Approving the Excellent

 

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ…

—Philippians 1:9-10

God-breathed love (agape) is the source of many positive elements within the lives of those who follow Jesus. As the Apostle Paul writes to the Christians gathered at Philippi in the verse above, abounding love brings forth knowledge and discernment. These latter two qualities are necessary if we are to become able to give our approval to those things that are excellent.

Excellence seems more and more elusive in this day in which we live. Our society has apparently decided that the words “good enough” will serve as the standard by which all behavior, accomplishments, work product, moral decisions, and a host of other life events will be judged. No one seems willing to strive for the very best.

You may have heard the phrase attributed to Voltaire: “Best is the enemy of good.” Or, in contrast, you may have read the book by Jim Collins entitled: Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t. These diametrically opposed philosphies give us good insight into the competing ideas that struggle to ensnare our culture. For now, among the people in our nation, Voltaire seems to have won—at least for the moment.

In schools today, teachers focus on telling students all the negatives with which our nation has struggled and they minimize all of the truly wonderful positives our unique nation has accomplished. Instead of balancing the bad with the good, they focus only on the bad.

Many of our political and social leaders seem to have followed this same pattern found in our schools: emphasize only the bad about our nation and completely ignore the good. This form of national self-loathing allows people to subscribe to a philosophy that the United States is all bad. Why do teachers and other leaders do this?

History has shown quite clearly that in order to control a large group of people, evil leaders must create within the populace a spirit of negative thinking that will wear down their will to maintain a rigorous sense of value, a solid foundational sense of well-being, and their impetus to strive for a higher level of excellence.

If you carefully study the history of the United States, you will find that, from the very beginning of our unique form of government, there were individuals who tried to cast a pall of negativism over the great experiment that became the United States of America. This same striving to distract and ruin through negativity takes place today.

In our spiritual lives, Satan”s principal role is to try to convince us to always view our own lives, and the circumstances in which we find ourselves, as a overwhelmingly negative. If he can convince us, then he can control us.

Our great protection lies within the open and loving arms of our Lord and Savior. The Apostle Paul urges the early Christians to let their love abound more and more. With love abounding, they will experience knowledge and discernment that will lead to them becoming increasingly able to approve what is excellent. From excellence, they will be able to become pure and blameless, looking forward to the day of Christ’s return.

Do not allow yourself to become convinced that we live in a fatally flawed nation. Yes, the history of our nation—including our present day—does have flaws. But, those flaws do not permanently doom us to destruction.

The heartbeat of God still prevails within the souls of His chosen people, including you and me, pointing us to the truth and filling us with positivity. As we allow the love from God to abound more and more in us, we will gain greater knowledge and discernment that will lead to an excellence that will preserve us from the evil that seeks to destroy us.

 

_{Copyright © 2020 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Doing What is True

 

“For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

—John 3:20-21

Cockroaches hate the light. They much prefer darkness. In darkness, they have a much better opportunity to survive. In the light, they can be seen and destroyed. Sin is exactly like that. Sin hates the light and much prefers the darkness. That’s why negativity is an enemy of the truth.

Someone recently asked me why our nation has become so negative:

“Why do things seem so much worse today than they did when I was a child in the 1950s and 1960s? Why do so many people seem so far from God than they did when I was younger?”

I believe that the so-called sexual revolution of the late 1960s ushered in a time where normal social mores were put aside in favor of licentious behavior. Openly living in the depths of sin was formerly frowned upon by the majority of individuals in our nation.

But, after the sexual revolution took hold, increasingly people began to accept more and more types of sin as normal and deemed that sin acceptable. Why? Because sin begets sin—the more we tolerate sin, the more sin will prevail.

Out of this ever-increasing prevalence of allowing sinful behavior to put on a mantle of acceptability, it became ever-necessary to pull away from God. While once the majority of people living in the United States attended church or synagogue services, now fewer and fewer people do so.

As a general rule, citizens of the United States have pulled away from God because He is the one who judges sin. The more prevalent sin has become, the more necessary it has become to set aside the One who judges sin, declaring that He is irrelevant or nonexistent.

The Apostle Paul wrote these words to believers, found in Ephesians 2:1-3:

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

These verses, in addition to the verses from the Apostle John found at the beginning of this blog post, clearly show the pathway taken by the power of sin to destroy a people and a nation. Everyone who does wicked things hates the Light. Sin has a deadening effect of people’s minds and hearts. The only antidote is found in the truth of God’s written Word, the Bible.

We who follow Jesus are children of the Light. We are the ones who shine the Light of God’s truth into the darkness caused by rampant sin in our world. It is a solemn duty, an awesome responsibility, and one that we dare not take lightly.

Let’s not allow fear to hold us back from our calling. We stand against the darkness of sin by proclaiming liberty to the spiritually captive, light to the spiritually blind, the sound of praise to the spiritually deaf, and hope to those spirutally lost in the swamp of sin.

 

_{Copyright © 2020 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

It Takes the Supernatural

 

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

—1 Corinthians 2:14

“I just don’t get you spiritual nutcases?”

Of course you don’t, I thought to myself. How can you?

The Apostle Paul faced the same dilemma in dealing with the Christians in Corinth. If you carefully read Paul’s first letter to the “Christ’s-ones” gatherd in the church at Corinth, you will soon understand that Paul was trying to deal with a church gone awry. That’s why he wrote the words that appear in the verse at the beginning of this blog post.

The natural person—the person who does not possess the direct, spiritual, supernatural connection to God that true believers have—does not accept the things that come from the Holy Spirit because they seem foolish. Why? Because such things can only be understood by those who have the Holy Spirit living within them.

We should never be surprised when people do not understand our commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. We know that commitment comes from the fact that before the foundation of the earth God chose us to belong to Himself.

In His timing, God sent the Holy Spirit to speak to the depths of our inner beings and convince us that we were sinners in need of a Savior. The Spirit revealed to us that God had chosen us and had redeemed us through the blood of His Son, Jesus.

Once we understood what God had done for us, we embraced this great gift and acknowledged that we did, indeed, belong to God through Christ. The Holy Spirit took up residence within us and now leads us and guides us along the pathway that God has laid out before us. The lines of supernatural communication and supernatural understanding have been forged between us and God—the One who knows us the best and loves us the most.

This great miracle of God’s amazing mercy, grace, and love overwhelms us with great joy. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. We belong to Him forever. Some day, we will graduate from this world into a world beyond our ability to comprehend. There, we will live for all eternity in the very presence of God.

This is such an amazing miracle, no wonder those “natural” humans cannot understand. It takes the supernatural connection that we believers have with God to even begin to understand this miracle of redemption.

And yet, we must share with those God leads across the pathway of our lives what He has done for us. We must share with them because that sharing may very well be the way God chooses to begin the process of calling them to Himself. That’s why our obedience to the task that God has given us is so very important.

 

_{Copyright © 2020 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Our Advocate

 

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

—1 John 2:1

Over the 73 years of my life, the verse of Scripture at the beginning of this blog post has come to mean so very much to me. The Apostle John—known in church history as “the disciple whom Jesus loved”—writes to the Christians in Jerusalem and Asia Minor a great truth. John shares something that has importance beyond measure.

John asserts that the reason he has chosen to write his first letter to them is so that he can encourage them to set sin aside in their lives. In so doing, John reminds these baby “Christ’s-ones” that if they do sin, they are not facing a holy God alone. No! They have an advocate who stands between them and God. And, this advocate is none other than God’s dearly loved only Son, Jesus.

Even as we begin another day, in heaven where it really matters, we have an advocate who stands before God in our behalf. Jesus takes our place, stands up for us, speaks on our behalf, and saves us from the rightful wrath of a holy God. Just as Jesus bore the penalty for our sins on the cruel cross of Calvary, so Jesus continues to advocate for us. Jesus is our brother. He is our friend. He is the one upon whom we can always depend.

Johnson Oatman wrote a song toward the end of the 19th century that has appeared in over 350 hymnals. It’s a song that we seldom hear sung today. The words have a special meaning in light of the teaching the Apostle John shared with those early Christians. Here are the words:

There’s not a friend like the lowly Jesus—
No, not one! no, not one!
None else could heal all our soul's diseases—
No, not one! no, not one!

Refrain:
Jesus knows all about our struggles,
He will guide till the day is done;
There’s not a friend like the lowly Jesus—
No, not one! no, not one!

No friend like him is so high and holy—
No, not one! no, not one!
And yet no friend is so meek and lowly—
No, not one! no, not one!

Refrain:
Jesus knows all about our struggles,
He will guide till the day is done;
There’s not a friend like the lowly Jesus—
No, not one! no, not one!

There’s not an hour that he is not near us—
No, not one! no, not one!
No night so dark but His love can cheer us—
No, not one! no, not one!

Refrain:
Jesus knows all about our struggles,
He will guide till the day is done;
There’s not a friend like the lowly Jesus—
No, not one! no, not one!

Was e’er a gift like the Savior given?
No, not one! no, not one!
Will he refuse us a home in heaven?
No, not one! no, not one!

Refrain:
Jesus knows all about our struggles,
He will guide till the day is done;
There’s not a friend like the lowly Jesus—
No, not one! no, not one!

 

_{Copyright © 2020 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Holding Tightly

 

Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.

—Hebrews 10:35-36

The other day, I noticed a billboard along the Interstate highway. It read:

“When the going gets tough, most people curl up into a ball and begin to cry!”

I did a double-take and looked at the sign again. Sure enough! That’s what the billboard declared. I could hardly believe what I had read. And, worst off from a marketing standpoint, I have no idea what product that billboard intend to sell.

Maybe at this time of extreme stress from the COVID-19 Pandemic, riots and looting in the streets of our cities, increased crime, downward spiraling morals, harsh political divide, and a host of other problems, we’re all supposed to just curl up into a ball and sob our way through each day.

In contrast, in the Scipture verses at the beginning of this blog post, the writer of the letter to the Hebrews urges his readers to hold onto their confidence because such a holding tightly has great reward. He continues by pointing out that his readers have a need for endurance to keep on obediently doing exactly what God wants them to do, so that they will receive what God has promised.

It’s certainly true that in saving us from the penalty of our sins, through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, God has asked only one thing of us: He wants us to become obedient to His perfect will for our lives. To grasp onto God’s will, we must surrunder our own fatally flawed and selfish human will and turn our four human modalities—heart, soul, mind, and strength—over to His steadfast and immutable will.

As we begin another new day, we can rejoice in the fact that we have a definite pathway to follow along the road of life: obedience to God’s will for us. And, we have help along the way through the power of the in-dwelling Holy Spirit. That should give us the ability to hold fast to our confidence, knowing that our confidence rests in the God who loves us with His everlasting, unfailing, undying love.

 

_{Copyright © 2020 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

A Natural Progression

 

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope…

—Romans 5:3-4

We Americans have become quite proficient at taking certain philosophical concepts and “secularizing” them for our own purposes. Here’s one example:

karma: In the religions of Hinduism and Buddhism, karma is the belief that the sum of a person’s actions in this and previous states of existence will decide his or her fate in future existences.

Even though the word “karma” represents the belief of two particular religions, we Americans have secularized the philosophical concept represented by this word, so that we may use it to explain what we either observe, or hope to observe, about the behavior of the humans who inhabit the spaces around us. Said another way, we hope against hope that the phrase “what goes around, comes around” will prove true for us, but particularly for those who may do something to harm us.

We even apply this somewhat distorted concept to the “bad things” that may happen to us in our lives. When we suffer, we may believe that our suffering has come because of something we did that deserves punishment. Likewise, when we have great success, we often believe that we are only getting what we deserve because of the good we have done.

Scripture does not support this distorted view. In contrast, we have this example from John 9:1-3:

“Who sinned that this man was born blind?” asked the Disciples.

“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”

In this life, suffering comes because of the sin nature passed down from Adam that affects every aspect of our life on earth. This includes the substance of the earth itself, as well as every aspect of human life. Much to the chagrin of many individuals who do not understand the impact of the sin curse, climate change—if, in fact, there really is climate change instead of a normal cycle of climate variance—comes as a result of the sin curse. Humans do not cause climate change. To ascribe to humans the ability to cause a change in something so profound as the climate would minimize the creative power of the God who made the climate. But, that’s a discussion for another day.

Suffering comes into our lives because we live in a sin-cursed world. When we experience suffering, it is not necessarily because of our actions—although our actions can make our suffering worse. A person who smokes two packs of cigarettes every day from the time he or she is thirteen years old may well succumb to lung cancer. But, there actually are other lifelong smokers who do not die from this dreaded disease.

Suffering is a part of our sin-cursed lives on this sin-cursed earth. The real question is what we will do when suffering comes into our lives. The answer lies within the Scripture verses at the beginning of this blog post.

The Apostle Paul writes to the Christians gathered in the church at Rome. Paul insists that suffering starts a chain reaction for believers—a natural progression—that carries them into a place of rejoicing. Suffering produces endurance. Endurance produces character. Character produces hope. And, best of all, hope will not disappoint us. Why? Because hope draws us into the fullness of God’s loving embrace.

Can we rejoice when we face suffering in our lives? Yes, we can! And, we had better do so. After all, the very Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, sufferend on the cross of Calvary to bear the punishment for our sins. His suffering was the greatest suffering a human could ever endure. As a result, our sins have been forgiven, our relationship with God restored, and our life everlasting is just over the next hilltop.

 

_{Copyright © 2020 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Welcome One Another

 

Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

—Romans 15:7

During this COVID-19 Pandemic, many of us have had to forego worshipping together in order to maintain social distancing and bend the curve of transmission of this dreaded virus. As the “king of social awkwardness,” I have not missed seeing my fellow believers as much as many of you have missed this weekly experience. But, I am not so selfish that I do not understand the importance of meeting togther for worship. In fact, I am one who champions the absolute necessity of Christians gathering together for worship.

By the time you read this blog post, the church that I am privileged to attend will have begun meeting for in-person Worship Services two weeks ago. As I write these words, I have no idea how this “new normal” will actually unfold. But, I do have every confidence that many of my fellow Evangelical Presbyterians will be very glad to see each other. At the same time, they will fight hard to keep from hugging each other, as they are so mightily inclined to do.

The warmth of fellowship we feel when we meet with other believers is profound. That is exactly the spirit within which the Apostle Paul writes to the Christians in Rome in the verse at the beginning of this blog post.

“Let me give you a word of advice,” Paul writes. “Welcome one another in the same way that the Lord Jesus Christ has welcomed you into His Kingdom. His gracious, loving, and enthusiastic welcome for you has come about as a way of giving glory to His Father, God. In this same way, when you welcome each other, you do so to bring glory to God.”

We need to keep this admonition in mind. When we welcome each other with tender hearts and great joy, we bring glory to God. He is our Father, too. And, He delights in the joy of His beloved children. We welcome each other as brothers and sisters, bonded together by the blessed hope that God has given us, through His dearly loved Son, Jesus.

So, when you see one of your fellow believers this day, greet that one warmly. Welcome them in the same way that Christ has welcomed you. If you do, you will bring glory to God. And that, dear ones, is a very, very good thing.

 

_{Copyright © 2020 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Receive this Blessing

 

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

—2 Corinthians 13:14

A dear pastor friend of mine, who has graduated to heaven many years ago, once told me that, as a pastor, the most enjoyable part of a worship service for him came when he could pronounce a benediction over the people at the end of the service. Having told me that, I began to notice the increase in energy and the great joy that I sensed in his voice as he spoke words of God’s blessing each week.

I have found that his words have proven true in my own life. One of the reasons I decided to start this blog, way back at the end of March in 2008, and have continued to write nearly 1,800 blog posts, is that I wanted to do something that would encourage my fellow believers. For the most part, my blog posts have intended to offer encouragement to those who follow the pathway God has laid out before them. So, in a sense, I have wanted my blog posts to speak words of encouragement and blessing into the lives of those who might read these posts.

Blessing others is one of the tasks of obedience God has given us that will please Him and also have a profound effect on others. I do not know a single person for whom the words “Well done!” do not have a significant meaning. We all need encouragement. We all need a blessing. We all need to know that we mean enough to someone else that we can receive a blessing.

Notice what the Apostle Paul writes to his fellow believers:

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

These are certainly potent words. And, as we begin a new day, we should take note of what Paul has done and do it for our fellow believers. Just as Paul spoke words of benediction—words of blessing—to his fellow believers, we should do the same. This day, may God fill you with the fullness of His divine presence and encourage you to share His blessing with others.

 

_{Copyright © 2020 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Me! Me! Me!

 

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

—Philippians 2:3-4

No clear-thinking individual can watch a child grow from infancy into young adulthood without observing the stark reality that each of us has an in-born sin nature that we inherited from our parents and they from their parents, all the way back to Adam’s original sin. Infants focus totally on themselves. Toddlers focus totally on themselves. Parents have to teach young children to focus on someone other than themselves.

By our very nature, we focus on “ Me! Me! Me!” We have to learn and then motivate ourselves to think about and focus on others. What a joy exists when we observe someone who has put himself or herself so totally in the background of his or her thinking that he or she seems to have concern only for others.

During this time of worldwide COVID-19 Pandemic, we find outselves surrounded by individuals who have chosen to focus only on the needs of others. All of the individuals who serve us during this tragic time—public safety officials, medical professionals, service industry employees, and a host of others—countless numbers of individuals have put aside their own safety and well-being in order to make certain we have what we need to continue living in as much safety as possible.

The Apostle Paul instructed the “Christ’s-ones” gathered in the church at Philippi with the words contained within the Scripture verse quoted at the beginning of this blog post. “Make humility your guide,” Paul declares. “Do not let your own self-interest motivate your actions. Rather, put the needs of others first.”

As we begin another new day of life, these words should penetrate our consciousness and motivate us to follow the Apostle”s teaching. Let’s not allow our own selfish wills to determine the pathway of our lives. Rather, let’s push ourselves to learn the needs of others and do our best to meet those needs. Whether such action occurs within the boundaries of our own families, or within our own churches, or within our communities, or within whatever circumstances we find ourselves, we will do well to live in such a way.

 

_{Copyright © 2020 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Children of Light

 

…for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.

—Ephesians 5:8-10

If you have chosen to read very many of my nearly 1,800 blog posts, by now you realize that I am generally writing to individuals who, at some point in their lives, sensed the convicting power of the Holy Spirit pushing them to believe in the life-transforming power of God’s precious Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Said another way, for the most part, I have aimed these blog posts at believing “Christ’s-ones” or Christians. By so doing, I prayerfully hope that my words will encourage Christians in their daily walk along the pathway that God has laid out for them.

The teaching of the Apostle Paul, found in the verses at the beginning of this particular blog post, describes exactly the condition in which each one of us followers of Jesus found ourselves. “At one time,” Paul insists, “you were in darkness.” Truthfully, each one of us entered this world in darkness—the darkness of the sin-curse that we inherited from our parents and they from their parents. Then, at some point along the pathway of our lives, the Holy Spirit began to speak words of conviction to the depths of our innermost being. Those words of conviction prompted us to recognize that we were trapped in sin—the original sin we inherited and also the sins we had committed on our own.

The revelation of the Holy Spirit didn’t stop with that conviction. He spoke to our inner beings in such a way that we became fully aware of the great gift that God had given us in the redeeming power of the blood of His Son, Jesus. That sacrifice of Christ on the cruel cross of Calvary became a once-and-for-all covering of our sins with His precious blood. We had previously been condemned before the holiness of God. But now, we were redeemed! God had chosen us to belong to Himself. In fact, as we would soon learn, God had chosen us to belong to Himself before the foundation of the earth.

No human reasoning could explain why God chose us. We were not worthy of His choosing. Nevertheless, God did, indeed, choose us to belong to Himself. Having chose us, He drew us to Himself through the convicting power of His Holy Spirit. Once we began to understand what God had done for us, we became increasingly aware that we belonged to Him. We passed from the darkness of sin into the glorious light of His holiness.

The Apostle Paul proceeds from this revelation—that once we were children of darkness and now we are children of light—to urge us to walk the pathway of our lives as children of light. Paul urges us to live as children of light by discerning which decisions we make and actions we take will please the Lord.

So, the question that each of us must ask ourselves every moment of every day: “Am I living in such a way that is pleasing to God?” I cannot answer that question for you. I can only answer that question for me.

I can and do encourage both you and me to walk as children of light. In this moment and the next and the next, let’s determine, with help from the in-dwelling Holy Spirit, to live as children of light.

 

_{Copyright © 2020 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Good Conduct Shows

 

Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.

—James 3:13

Growing up in the 1950s in a very strict, Fundamentalist Christian environment, I was told that some churches taught that an individual could “earn” his or her way into heaven. Those who taught me insisted that such thinking was gravely in error and that people who believed this were greatly mistaken. In fact, or so I was taught, such individuals are likely not “true” Christians at all.

I was also taught that accepting Christ as my Savior was a decision that I, alone, could make. When I reached Houghton College in the fall of 1965, I was shocked to learn that other devoted followers of Jesus believed that God had actually chosen them before the foundation of the earth to belong to Himself. It wasn’t really their choice at all. It was God who chose who belonged to Himself.

At the same time, I learned that those who believed God had chosen them did indeed also believe that God had given them the free-will choice as to whether or not they would follow the pathway God had laid out for them. In other words, while these believers had no personal choice in whether or not they belonged to God, they did very much have a choice as to whether or not they would follow God in obedience.

It wasn’t that so-called “free will” had no part in their belief system. It was just that the exercise of their free will came into the equation after they came to the understanding that God had chosen them.

The interesting part of this revelation arose from the fact that Houghton College was an institution of higher learning sponsored by the Wesleyan Church (originally called the Wesleyan Methodist Church) and actually embraced the same theological position as the denomination in which I grew up—the Evangelical United Brethern Church, now merged to become the United Methodist Church. This theological position was called the Arminian position of Jacobus Arminius (1560-1609), as opposed to the Reformed theological position of John Calvin (1509-1564).

It was rather interesting that I would become exposed to the Reformed tradition while attending an Arminian college. But, that’s what happened and largely because of the belief on the part of the Bible professors at Houghton College that students needed to understand the full breadth of Evangelical theology.

Having now embraced the Reformed tradition, I came to understand that such teachings of the Apostle James, as illustrated by the verse at the beginning of this blog post, made sense in light of the fact that my personal obedience, and the exercise of my free will, would come into play as I allowed my good conduct to show my good works in the meekness of wisdom.

God has chosen me to belong to Him. Now, it was my responsibility, out of love and obedience to God, to live in such a way that my good works would testify to His having chosen me.

I have many, many dear friends who fully embrace the Arminian theology of Jacobus Arminius and believe that humans need to make a purposeful decision to follow Jesus as their Savior and Lord. I also have many, many dear friends who fully embrace the Reformed theology of John Calvin and believe that before the foundation of the earth God chose them to belong to Himself. But, each of these groups of friends also strive now to live in obedience, either to the decision they made to follow Jesus, or to God’s chosing of them.

Each of these dear ones longs to share what Jesus means to them with others. Each of them desires to see other men, women, boys, and girls experience the life-transforming power of the living Lord Jesus Christ. Each of them longs to see a great revival sweep across our land and bring profound change to our nation and our world. Each of them believes that good conduct stands as one of the strongest testimonies to the power of the love of God.

Theology has a definite place in helping us try to comprehend what it means to be a child of God. But, in the end, the way we live out our beliefs and show God’s love to others makes all the difference in our lives and in the lives of those around us.

 

_{Copyright © 2020 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Abiding in God's Love

 

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

—1 John 4:16

Many years ago, I had a two-week series of business meetings in Las Vegas, Nevada. I do not place Las Vegas on my list of places I would most like to visit. Most of my visits there have overwhelmed me with the noise and so-called glammer of the gaming industry. I do not gamble. Thus, most of the excitement of Las Vegas is totally lost on me. Spending two weeks there is a unique challenge.

One truly enjoyable benefit of that particular business trip was the Saturday morning drive over to the Hoover Dam. One of my colleagues had arranged a special tour for us that allowed us to explore the very depths of this amazing structure. I can still remember seeing the awesome power of the water that flowed through the hydroelectric generators. It was absolutely amazing to see the huge turbines rotated by the force of the water from Lake Mead flowing from the intake, through the generators, and out of the dam.

As great as the power of that water is, the greatest power in the universe is greater still. And, that greater power is the love of God.

A gospel song-writer, Frederick M. Lehman, penned these words:

The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell.
It goes beyond the highest star
And reaches to the lowest hell.
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled
And pardoned from his sin.

Refrain: O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—
The saints’ and angels’ song.

When hoary time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall;
When men who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call;
God’s love, so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—
The saints’ and angels’ song.

Refrain: O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—
The saints’ and angels’ song.

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

Refrain: O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—
The saints’ and angels’ song.

As we “Christ’s-ones” move through this new day, may the love of God enliven and sustain us to obediently follow the pathway that the Holy Spirit opens up before us. Please listen, as the late George Beverly Shea sings this lovely gospel song:

 

_{Copyright © 2020 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

One Accord and One Mind

 

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

—Philippians 2:1-2

Have you ever thought about the fact that life seems like a series of cascading “ifs”?

• If I receive another COVID-19 stimulus check, perhaps I can buy that iPad I’ve wanted.
  
  
• If it doesn’t rain tomorrow, I hope to be able to go to the beach.
  
  
• If I get a good report from my doctor, I will plan to start walking each morning at the Mall.
  
  
• If my wife asks what I want for dinner, I believe I will ask for steaks on the grill.
  
  
• If I get up early enough tomorrow, I will plan to buy gas for my car on the way to work.
  
  
• If my boss accepts the report I turned in yesterday, I believe I will offer to pay for my friend’s lunch.
  
  
• If my favorite TV program is on tonight, I will pop some popcorn and settle in for a nice evening.
  
  
• And on, and on, and on!

In our walk of faith, “ifs” play a big role, too. In the verse at the beginning of this blog post, the Apostle Paul relies on a series of “ifs” to encourage the Christians in Philippi. “If you find encouragement in Christ, ” Paul asserts. “If you find any comfort in God’s love. If you participate in allowing the Holy Spirit to lead you along the pathway of your life. If you experience affection and sympathy from your fellow believers. Then, I urge you to complete the joy I feel for you by having the same love for one another and by being of one mind in the decisions you make.”

Those words of Paul apply to us today, as well. We show our thankfulness to God through our obedience to His written Word and to His divine will for our lives. We set aside our own selfish human will and allow God’s will to prevail in our lives. That is definitely the way to live.

 

_{Copyright © 2020 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Help Me!

 

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

—Psalm 121:1-2

You’ve all likely seen the television commercial: “Help me! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” Lots of comedians have made much of that scenario. I used to laugh a bit at it, too. Then, I became someone who literally cannot get up on my own if I fall.

I can remember the first time it happened. I had decided to attend an evening worship service on the shore of Lake Erie at Presque Isle State Park. I’m not certain that I realized we were actually going to meet on the beach. This was in the summer of 2002. For over a year, I had had to use two canes in order to walk. I didn’t think about how difficult it might be to walk on sand with two canes.

I arrived at the designated spot. Got out of the car and began to walk across the sand to where the other worshippers had gathered. Just a few steps and down I went. Within seconds I realized I could not get up by myself. Fortunately, a very kind man saw my plight and because of my extreme obesity, with no little amount of difficulty, he helped lift me back up so I could stand alone. If I had been alone, I would still be stuck in the sand.

Since that time, I have fallen only two or three times in the intervening 18 years. In each case, I have needed help getting back up. I am so concerned about falling, that I take every precaution to guard my steps.

The truth is that, for one reason or another, we all need help at some point in our lives. Whether we need help in our physical lives or not, we most certainly need help in our spiritual lives. That’s why the verse at the beginning of this blog post is so important. The Psalmist declares that when he needs help he looks to the one source from which genuine help comes: “the Lord who made heaven and earth.”

This day, let us follow the example of the Psalmist. When we need help in our lives, let us look quickly to the only One who can truly help us. God loves us with His everlasting love. He waits patiently for us to call upon Him. Let’s be quick to do so.

 

_{Copyright © 2020 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Please, Carry Me!

 

“Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb; even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.”

—Isaiah 46:3-4

One of the great joys of a little child comes when a mom or dad picks the little one up and carries him or her. Yes, children like the freedom to run wherever they want to run and do whatever they want to do. But, there always comes a time when a child becomes tired or needs the comfort of his or her parents. At such a time, to have mom or dad gather the little one into loving arms brings such comfort and joy to the child.

It is this kind of joy and comfort that God expresses through the Prophet Isaiah in the Scripture verses at the beginning of this blog post. The people of Israel have had free reign for quite some time. They have wandered far away from the protection of God’s perfect will for them. It is high time that they returned to God and sought the comfort that only He can give.

Look closely at what God promises Israel in this verse. He reminds them that He is the One who has brought them into being and sustained them all throughout their lives. He now extends to them the truth that He will bear them up, He will carry them and save them. No longer do they need to run about without His divine protection. His love will enfold them and keep them safe from all harm.

What God has promised to the nation of Israel, He has also promised to those whom He has called to Himself and redeemed through the precious blood of His one and only Son, Jesus. God has grafted us “Christ’s-ones” into the vine of Israel. We Gentiles have become one with God’s chosen people, the Jews. Just as God enfolds Israel, carries them, and saves them, so He will do the same for you and for me.

One of the reasons why we carefully study the “whole counsel of God” by meditating upon both the Old Testament and the New Testament stems from the fact that the whole of Scripture applies to us in our walk with God. While God has given a new covenant in the incarnation, sinless life, suffering, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, His promises to Israel apply to us today. And, there is much we can learn from observing how patiently, kindly, and lovingly God has dealt with His first-chosen people.

Let’s determine to seek to have God carry us and save us. And, let’s make certain we do so every moment of every day.

 

_{Copyright © 2020 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Necessary Qualities

 

Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness.

—Titus 2:2

If we’ve never met, you have a distinct advantage over those who have met me. As you read this blog post, you can take my words at face value without making a mental reference to the person whom you know wrote them. Let me share a secret with those of you who have never met me. Most people do not like me—at least that’s what some “friends” tell me in an unguarded moment of truth.

Apparently, to the vast majority of the people who know me, I come across as arrogant, or angry, or unkind, or standoffish, or… Well, in your imagination, you can formulate your own list of my undesireable qualities. When my “friends” tell me this, it wounds me deeply. I don’t revel in the fact that people don’t like me. But, no matter how hard I try to behave differently, I still always end up being exactly who I am. And, who I am seems, apparently, unacceptable to the vast majority of people who know me.

So, when I read the verse at the beginning of this blog post, I am moved to tears. Apparently these very important and necessary qualities of an older man elude me and this makes me feel ashamed. Nevertheless, I know that these words of the Apostle Paul ring true.

God expects His beloved followers to become mature in their faith in Him. He wants them to grow up and into maturity. As mature believers, God expects older men to display sober minds, self control, a soundness in their faith, a soundness in their love, and a soundness in their steadfastness, and to also display an appropriate dignity.

Perhaps, like me, you find yourself lacking in one, or all, of these important qualities. If so, you likely need to join me in asking God to do a new work in our lives that will result in these quallities coming alive within us. That seems like the best thing we can do. Otherwise, we just keep failing.

 

_{Copyright © 2020 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Level Ground

 

Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!

—Psalm 143:10

As small children, when we’re learning to walk, nothing challenges us more than trying to walk on uneven ground. Eventually, as we gain more confidence and develop a greater sense of balance, we can walk on the most uneven ground without any difficulty whatsoever.

Imagine my surprise when, at age 54 in 2001, I began to experience difficulty walking on even the most simple uneven ground. Admittedly, my extreme obesity played a role in this growing challenge. I also found myself three years into what eventually became a 19-year-long fight against a chronic infection in my right foot. But, the most significant contributor to my increasing inability to walk easily came from the osteo-arthritis that had begun to afflict my legs, hips, and back. I had become an “old man” before my time.

Now, 19 years later, I can only walk with the aid of a walker. In 2017, a very skillful surgeon amputated my right leg below the knee in order to rid my body of that long siege of infection. Even though a very competent, talented, and highly trained prosthetist has fitted me with a prosthetic right leg, with the effect of osteo-arthritis still raging, I cannot keep my balance well enough to walk without a walker. In fact, for travel more than a few dozen feet, particularly when I am out of my home, I use a powered wheelchair.

Please understand, I am not writing these words to gain sympathy—quite to the contrary. I am very grateful to God that He has seen me through the many physical trials that I have had over the past 22 years. I am also keenly aware that my own difficulties pale in comparison to the health issues that many others face in their own lives. I did write the above paragraphs because I believe they give me particular insight into the words the Psalmist wrote in the verse quoted at the beginning of this blog post.

The Psalmist has issued words of prayer, asking God to teach him the importance and absolute necessity of doing God’s will. And, in order to accomplish that goal—so necessary for proper Christian formation—the Psalmist asks God to let His good Spirit lead the Psalmist on level ground. This short prayer contains words that illustrate profound truths.

First of all, God created us because He wanted to have fellowship with a creature who could love Him and serve Him. His very act of creating us stands as an act of His divine, unfailing, undying love. God-breathed (agape) love flows out from God and into us through the very act of His having created us. The easiest thing for us to do would be for us to love God in return. Yet, the first created humans chose to ignore God’s simple requirement of not eating the fruit of the Tree of the Knowlege of Good and Evil. Their sin erected a barrier that prevented them from loving God.

And yet, this sinful act, which has passed down to us through our parents, did not prevent God from continuing to love us. In fact, He loves us so very much that He sent His one and only Son, Jesus, to become a human and to die on the cruel cross of Calvary in order to pay the penalty for our sin. His incarnation, sinless life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension secured for us victory over sin, death, and Satan.

With our sins forgiven, we can now love God through absolute obedience to His perfect will for our lives. But wait—in this world we still bear the curse of sin from Adam. We call this curse our “sin nature.” Even in our forgiven state, we still possess a natural bent toward sin. So, the only way we can walk in obedience to God’s perfect will for us is to receive the help of God’s Holy Spirit.

This brings us to the second part of the verse above. The Psalmist prays: “Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground.” In other words, please allow the Holy Spirit to make the pathway of my life as smooth, straight, and level as possible. Let the Spirit keep the ground level beneath my feet so that I will not stumble and fall. Keep me moving forward on the pathway You have laid out for me so that I will be able to obediently do Your perfect will.

While I can no longer physically walk on my own without the help of my walker, even on perfectly level ground, I can pray this prayer of the Psalmist for my spiritual walk. And, because of my infirmity, I know the very important role that level ground plays in successful walking.

I invite you to join me in praying the Psalmist’s prayer:

Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!

 

_{Copyright © 2020 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Warn Everyone

 

We proclaim Him [Jesus], warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

—Colossians 1:28

Having spent the last half of my working career in fire protection engineering as a developer of educational materials, and later as the Director of Training for the large Highly Protected Risk insurance company where I worked for 30 years, I became exposed to a great deal of philosophy and psychology related to educational processes for adults. Eventually, we redesigned our entire trainging program, transforming it from a fact-based lecture/demonstration-type program to a certification-based program with very specific concept-based goals and enabling objectives for each goal.

In learning how to make such a transformation, I spent many hours studying the research on adult learning. I observed how the various concepts of trying to understand how adults learn had shaped various educational methodologies. I saw how typical classroom instruction—such as the type of instruction I experienced in junior high school, high school, and college in the late 1950s through the late 1960s—had changed.

Over time, the lecture/demonstration was out. Learning in study groups was in. Educational program developers moved from lists of facts that must be memorized and repeated to specific problem-solving activities. At the same time, educational psychologists researched how environmental conditions, personal background, race and gender influences, home life stability, and other factors affected how adults learn.

Someone whose teaching career spanned the early 1950s through the early to middle 1980s would be astonished at how the packaging of educational programming has changed. Whether or not all the changes were truly beneficial is a matter for some debate. Nevertheless, teachers from the so-called “old school” would be lost in today’s business-based classroom.

The one place where training and education has not changed—at least has not changed as rapidly—is within the church. Yes, many teachers of Christian Education classes use PowerPoint as a basis for visual learning. But, the underlying educational philosophy of how to teach people about God, His Kingdom, and His written Word have not really changed all that much.

I do realize that some providers of educational materials for the church have attempted to update the educational methodologies on which they base their offerings. But, a close examination of those materials soon reveals that most materials rest on a foundation much more similar to the construction of materials from the 1950s and 1960s.

Let me hasten to add that I am not intending to criticize either the church or the developer of adult Christian education materials. Rather, I am intending to offer a bit of background to my main assertion of this blog post. I believe that the verse printed at the beginning of this blog post contains a valuable clue as to how God expects those teaching adults to go about the task of sharing His divine truth with the people under their care.

Notice what the Apostle Paul writes to the “Christ’s-ones” gathered at the church in Colosse. Paul’s statement includes the overriding goal: “…that we may present everyone mature in Christ.” So, maturity in the faith becomes a critically important goal for Christian formation.

Instead of having countless numbers of so-called “baby Christians” running around the church and the world, God shares, through the voice of His Apostle, that He desires mature Christians. Why? One reason we can seem to discern from other passages of Scripture emerges: so that the mature Christians can face the trials that Satan and the world will heap on them in an attempt to destroy their faith and make them wholly ineffective as faithful servants of the Lord Jesus Christ.

With Christian maturity as the goal, what steps does a teacher take to motivate the adults listening to his or her teaching? The Apostle Paul gives us an answer when he writes: “We proclaim Jesus, warning everyone with all wisdom.”

“What?” you may respond. “Are you suggesting that one teaching adults in the church should warn those under his or her care? And, specifically what should that warning include?”

Yes! I am precisely suggesting that the Apostle Paul urges those reading his words to warn fellow believers. When one warns someone, that warning usually comes in a very direct, very emphatic form of expression. If you plan to step out into on-coming traffic, I may warn you with a shout. I may even try to restrain you from your forward movement. That is exactly the kind of warning that Paul urges those teaching to give.

As to what teachers should warn their adult learners, I would answer that the learners need to comprehend and fully understand every positive and every negative teaching of Scripture. Adult Christians who seek to move into full maturity as followers of Christ do not need feel-good pseudo-psychological self-help messages. They need “iron-sharpening-iron” admonitions and testimonies of what God expects of them and how to begin doing exactly what God expects.

I don’t know how you may feel about my analysis. But, I do know that I am more fully convinced, with each passing day, that the kind of deep-love-motivated, fear-of-the-Lord-encapsulated, packed-with-wisdom teaching must begin to find a place in our Evangelical churches. This will become especially true if the world around us continues to slide more deeply into sin.

 

_{Copyright © 2020 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Guarded Deposits

 

Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.

—2 Timothy 1:13-14

Have you ever entered your local bank in order to make a deposit or receive a withdrawal? While you were inside the bank, did you notice the bank vault? Even the smallest of branch banks has a vault. Every time I see a bank vault I think about some of the mystery stories I’ve read where criminals go to great lengths to try to breach the vault and steal the contents.

Each bank vault exists to guard the contents, whether money, gold, jewelry, or precious documents housed in safe deposit boxes. The physical design of the vault serves to keep the contents safe from harm.

God has promised His dearly love children that He is the One who guards every aspect of our being that He has entrusted to us at birth. And, insofar as our relationship with Him is concerned, before the foundation of the earth, God has chosen each one that He loves—each one that He will call to Himself through the wooing of the Holy Spirit. No wonder God guards that which He has entrusted to His dear ones.

When we recognize that God literally guards every aspect of our being, including the four critical modalities of our existence—emotional, intellectual, spiritual, and physical—we can breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that we venture out into this world surrounded by divine protection.

As we begin another new day, let’s rejoice in the knowledge that, in response to the great love and protection that God displays towards us, we can love Him back by following the pathway He lays out before us. Our joy will bubble up to the surface when we live our lives in the center of His perfect will for us.

 

_{Copyright © 2020 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

The Master Teacher

 

Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go.”

—Isaiah 48:17

Teaching is a wonderful profession. It takes a special person with special skills to become a really great teacher. Most of us can identify someone who, during our formative years, contributed a great deal to who we have become because of the skills that individual had as a teacher.

A really great teacher has a number of personal skills that enhance that individual’s knowledge and makes the transfer of information most effective. Such skills include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Patience. A truly great teacher has a high degree of patience in order to allow the student to stumble around until he or she finds the way through the “jungle” of information that the teacher is trying to convey. This patience allows the teacher to let the student find his or her own way. This patience never tires of answering the same questions over and over again. This patience promotes a sense of security between the teacher and the student that allows learning to take place over an extended period of time.
  
  
• A sense of humor. A truly great teacher takes even the most serious subject and punctuates it with just enough humor to make it palatable to the student. Such humor disarms any tension the student might feel. It creates a learning environment that promotes the free exchange of ideas and gives the student confidence in whatever knowledge he or she is seeking.
  
  
• Relaxed control. A truly great teacher recognizes that it is necessary for him or her to maintain control of the learning environment. Yet, he or she instinctively knows that this control must be meted out in a relaxed and carefully measured manner. This control keeps the learning on track. But, the relaxed way in which the control is extended gives students the freedom to learn in a more comfortable setting.
  
  
• Creativity. A truly great teacher employs creativity in order to find the best way of explaining the information that comprises the learning. Such a teacher knows that a single example will not work for all students. Rather, the teacher knows that he or she must craft examples and illustrations that will engage the student in a manner that matches the learning style of the student.
  
  
• Goal-oriented. A truly great teacher never loses sight of the goals toward which the transfer of knowledge leads. This teacher understands what the end-game is for each learning encounter. He or she understands the goals and, for each goal, the objectives through which a student must travel in order to reach the goals. In addition, the teacher has a clear set of learning strategies that will help the student move through each objective. Said another way, such a teacher understands the complexity of learning because he or she clearly sees the logical pathway that will move the student from ignorance to comprehension.

In the Scripture verse at the beginning of this blog post, when God says to His people: “I am the God, who teaches you to profit…” we can clearly see that God is, indeed, the Master Teacher. Whenever God teaches His dearly loved people, He does so intending for that learning experience to bring His people to a place where they can profit from the learning experience. I have seen this happen in my own life.

Many individuals have a far more significant testimony than my own. Most people have had to deal with overwhelming issues in their lives. Tragedy strikes almost every person. These times of great trial can offer enormously important lessons for us to learn. In the midst of trial and sorrow, the testimony of God being the very best teacher a person can have shines through.

As another day begins, let’s remain thankful that God is the Master Teacher. He possesses all of the qualities that the most excellent teacher always has. We are truly thankful that we are the recipients of His instruction. We are the ones whom He teaches us to profit.

 

_{Copyright © 2020 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

In This Quiet Moment: Teach Me

 

The earth is filled with your love, O Lord; teach me your decrees.

—Psalm 119:64

Imagine that you are all alone and that you are standing on a hillside looking out over the valley shown in the photograph at the beginning of this blog post. For just a moment, close your eyes and think about what you might hear and feel. The breeze whispers against your skin. You can hear the rustling of the grass. Perhaps you can hear a bird chirping in the trees. The brook is a ways away, but if you concentrate you can just barely hear the water flowing over the rocks.

Even more than what you hear and feel is what you don’t hear or feel. You do not hear any voices, any vehicles, or any human-made noise. You can’t smell the exhaust fumes of cars and trucks. No one is bumping into you. You don’t have to worry about stepping on some trash on a sidewalk. In place of the raucousness of life in a city, you only sense an overwhelming sense of peace.

Do you realize that what you feel in this moment is the love of God? That’s right. In the peaceful setting shown in the photograph above, you can feel the love of God. Why? Because God’s love inhabits the earth. When we can put aside all of the distractions of life, we can palpably feel the love of God. And, it is in just such a setting that we can ask God to teach us His decrees. We can ask Him to tell us what He wants us to do.

Larry Mayfield has written a song that captures the essence of the Scripture verse at the beginning of this blog post. Here are the words:

In this quiet moment,
Jesus speak to me
Fill my heart with thy love divine,
Your power let me see.

Max Mace and “The Heritage Singers” have recorded a lovely arrangement of this song. I invite you to watch this video:

As we begin this new day, let’s determine to allow God to teach us the way He wants us to go. By spending time reading and meditating on His written Word, the Bible, let’s open our minds and hearts up to His instruction for this day.

 

_{Copyright © 2020 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Train Up a Child

 

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

—Proverbs 22:6

Child Psychologists agree that parents must set aside moments out of their busy lives to spend time teaching their children about the most important things in life. By doing so, the investment of the parents will reap untold benefits in a child’s life.

This statement remains all the more true when we consider the spiritual formation of our children. Parents play a key role in training up, or teaching, children about God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—and about the principles of the Christian faith. Today, there is no excuse for parents not doing everything in their power to teach their children the way of faith.

This training begins with the parents living out the life of a follower of Jesus right in front of their children. The way they talk, the way they handle problems, the way they act towards each other, the way they relate to other people. In every situation that they encounter in life, the parents have an opportunity to teach their children how to live as followers of Jesus.

Does this training require parents to daily examine their own lives, so they might rid themselves of besetting sins? Of course it does. For every aspect of a parent’s life affects the learning experience of his or her children. It represents an enormous responsibility. But, it is also a great joy.

And, other believing members of a family are not immune from these responsibilities. In many cases, grandparents also play a key role in the spiritual development and spiritual formation of their grandchildren. Grandma and Grandpa also live their lives as an open example of how a follower of Jesus chooses to live.

The very fact that the way one follows Jesus is a conscious choice becomes so very important. Children must learn that their lives will become marked by the choices they make. They must understand that in every situation, they will need to choose whether they will follow the way of Jesus, or deny Him by the choice that they make.

The blessing of pouring one’s life into raising children to love God and to love their neighbor is immeasureable. Praise God that He has raised up Christian parents who take up this challenge and give themselves to the task of raising their children in the way that they should go.

 

_{Copyright © 2020 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}