Are Your Children Unruly?

I sat in the adult Sunday school class with my 2 year old son on my lap. Occasionally he would wiggle, but he had learned to sit still- for the most part- as I held him. After class the lady across the table told me how impressed she was about how good he was. I responded that he was not always that good. She then said that she was also impressed with how well his 2 older brothers had sat in the same class a few weeks earlier.
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At that time I admitted to her that our 3 and 4 year had been in class with us because they had not wanted to go to their own class even though we had told them they should. I then explained that we had been on the road a lot recently, preaching in other churches, and that the boys were often in unfamiliar settings and had gotten a bit scared and wanted to be close to Mom and Dad.
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This brings up an important question: Were my children being disobedient and unruly in a way that would disqualify me from being a pastor because they were too scared to go to their class and insisted on staying with us?
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Consider 1 Timothy 3:4-5, “One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)” Consider as well Titus 1:6, “If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.”
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Let me be honest. This is not the only issue my children have. They do not always sit quietly- especially if they have to sit for more than an hour. Further, they fight with each other over toys, they have taken candy without permission, and they have tracked mud across the floor. Even though we remind them to take their shoes off, they sometimes forget or are just in too much of a hurry to obey. Is this what the Apostle Paul was referring to when he used the word “unruly” in Titus 1:6?
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Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible defines the underlying Greek word for unruly as: “unsubdued, i.e. insubordinate (in fact or temper):- disobedient, that is not put under, unruly.” The Geneva Bible Notes (commentary from the year 1599) gives some further light to the subject when it states, “This word is used of horses and oxen, who will not tolerate the yoke.”
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In 1599, it was much more common to have horses and oxen in a yoke than it is today, yet the usage of the word should help our understanding. Though a horse may tolerate a yoke, that does not mean it will never throw its head or even stomp its hooves. Further the driver of the yoke may have to pull the reigns to steer the animal back on course from time to time.
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The same is true of children. They are not robots that we can just program for an automatic outcome. We have attempted to program them to never walk across the house with muddy shoes and they are improving, yet they are not perfect. Even a well trained horse may have to be reigned in now and then.
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Still, children should not be allowed to run wild. A pastor, just like any parent should be concerned about the behavior of his children. A pastor who has no restraints on his children should be disqualified from ministry, but this does not mean that his children have to be sinless.

Avoid The Kool-Aid Men

As a child, I remember watching commercials for Kool-Aid with the Kool-Aid man. He was basically a big juice pitcher with hands, feet, and a smiley face who offered Kool-Aid to kids after breaking through a wall. As he walked away he would turn to the kids and exclaim, “Oh yah,” as he saw that their thirst was quenched.
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In the innocence of my childhood, I was encouraged by the Kool-Aid man to drink Kool-Aid, but when I became older, I often heard the warning, “Don’t drink the Kool-Aid.” So why would people warn against drinking Kool-Aid when the commercials of my childhood showed it to be such an effective thirst quencher?
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In 1978, a preacher by the name of Jim Jones convinced his followers to drink Kool-Aid that had poison in it. Over 900 people were so loyal to Jones that they ended up dying after drinking the poison Kool-Aid. After that event, the phrase, “Don’t drink the Kool-Aid,” became a warning not to blindly follow any human leader.
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Jesus gave warnings about false teachers long before Kool-Aid ever hit the market. He said, "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.” (Matthew 7:15 NKJV) "Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.” (Matthew 24:11 NKJV)
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The Apostle Paul gave similar warnings when he said, “For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.” (Acts 20:29-30). He also sent this warning to a young pastor named Timothy, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.” (1 Timothy 4:1-5 NKJV)
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Around the same time that Jim Jones was feeding his followers Kool-Aid, another false teacher name Bill Gothard was gathering followers. Instead of bringing them to a commune like Jones did, he sent them back to their local churches. Many of those churches became divided as people had to decide whether to follow Gothard or the Bible. Many pastors quickly recognized Gothard as a false teacher as he began to impose dietary restrictions and discouraged marriage. Still he gained loyal followers.
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Today Bill Gothard is an old man and does not travel around to seminars like he used to do. Still he has much influence through the ATI home school curriculum that he distributes. In the 1980’s he briefly stepped down due to a scandal involving young ladies who where volunteering at his ministry. A short time later, he returned to lead the ministry after replacing those who would have held him accountable. Sadly however many of his followers have continued to defend him no matter how much false doctrine has been exposed or how much evidence of ungodly behavior has been presented (34 different women have come forward).
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The examples of Jim Jones and Bill Gothard should remind us as Christians that we must be followers of Christ, not of men. It should remind us as well to study the scripture and really find out if what we have been taught is correct and then reject false teachers, even if it means we have to swallow some pride and admit we were wrong for following them. For further questions or comments, please contact southtownbc@yahoo.com

Conditioning is not Repentance

All of our boys love playing in water. The problem is, that apart from the bathtub, their earliest experiences playing with water involved another bathroom fixture. We quickly set forth to condition them that playing in the toilet was unacceptable behavior. Eventually they learned that it was easier to leave the toilet alone than it was to suffer the consequences.
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As they grew older, we began to notice that there was a difference between their conditioning to avoid certain behaviors and a genuine concern over doing what was wrong. We could train them to do what we expected of them, but that did not mean that their hearts had actually been changed. In other words, they really did not understand that there was anything wrong with playing in the toilet, they just knew that they would be scolded if they did it.
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We could explain all the details about germs and messes, but our 2 year old simply was not able to understand. On the other hand, it was encouraging when our 4 year old realized he had really hurt his brothers feelings and went and told him he was sorry with genuine concern in his voice.
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Although having concern for our fellow man is a good thing, when we sin we should have an even higher concern. We should be concerned that our sin has offended a holy God. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23 NASB).
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Sadly, too many people are more concerned about the consequences of their transgression than they are about sinning against God. The Apostle Paul had to write a letter to the Corinthians to confront their sin (the book of I Corinthians in the Bible). After being confronted, the Christians there were really sorry for what they had done. Paul then writes another letter to them where he says, “I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, in order that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation; but the sorrow of the world produces death.” (2 Corinthians 7:9-10 NASB).
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As we include God in the picture, we understand that the issue is more than just having sadness over our actions or avoiding the consequences of our sins. The issue is understanding that our sin is wrong in God’s eyes and thus turning from our sins to instead obey God. That is what repentance is all about.
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Let me ask this question: If you could steal a large sum of money and never get caught and no one would know about it, would you do it? For many the answer would be “yes” because they are only concerned with the possibility of punishment or the stigma of being called a thief. Godly sorrow, however motivates us to understand that our sin is wrong regardless of whether or not we are caught. Remember God knows about all our sins. A truly repentant person wants to avoid sin because he wants to serve God.
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God will ultimately hold us accountable for our sins, “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a) But He loved us enough to pay for our sins by sending His Son to die on the cross, “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23b)
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That is why it is so important that we repent and believe, not just condition our lives to avoid sin.

I Want to Eat All the Candy

Our little boys love candy. If we were to leave candy sitting on the table I have no doubt that it would quickly be eaten. We could tell them that it is not a good idea to eat too much candy, but in spite of our warnings about excess sugar and the dangers of obesity, I am confident that they would still continue to indulge in candy.
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As they grow older, I hope that they will develop some restraint. We seldom buy pop, but on a recent trip to the grocery store, my 4 year old suggested that I get pop. He did not argue with me when I said no, but instead said that when he is big like me he would get pop when he went to the store. That was a reminder that not all adults control their desires.
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Though eating too much candy and drinking too much pop can affect our bodies, there is nothing sinful about pop or candy. On the other hand, there are activities that are sinful and should be avoided- even if we realize we would get pleasure from participating in them.
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For example, I too like candy. In fact, I would really enjoy a Snickers bar right now. Imagine however if I were in the grocery and I had no way to pay for the candy bar, so I just stole it because I really wanted it. Of course that would be wrong. Exodus 20:15 tells us, “Thou shalt not steal.” (8th of the 10 commandments). Ephesians 2:28 admonishes us with the words, “let him that stole, steal no more.”
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Obviously stealing would be wrong, even if having and eating that candy bar would make me happy. What about other sins? Stealing the candy bar would obviously affect another individual and deprive them of their rightful possession, but what about a sin that does not affect another so directly?
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An example of such a sin would be the viewing of pornography in the privacy of ones own home. Just because a person has the desire to do such a thing does not make it right. Jesus was very clear when He said, “but I say to you, that everyone who looks on a woman to lust for her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28 NASB). Let us not forget that the 7th commandment says, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”
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What if a man lusts after other men instead of women? First of all, let us understand that we do not all struggle with the same temptations. Some do not have to struggle with stealing Snickers bars, but they do struggle with the temptation of pornography. Others may not struggle with lying, but they do struggle with the temptation of homosexuality. Rather than debating the reasons for such temptation, let us look to the scriptures and determine what God says about the behaviors.
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The scriptures are clear that stealing, lusting after women, lying, and homosexual acts are sinful. The scripture is also clear that many other things are sinful as well. Rather than condemning each other for the temptations we face, let us instead encourage each other to obey God and exercise self control regardless of our temptations. With that in mind, never make an excuse for the actual sin, but also be careful about being judgmental toward someone who is resisting a sin that you never had to struggle with.
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Further if you are a Christian and are struggling with temptation toward a sin that the scripture clearly condemns, do not sin that grace may abound- even if others in society tell you that it is okay. As Christians, we need to let God decide what is a sin. That means we ought to avoid sin, even if it goes against our desires. Even if we want to eat all the candy in the candy store, that does not mean we should do it.
For further questions or comments, please contact southtownbc@yahoo.com or visit southtownchurch.com

God's Will and a New Year

I have a Miller family history book on my bookshelf. It was written by my dad’s cousin. On page 51 is a picture of my great-great grandfather’s house in Lennox, SD. That is where he lived just before he died. We drove by that house on the evening of New Year’s Day and it is still there even though my great-great grandfather died about 105 years ago.
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Much has changed in the past 100 years so I was not sure if the house would even still be there, but sure enough there it was. Though that house remains, my great-great grandfather, my great grandfather, my grandpa, and my dad have all passed away.
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About 100 years ago, my great grandfather moved from Worthing where my grandpa was born to a farm north of Lake Wilson, MN. Most of my family still live in that area. As I grew up in Southwest Minnesota, I had no idea that I would one day end up moving back to the area of my forefathers. In fact, I did not even remember that they were from this area until after we were already planning to move here.
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Though I had now idea where my life would lead, God knew all along. I think of Isaiah 46:9-10, “Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, 'My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,'” (NKJV).
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As I remember the past, I am reminded that God already has the future all planned out. My moving to Worthing may have surprised me, but it did not surprise God. It is reassuring to know that I serve an all knowing, all powerful God.
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Notice as well that verse 10 of Isaiah 46 says that God’s counsel (His purpose)- shall stand. It also says that He will do all He pleases. I take comfort in praying to an all powerful God who knows the beginning from the end. I also take comfort in knowing that He will do as He pleases.
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Some may wonder why I find comfort in praying to a God who does whatever He pleases instead of praying to a god that I can get to do whatever I want him to do. If I were powerful enough to get God to give me whatever I wanted, then my God would not be all powerful and if I could get what I wanted, so could others. What if I wanted rain and someone else wanted sunshine?
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The God I pray to is all knowing and does as He pleases, so He knows what is best. Further I take comfort in knowing that He is good and that He loves us so much that He sent His son to die for our sins. Thus I can face the new year ahead- and all the years He allows me to have- with complete trust in Him and His will no matter what trials or blessings may come my way.

The Bible is a Relevant Book

Have you ever walked in on the middle of a conversation and realized that you must have missed something? For example, someone may have been talking about a friend who had been so embarrassed that “she wanted to die.” Imagine someone overhearing just part of that conversation and thinking that the friend was actually suicidal.
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I fear that sort of thing happens all too often with the scriptures. If we only get part of a passage, we can end up jumping to some really bad conclusions. That is why context is so very important in the study of scripture. Not only should we focus on the context of the surrounding verses, but we need to also focus on the context of the audience that is being spoken to.
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There is a song about the Bible that says, “Every promise in the Book is mine.” That is an invalid statement, because there are promises in the Bible that are not mine because they were given to a different audience. For example in Genesis 17:6, Abraham is promised that he would have descendants that would be kings. That is not a promise that is given to everyone. In that same chapter Abraham is given a promise that his 90 year old wife will have a son. That does not mean that every woman has the promise of bearing a son when she is 90. Clearly the context of the audience makes a difference in our understanding of scripture.
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The context of history is also important. For example, at our Monday night Bible study we just began to look at the book of Nehemiah. In that book we find out that Nehemiah is concerned about the fact that the residents of Jerusalem had not rebuilt the walls around the city. Earlier the prophet Haggai had been concerned that the residents of Jerusalem had not rebuilt the temple. In fact he rebuked them for making their own houses fancy while neglecting God’s house.
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But as we look at the historical context of Nehemiah, we find out that there is more to the story than just the residents of Jerusalem having other priorities rather than rebuilding the wall. First of all, Judah/Israel was not an independent country at this time. They were instead a province of the Persian Empire. Further when we look at Ezra 4:13-23, we find out that the Persian King had ordered them not to rebuild the wall. The historical context that we find in other portions of scripture as well as secular accounts of that time period, help us to better understand the events that unfold within the book of Nehemiah and how God worked in an amazing way in order to allow the wall to be rebuilt in spite of all the roadblocks that kept coming up.
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Not only does context help us to have a more accurate understanding of Scripture. It also makes it more exciting. It helps us to understand how all the pieces of Biblical history and Biblical doctrine fit together in a unified way that not only makes sense, but is really interesting and electrifying.
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Some people think that the Bible is boring. I believe that it only seems boring because many have not yet seen how the pages of scripture unfold to tell a magnificent story. Context helps us to understand the scripture so that we can see it’s true relevance. For further questions or comments, please contact southtownbc@yahoo.com

The Best Christmas Gift

Christmas time is exciting- especially with little kids in the house. We have four little boys and our oldest is almost 6 and our youngest is 2. It is fun to see their excitement as they open their presents. Of course with little boys in our house, we have a lot of toy trucks. We have some friends who only have little girls and they have a lot of dolls.
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Even though our boys love trucks and tools, they have dolls as well. Of course they look like dolls that have been played with by boys. Instead of dressing them up in frilly dresses, our boys have colored them with markers.
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As fun as trucks and dolls are, I hope we understand that they are not what Christmas is really about. Christ-mas is about the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, but even as we consider the true meaning of Christmas, we can still end up missing it’s full significance.
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Our oldest son Jared recently reminded us of why Christ’s birth is so important. He approached his mom and told her, "Mom, I need to tell you something. My dolls need Jesus too." From a strictly theological perspective, dolls do not have souls and are not even alive, but our little boy had the right idea in realizing that everyone needs Jesus.
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That is why it was so important that Jesus was born into this world. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” In other words we need Jesus in order to have everlasting life. This is clarified later in the same chapter when verse 36 states, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
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The wrath of God sounds a bit scary, and it should, for the wages of sin is death, but the love of God should balance that fear with comfort because the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
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Can you imagine a better gift than eternal life? As much as I would still like a toy truck for Christmas, eternal life is way better than even a brand new real truck and all we have to do to receive it is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 10:9 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
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Christmas is about the birth of Christ, but it should be about so much more than just that. It should also remind us that baby Jesus grew up to be the Savior of the world as He died on the cross for our sins and that He did not stay dead, but rose again 3 days later. If you believe in Him as your Lord and Savior- your only hope for eternal life- then you too can be assured that you have the greatest gift of all. Take comfort in the promise that He made when He said, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” (John 6:37) No wonder so many are excited about celebrating His birth.