chainsaw. Maybe I'll start doing chainsaw art.

6. Poop and pee are common daily central themes of life at our house.

Jenette is working on potty training both Jenna and Josie - it has been, well interesting. She bought them both potty chairs - they're pretty cute sitting together. Jenna has been doing pretty well. Josie, not so much. But hey, she's only one.

7. Thankfulness

I am so thankful to God, for my wife and children, for being able to work here at the camp, for the camp directors being so faithful and flexible, for the wonderful house they decided to build for us, for being able to see my family (especially my grandparents) again, for being able to learn about new educational options for the 8J's and for this, that, and the other thing.

jc