Category Archives: Practical

Motivations for a teacher

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As a Christian and as a teacher, WHY do you teach?

I hope as you read this that you will evaluate why you teach, what are your motivations and point you towards right motivations. As teachers we recognize that the word of God is not only information but there is power in the word for transformation.

That is why Paul says in 1 Cor 13:1-2 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge… but do not love, I am nothing.

We have more than just information, but in Christ, we have something transformational. But Paul also recognize that some teach out of selfish motives.

Philippians 1:15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill.

Some people do it out of selfish motives, they want the limelight, influence or have power over others, or have a large following.

God desires to transform not only our students, but our hearts as well. I know we all have selfish motives. We want to be somebody, we want to be noticed and wanting to look smart.

But God sees us. God knows our hearts. God knows our deepest desires. But he also desires for us to know him, and to worship him, and to bring all things under him.

So one characteristic of teachers with the right motivation who seek after God is humility. Teachers who seek God’s glory, desire the transformation for themselves and their students, seeking the good of others, motivated to help others are humble teachers.

So what are your motivations? Are you trying to seek the glory of God, to see people transformed through preaching and teaching of the word, to see your heart being renewed? Or do you want to look good, want to be a rockstar with a large following?

What are your motivations? I hope you it is love for God and his people.

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For more info on teaching check out: Come Teach With Me

Seeking God’s will

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There may also be needs at home which will help to shut us in to the will of God. Our immediate family situation may circumscribe our lives. There are duties which we are bound by God to treat as primary concerns. Honouring our father and mother, ivisting the fatherless and the widow—these may greatly limit where we are able to go and what we are enabled to do in life. Our responsibilities according to Paul extend to grandparents too. If God calls us to such a ministry of love and mercy, we must ask his help to seal in our consciences the assurance that being in the centre of his will, however mundane and trying it seems is the safest, and ultimately the happiest place in the world.

- Sinclair Ferguson, Discovering God’s Will, Banner of Truth (85)

Endurance

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Something I have struggled with all my life. Ever since I was a kid I knew that whenever things got tough, I could always quit. I retired multiple times from the youth soccer league.

Even now, when things are tough, I take a break. When things are not going my way, I take a break. What is it that God desires of me?

This is an excerpt from an article describing the roots of endurance is Spiritual. Maybe I had it all wrong. Endurance is not just a physical or emotional, but needs the focus on the Spirit of God.

Christians recognize that this is impossible, even with inspiring examples to point the way. The endurance needed to accomplish these tasks is supernatural in origin–it happens only through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Powerful Spiritual Weapons to Battle the Forces Attacking Young Adults

The emerging generation needs to understand that endurance is not rooted in a compelling vision/mission statement, or a well-defined goal, or a spiffy resume, or flawless communication skills. All of these things have merit, but aimlessness is first and foremost a spiritual problem, not a logistical problem.

Christians must clearly understand what John Piper articulates in The Roots of Endurance:

Our fight and our race and endurance is a radically God-centered, Christ-exalting, Spirit-dependent, promise-supported life. It is not a ‘just do it’ ethic. It is not a moral self-improvement program…. It is a deeply cross-embracing life that knows the Christ of the Bible as the Son of God who was crucified first as our substitute and then as our model of endurance. (p. 29)

If you’re concerned about those who are having a hard time getting a sense of direction, consider engaging spiritually on their behalf through prayer, as the Apostle Paul did for his disciples:

- Pray that the Holy Spirit will help them in their weakness (Romans 8:26, Ephesians 3:16)
- Pray that they will not do what is wrong, but will do what is right (2 Corinthians 13:7)
- Pray that the eyes of their heart will be enlightened (Ephesians 1:18)
- Pray a prayer of thanksgiving for them (2 Timothy 1:3)
- Pray that they may increase in knowledge and depth of insight (Philippians 1:9, Colossians 1:9)
- Pray that they will be able to avoid anxiety but turn their concerns over to God in prayer (Philippians 4:6)
- Pray that they will live a life worthy of the calling they have received (Ephesians 4:1)
- Pray that God will fulfill their every good purpose and that the name of the Lord Jesus may be glorified in them (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12)
- Pray that they will be active in sharing their faith (Philemon 1:6)

If the problem is spiritual, then only spiritual weapons can fight it. So keep praying. As John Bunyan said, “Pray often; for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge for Satan.”

Christians in Politics

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This was the topic of discussion this past weekend as some of the people from Church discussed politics from a Christian worldview.

What exactly is politics and how should a Christian respond? This was definitely an interesting topic though quite broad in nature.

Recognizing God’s sovereignty and that all authority has been given from God, we recognize that in all situations, we need to be faithful to the place that God has called us to be. I think it is easy to get caught up in the larger political scene, but forget that God also called us to love our neighbors and be a blessing to those around us.

I think Jeremiah 29:7 where the exiles are told to seek the “peace and prosperity” of the city… there is real blessing when Christians are in the public sphere, but I think more in the way of being a blessing than pushing any one agenda. Whether we agree with civil government or not, Christians are called to be agents of love, salt and light in this dark world, and active in every way… so that some may be saved through the witness of Christians. We are the bringers of justice, of good news, of freedom to the captives… Christians have a larger responsibility in overcoming the power struggles of this world.

Reformed view on baptism

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This is a good article on Baptism by R Scott Clark from Westminster Cal.

Introduction

Among Western Christians there are four major views on baptism:

1 Baptism is the means of spiritual renewal and initial justification and sanctification through the infusion of grace received in it, in such a way that one cannot be saved ordinarily without it. Baptism communicates saving grace, by the working of its own power. Children of all church members and unbaptized adult converts must be baptized (Roman Catholic).

2 Baptism is a public testimony to one’s faith in Jesus Christ. Only those who have reached the age of discretion can make such a profession of faith. Therefore, only those who are able to confess Christ should be baptized. (Baptist).

3 Baptism is so closely related to the gospel that through it, Christians receive eternal life and without baptism there can be no assurance of salvation. Both the children of believers and unbaptized adult believers should be baptized (Lutheran).

4 Baptism is a means of sanctifying grace and a gospel ministry to the people of God. It is a sign and seal of the Covenant of Grace illustrating what Christ has done for his people and sealing salvation to the same. Therefore covenant children of believing parents as well as unbaptized adult converts should be baptized. (Reformed).

Protestants uniformly reject the Roman Catholic view of baptism as unbiblical and sub-Christian since it replaces faith as the instrument of justification. Among Bible-believing Protestant churches, the Baptist view is easily the most common and the Reformed view is probably the least well known. The view labeled Lutheran is probably somewhere in the middle in popularity. Unfortunately, many Bible-believing Christians assume that all infant baptizing (paedobaptist) churches are identical.
This essay is intended in part to change that perception. I believe (perhaps naively) that if more Bible-believing Christians understood the Reformed view of baptism, they would accept our explanation of what God’s Word says about baptism. I also intend to give Reformed believers a clearer understanding of what God’s Word says about baptism and to answer objections which are often made against the Reformed position.

Equipping families to do discipleship

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Desiring God is having a conference on Children Desiring God. One of the topics is on family worship and family church. Thought this was an interesting quote. Been looking to do family church in our home and bring about a time where Christ is consecrated and worshiped.

Jonathan Edwards declared, “Every Christian family ought to be as it were a little church, consecrated to Christ, and wholly influenced and governed by His rules. Family education and order are some of the chief means of grace. If these fail, all other means are likely to prove ineffectual.” It’s still true! If discipleship is occurring in the homes of your church’s members, all other means of grace will become more effective. This seminar will equip you to train families in your church to be, to play, to learn, and to serve together in ways that will strengthen your entire congregation.

Tips on Engaging Culture

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This is an interesting article from the Resurgence website. Jonathan Dodson gives tips on how to engage culture. You can find it at the following link.

They’re pretty straightforward, but they are helpful in reminding you that you are in the world, but not of the world. It is so easy for Christians to get entangled with the world’s affairs that we forget who we are in Christ and what that means in our lives.

1. Engage Culture Prayerfully
2. Engage Culture Carefully
3. Engage Culture biblically-theologically
4. Engage Culture redemptively
5. Engage Culture humbly
6. Engage Culture selectively.

When engaging culture prayerfully, we depend on the wisdom that comes from the Spirit who searches out all cultures, who can enable us to recognize and rejoice in what is true, beautiful, and good, and reject or redeem what is false, ugly, and immoral. As a result, engaging culture can become an act of communion with God. Relying on the wisdom of the Spirit will also mean careful investigation of cultural issues, being critical of our own biases while maintaining an open ear to the arguments of others. However, we’re not left to navigate the turbulent waters of our culture with only prayer and reason. God has given us his Word, a divine and authoritative Text from which we can glean wisdom and theological principles to engage culture.

When wrestling with issues, we must be careful to bring questions, not assumptions, from our culture to the Word, following a pattern of Text-Theology-Culture. This biblical-theological engagement with culture should always lead to redemptive action, restoring what is ugly and immoral from our position as accepted children of God, citizens of Zion. In turn, we can engage culture humbly and selectively, recognizing our limitations and rejoicing in our unique opportunities to engage the world around us.

Finally, try to practice these six ways of engaging culture not just as an individual but in community. To put a spin on Rufus Wainwright’s words: Only when the Church in this country becomes obsessed with glorifying God in all things will we critically and redemptively engage our culture on all kinds of subjects.

Things get heated

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I’m not just talking about the fantasy football season. The American culture has gotten very adversarial as well as become very caricature-like. We all want to “change society,” we all want to “change the world.” But what exactly is that change we want?

CHANGE
As I watch both Obama and McCain, as well as the millions of people they have gotten to support them. I can see their appeal, especially Obama who is seen as the voice of hope. I’ve seen it before. People are disenfranchised, people are in need of something greater. They see someone who can give them what they think they need. Both Obama and McCain offer something. But as I watch the conventions, as I watch the debates, I see that we are a far way off from what “we actually need.”

FRIENDS
The interview with Rick Warren was very interesting. Warren first says both McCain and Obama are his friends. They both love America, but they both have very different ways to change. I think that was a very insightful statement made by Warren. It was to avoid the demonization of both candidates that the media does so easily, whether knowingly or unknowingly… Both “conservative” and “liberal” news media have elevated personal attacks over addressing real issues.

CULTURE WARS
But even when addressing the issues, various camps will view “change” differently. This has led to what Americans have called “the culture wars.” Understanding this culture war from a non-Christian perspective is hard, especially if you were raised in this culture. What I mean is that our views of morality and ethics have been so influenced by the culture itself, by the media, by the education, by other Americans, that is hard to separate “right and wrong” from “what I believe right and wrong” is. Tim Keller says in his new book Reason for God, we have the “schoolyard bully” mentality, meaning whoever has the loudest voice or toughest stance usually wins. What he says goes.

WILL OF THE PEOPLE
But can consensus alone determine “right and wrong.” A true democracy says so. The “will of the people” becomes law. But as we know from history that this system is flawed. Where then does law, morality and ethics come from? As I watched the conventions and the debates, we as a country have pretty much placed our hopes, our future into the hands of government and elected officials. Every special interest group, majority, minority, whoever, almost single-handedly believe the government can be the savior of this land, of this society… we will be greatly disappointed. We will find equally flawed results from a flawed system run by flawed individuals. Government in itself is not necessarily bad, but it is run by flawed people in a flawed system, with flawed information and flawed adoration…

HOPE AND CHANGE
Obama brings hope and change. I don’t doubt that. McCain brings hope as well. I don’t doubt that either. But what type of hope and what type of change are we looking for? I don’t think Americans have thought through this question. We want fiscal responsibility. We want to end our occupation of the middle east. We want to be independant of foreign oil. We want to erase the deficit. We want what is best for America.

WHAT IS BEST FOR AMERICA?
As a nation, we are split as to “what is best for America.” Does this fundamentally come down to culture? One’s ethics? One’s opinions? One’s way of life? Is there a universal code we must adhere to? I have an answer, but I think America needs to consider it one more time. What is best for America?

This blog is about reform but it comes not from government, not from culture, not from ethics or morality. Where then can this change come from? I recognize that change cannot ultimately come from government or special interest groups or supreme court judges. I recognize that change comes from a much higher authority. My hope and my prayer is for Americans to be changed by the spirit of God as taught by the bible and through the person of Jesus Christ. It is only by looking at the “perfect law” that we can truly find what is “ideal” for America. It is only by looking at the “perfect man” that we can truly change our culture. Let me challenge you to look not at what is imperfect, but instead look to what is perfect.

Four things every Christian needs

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Our church held an eldership training class a few years back. The pastor made a distinction among Christians in terms of maturity. This can be seen in churches all over. It’s not determined by age or wealth or intellect. It is determined by one’s walk with the Lord. It can be broken down to these five: baby, child, teenager, young adult, elder.

How do you grow from baby into maturity?  The teacher/pastor mentioned four things.  These four things aren’t the only things, but they are so essential that if you’re not doing all four consistently, you might just be a baby/child Christian.

1.  Fellowship – are you meeting with other believers?  Are you sharing what God is teaching you to others to edify the body?  Are you sharing in other’s struggles and sufferings?  Are you rejoicing with them when they rejoice?  Do you neglect meeting with other believers?  Are you able to confess sins and forgive one another?

2.  Prayer – are you praying more than grocery lists?  do you repeat the truths of God?  Are you consistent in praying for those entrusted to your care?  Are you interceding for God’s people?  Are you praying for leadership and missionaries and pastors?  Are you praying that the Gospel will go forth?  Are you praying more than “bless so-and-so?”  Are you truly seeking God? 

3.  Ministry/Tithe/Service – Are you serving the body?  Are you giving of yourself as Christ gave himself for the church?  Are you using your spiritual gifts to edify the body?  Have you found a place where you can serve regularly?  Do you give a regularly portion of your money to the work of the church?  Do you desire for people to come to know the Lord?  Do you desire to disciple?

4.  Reading Scripture – Are you consistently in the word?  Do you nourish yourself with God’s word?  Does God speak to you through his word?  Are you able to see Jesus in context of the law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms?  Do you preach and share the word with others?  Are you able to lead others into the word?

Well, these four things aren’t the only things, but they are basic.  If you’re not doing any of the following, it’s like a plant trying to grow without water or sunlight.  Christians will have a hard time growing without the word, prayer, ministry, or fellowship.  I encourage you if you are discipling anybody or seeking to grow yourself from child to adult… submit yourselves to God and discipline yourselves with the following disciplines. 

Let me know what you think.  Did I miss any?

Humble Orthodoxy

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Humble Orthodoxy – Joshua Harris teaches on 2 Timothy2:14-26.  Are you reacting to the previous generation or God’s approval? Do you try to prove yourself right or desire to turn people to Christ.  What does it mean to be a generation approved by God? Handle the word of truth rightly…

2 Timothy2:14-26 – Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen.  Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.  Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.  Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some.  Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”

In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble.  If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.

Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.  Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.  And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.