Author Archives: Stephen Rodgers

God’s Wisdom for Parenting (Part 4)

by Pastor Patrick Cho

One of the places in Scripture to find a wealth of helpful principles for parenting is the Proverbs. Almost every book on parenting will reference these Scriptures repeatedly because of the wisdom they contain. Besides the plethora of verses that apply to parenting indirectly, several passages address parenting specifically.

Assuredly, the evil man will not go unpunished, but the descendants of the righteous will be delivered. (Proverbs 11:21)

Grace Life has been walking through a series in the Book of Proverbs examining passages that relate directly to parenting. Today’s article looks at Proverbs 11:21 which states that the descendants of the righteous will be delivered. The context speaks of God’s judgment on the evil person, so that the deliverance of the righteous man is specifically from the judgment of God. We know from the greater context of Scripture that our only hope of righteousness is the imputed righteousness of Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 5:21). What makes this passage interesting is that it does not say that the righteous man will be delivered, but that the descendants of the righteous man will be delivered.

One of the demonstrations of God’s grace is generational faith. Of course, faithful, godly parenting does not guarantee the salvation of one’s children. A person is saved by God’s grace alone, and not by any personal effort or merit (cf. Eph. 2:8-9). But a pattern that we see in Scripture is that God desires one generation to tell of His greatness to subsequent generations that they would also have faith (cf. Deut. 4:9-10), and sometimes He even demonstrates His amazing grace to the future generation in spite of the previous generation’s faithlessness (cf. Ps. 78:4-8).

From experience in life, this is a pattern that we oftentimes see in the church. Those who are faithful to the truth of God and seek to live joyfully according to His commands are often blessed by God so that their children also follow their example of faith. I will never forget the testimony of one friend of remarkable faith. When I asked him how he came to live for the Lord with such rigor and strength, he said it was the example of his parents that motivated him to love Christ.

It is definitely heartbreaking to see anyone’s children stray from the faith. Again, faithful parenting unfortunately does not guarantee the salvation of your children. But oftentimes, God does demonstrate His sovereign grace to families by drawing their children to Him. This should serve as a great encouragement to live faithfully before Him. With that said, it is also a great reminder of God’s grace to bring our children to saving faith despite our own inconsistent, imperfect, and oftentimes sinful parenting. Praise God that He can use broken, damaged vessels for honor and to His glory.

Renewing Our Minds for Rejoicing, Pt. 7 – “Think Nobly”

by Pastor James Lee

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:4-8)

To think well is to think nobly or honorably. Namely, on whatever is just, pure, lovely, of good repute, excellent, and worthy of praise. It’s to think thoroughly and comprehensively on them. In a sense, the rest of v.8 flows out from the very first trait, “whatever is true.” And to meditate on them is analogous to the cow pulling every ounce of nutrient from the cud. It’s like studying an object from every angle, weight, texture, characteristic, dimension, and purpose. How it reflects or refracts light. If we dwell accurately on His truth in His Word, then the fruit of our desire will be to dwell on ALL these very things. It’s interesting that the word “honorable” is also translated “dignified” in regards to a deacon’s qualification. It describes one of sober mind and character, who is worthy of respect. He does not treat serious things lightly, or inappropriately. It pictures a man who is joyful and pleasant to be with, yet simultaneously dignified. Therefore, such a person dwells on what is right and pure, seeking purity and holiness in all areas of thought, speech, action, and motive. We are to have nothing to do with evil. We’re to dwell on what is morally lovely and pleasing to our Creator, whether it’s caring for the poor, being gracious, mortifying sin, serving the body of Christ sacrificially, or dwelling on the strengths rather than the weaknesses of people. It may include contemplating the aesthetically lovely, appreciating His physical creation, grace, and will.

So any and all that is truly excellent, worthy of God’s praise should not be left out of our active and thoughtful meditation. Thus, v.8 is a stunning portrait of how we must think. And how we now can think, by God’s enablement! It’s helpful to notice that when we’re dwelling on these 8 filters in v.8, that Jesus Himself is all of these things, isn’t He? So, it’s instructive for us to think that He is the one we are to put our minds on! Jesus is true. Jesus is worthy of respect. He is just, pure, lovely, kind, gracious, of good report. So, it’s a good exercise to fill our minds and thoughts and think on Him first! We can’t think more nobly than that. Instead of thinking what a broken clay pot each of us is, may we rather dwell on what our powerful Savior can do with broken, weak clay pots like each of us! Instead of dwelling on past guilt and foolishly trying to pay God back, we can set our mind on Romans 8:1 that because of Christ alone, there is therefore now no condemnation for those who reborn in Him! We are not to be driven by guilt, but be driven by grace! When we are undergoing a severe trial, and are being tempted to believe everything can and will go wrong for us, we can repent and set our minds on Romans 8:28. When we’re so discouraged that we won’t ever learn to be content, we can set our minds on His promise of Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things (including learning contentment) through Christ who strengthens me.” We can set our minds on heaven. We can take control of our thought life and take more control of what influences our thought life.

As whatever is true speaks positively, in regards to our flesh, whatever is noble speaks negatively. Let me explain. The weight of dwelling on these 8 positives demands the active rejection of the negative, in terms of input. Listen carefully to the logical inversion of v.8, “Finally brothers, whatever is untrue, whatever is dishonorable, whatever is unjust, whatever is impure, whatever is unlovely, whatever is uncommendable, if there is anything NOT morally excellent, if there is anything unworthy of praise, DO NOT THINK about these things!” Do not think about those things! To “put on” means we have to also “put off.” Paul instructs, if one was previously a thief, that it’s not to enough to just stop stealing. Don’t just “put off” stealing, but “put” on “being generous”. It means we say “yes” to godly things, not merely say “no” to ungodly things. We replace them with noble things, more satisfying things, as the former loses its appeal. Thus, in order to put off, we often have to first put on! If we’re not actively dwelling on what is pleasing to the Lord, the vacuum of our minds will be filled by the anti-God thinking of the world. The world system preaches that we ought to dwell on the opposite of what is noble. As F.F. Bruce warned, “If the mind is dyed the color of its waking thoughts, then what one thinks about gives character to life. As good food is necessary to bodily health, so good thoughts are necessary for mental and spiritual health.”

When our thoughts are sloppy, when they become saturated with error, we don’t think nobly, or logically. But we are prejudiced by embracing arguments on the grounds of “eloquence”. The more something “sounds” convincing to our flesh, we rush in as fools. It’s kind of like evaluating a car based only upon the one factor of its paint color?! But that’s what we do. Because we hear a convincing argument, “Wow, I can, I could… I will.” We are also prejudiced by the things we are already thinking, because the problem isn’t ultimately with the thought… but with us the thinker! We prefer the easier, more pleasurable road. We hate feeling humbled, feeling bad, by any accurate self-lowering truth. We are prejudiced by our past experiences, being slow to believe truth or slow to disbelieve error, because it either clashes with our comfort, or revives a bad memory. Why? Well, we’re sympathetic on one level, because we all understand what it means to be a sinner, or to be deeply hurt in the past. But, why? Because our pride. We’re fond of ourselves, we flatter ourselves, thinking arrogantly that we’re better than others, when we’re totally never and not. Our remaining flesh always loves opportunities for our self-exaltation.

If we take sanctification seriously, we would do well to hit the OFF button, instead of entertaining sin so nonchalantly, just because we’re immersed in the culture. I know we can’t control everything we see or hear, like freeway billboards I don’t want my kids to see. But, do we do enough in response? And I’m speaking to those who might regard themselves as “conservatives”, because that’s all relative… when God’s holiness is absolute. A solid daily dose of God’s Word, read and prayed, goes a long way, but neglect of our devotional life reaps what it doesn’t sow. The kind of tv shows, movies, plays, media we watch. The places we visit and drag our children to be exposed to. The internet sites we visit, the eroticized, the violent, the intolerant of Jesus. We might laugh at things we shouldn’t be laughing at, so that the minds of countless professing believers are sub-Christian in their thinking. A.W. Tozer was prophetic when he warned of the moral downgrade infiltrating the church decades ago:

The cult of Eros is seriously affecting the church. The pure religion of Christ that flows like a crystal river from the heart of God is being polluted by the unclean waters that trickle behind the altars of every abomination that appear on every high hill and under every green tree from New York to Los Angeles. The influence of the erotic spirit is felt almost everywhere in evangelical circles. Much of the singing in certain types of meetings has in it more of romance than it has of the Holy Ghost. Christ is courted with a familiarity that reveals a total ignorance of who He is. It is not the reverent intimacy of an adoring saint, but the impudent familiarity of a carnal lover.

Harsh? Psalm 101:2-3 challenges, “I will walk with integrity of heart within my house; I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless.” Jesus said in Matthew 5:29, “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.”

As Christians, we “know” these things. Nevertheless. Let me ask each of us. Do you functionally think that spending more time in the Word will cause you to miss out on something better? Do you think, in terms of practice, that by spending more time in the Word and prayer somehow you will experience less happiness or less productivity? In reality, that’s exactly how many of us think. When I’m really busy, and outside demands are being pressed on my life, I am tempted to think that way. “Ah, I’ll get to it later.” No, it’s the first priority! Not just first priority, but it must be given our best thinking, best efforts, best thoughts, and best affections each and every day. In fact, the irony is that we’ll be more productive and joyful if we do prioritize our daily communion with Him. The problem is that we believe the lie. Otherwise, we’d be hungrier. We would know the Word more, be more powerful spiritually, more fruitful, bolder in evangelism, more content, more sensitive to sin, less stressed, godlier, and more joyful. The Word and prayer, the apostles gave them priority… those are OUR weapons for joy, at our full disposal. It is not just an apostolic thing, but given for every Christian! But the lazier we are with them, the more we lack peace, the more we escalate conflict, the more we drain ministry resources, the more ineffective our witness, the more unfulfilled, discontent, and depressed we can become. Spurgeon encourages this way, “The way to get a mind worth having is to get one stored with things worth keeping.” We are to dwell nobly on Him.

And They Were All Filled With The Holy Ghost

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Acts 2:4

Rich were the blessings of this day if all of us were filled with the Holy Ghost. The consequences of this sacred filling of the soul it would be impossible to overestimate. Life, comfort, light, purity, power, peace; and many other precious blessings are inseparable from the Spirit’s benign presence.

  • As sacred oil, He anoints the head of the believer, sets him apart to the priesthood of saints, and gives him grace to execute his office aright.
  • As the only truly purifying water He cleanses us from the power of sin and sanctifies us unto holiness, working in us to will and to do of the Lord’s good pleasure.
  • As the light, He manifested to us at first our lost estate, and now He reveals the Lord Jesus to us and in us, and guides us in the way of righteousness. Enlightened by His pure celestial ray, we are no more darkness but light in the Lord.
  • As fire, He both purges us from dross, and sets our consecrated nature on a blaze. He is the sacrificial flame by which we are enabled to offer our whole souls as a living sacrifice unto God.
  • As heavenly dew, He removes our barrenness and fertilizes our lives. O that He would drop from above upon us at this early hour! Such morning dew would be a sweet commencement for the day.
  • As the dove, with wings of peaceful love He broods over His Church and over the souls of believers, and as a Comforter He dispels the cares and doubts which mar the peace of His beloved. He descends upon the chosen as upon the Lord in Jordan, and bears witness to their sonship by working in them a filial spirit by which they cry Abba, Father.
  • As the wind, He brings the breath of life to men; blowing where He listeth He performs the quickening operations by which the spiritual creation is animated and sustained.

Would to God, that we might feel His presence this day and every day.

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Personal Training

by Roger Alcaraz

In the book Outliers, author Malcolm Gladwell says that it takes roughly 10,000 hours of practice to achieve mastery in a field. That’s 40 hours a week for almost five years of practicing. And if you’ve ever listened to a pianist who has practiced for that long, you can instantly see (or hear) the fruit of all that practice.

Whether or not Malcolm’s statement is accurate, I think most people would agree that if we want to master something, it’s going to take a lot of time and a lot of discipline. And what’s great about the internet is that you can see the wide variety of skills people have mastered to the point where it seems like just about everything has been mastered by someone. Whether it’s the piano or juggling or cup stacking or rubix cube, they have all been mastered.

But I have yet to see any man or woman achieve mastery over one area in particular: the flesh. No one has mastered the flesh. And we can’t say it’s because nobody has tried. Religious people all over the world have spent their whole lives trying to be perfect and trying to subdue every sinful thought and desire of the flesh, but to no avail.

This is true even when it comes to just the tongue, one of the smallest parts of the body,
James 3:8 tells us that “no human being can tame the tongue.” You can try for 10,000 hours. You can try for 10,000,000 hours. You will never master the tongue, let alone the rest of your flesh. Your tongue lies, gossips, and slanders. Your eyes lust. Your heart envies. Your hands steal and murder. And all of it is beyond your ability to master.

Even so, as Christians, we understand that there is no more important pursuit than controlling the flesh and pursuing holiness. God is holy and man was created to worship him in holiness. Only then will man be satisfied. Thus, holiness is the most important and rewarding pursuit, yet it is also the most difficult pursuit.

Paul sometimes refers to athletics or uses athletic imagery like running, or disciplining his body. And he uses these imagery to teach about the Christian life. And it seems Paul saw a lot of similarities between athletics and Christianity in terms of the discipline and training needed.

Every athlete who wants to be great has two things worth mentioning. The first is sort of training ground where they are equipped to be able to perform their best. And the second is a coach, someone who will correct their mistakes and spur them on to greatness. If the Christian life can be compared to athletics, our training ground is the church–the place where we are equipped and ready to run the race of faith. But who is the coach? Is it Pastor Patrick? Is it me? Pastor Josh? We might be part of the coaching squad, but if you look at the really great athletes playing for the best teams, they have a head coach who guides the overall direction of the team, but then there are coaches underneath them that are more specialized, and then the best of the best athletes even have a personal trainer.

Usain Bolt is among the fastest men in history. So you might think, “There’s no way the fastest man alive needs a coach.” But if you thought that, you’d be wrong because even the fastest man alive has a coach. His name is Glen Mills and without him, Usain would still be fast, but not record-breaking fast.

Usain needs a coach in order to run excellently, but who is there to train up men and women in the church to live excellently? Where are the coaches and trainers of the faith? They should be you all.

You can read in Titus 2:2-6 that God’s design for the church is that the the older men and women live excellently themselves and then teach and train the younger men and women.

And you might be thinking that you’re too young, or too immature, or don’t know enough to disciple anyone. But no matter how young you are in the faith, you will always be able to find someone to disciple. So no matter who you are, you can help others to persevere in this life and run the race of faith excellently, and as you do, I believe you will be rewarded in this life and in the life to come.

I Am Come Into My Garden

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Song of Solomon 5:1

The heart of the believer is Christ’s garden. He bought it with His precious blood, and He enters it and claims it as His own.

  • A garden implies separation. It is not the open common; it is not a wilderness; it is walled around, or hedged in. Would that we could see the wall of separation between the church and the world made broader and stronger. It makes one sad to hear Christians saying, ‘Well, there is no harm in this; there is no harm in that,’ thus getting as near to the world as possible. Grace is at a low ebb in that soul which can even raise the question of how far it may go in worldly conformity.
  • A garden is a place of beauty, it far surpasses the wild uncultivated lands. The genuine Christian must seek to be more excellent in his life than the best moralist, because Christ’s garden ought to produce the best flowers in all the world. Even the best is poor compared with Christ’s deservings; let us not put Him off with withering and dwarf plants. The rarest, richest, choicest lilies and roses ought to bloom in the place which Jesus calls His own.
  • The garden is a place of growth. The saints are not to remain undeveloped, always mere buds and blossoms. We should grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Growth should be rapid where Jesus is the Husbandman, and the Holy Spirit the dew from above.
  • A garden is a place of retirement. So the Lord Jesus Christ would have us reserve our souls as a place in which He can manifest Himself, as He doth not unto the world. O that Christians were more retired, that they kept their hearts more closely shut up for Christ! We often worry and trouble ourselves, like Martha, with much serving, so that we have not the room for Christ that Mary had, and do not sit at His feet as we should.

The Lord grant the sweet showers of His grace to water His garden this day.

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Small Group: Life on Life Discipleship

by Josh Liu

The Mission of LBC is to make disciples of Christ, which encompasses baptizing and teaching (cf. Matt. 28:18-20). Small group ministries can be an effective means of discipleship for many churches. At LBCSD, it is one of the ways we extend accountability, instruction, and fellowship so that believers would spiritually mature.

Pastor Patrick has written on being a faithful small group participant:

We also desire to equip small group leaders to serve with excellence.

A small group leader is simply a servant of Christ seeking to help other servants of Christ mature. Therefore, small group leaders must prove themselves qualified with exemplary godly character, worthy of being followed. The Apostle Paul was able to humbly exhort other believers to follow in his example as he pursued Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 4:6; 11:1; Phil 3:17). To those considering or serving as small group leaders:

  • How are you growing spiritually? Are you pursuing Christ first?
  • How are your spiritual disciplines?
  • Are you being faithful to Christ according to His Word?

Consider the following passages on godly character: Prov. 31:10-31; 1 Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:6-2:8; 1 Thess. 2:1-20; Rom. 12:1-21; Gal. 5:16-26; Eph. 4:17-32; Phil. 3:7ff; 2 Pet. 1:3-7.

Small group leading is essentially life on life discipleship. Discipleship is not a program; it is life (cf. 1 Thess. 2:8). The Apostle Paul’s example of shepherding and ministry illustrates this principle. He does not simply impart facts or govern decision-making. Paul not only pours out his heart into those whom he ministers, but also lives life with them. While structure or programs may help facilitate discipleship, they are not the defining marks of discipleship. So, a small group leader seeks to invest his or her life into the lives of the small group members in a way to walk with them and to mutually help one another grow. To those considering or serving as small group leaders:

  • Are you willing to walk with individuals through their trials and failures?
  • How are you practicing the “one another’s” with your small group members?
  • Would you consider learning from your small group members and be vulnerable when appropriate?

Since small group discipleship is life on life activity, it requires love, time, sacrifice, and patience. Without a spirit of love, discipleship ministry will eventually become frustrating and will lead to sinful attitudes. A leader’s love for the Lord must be the foundation for his love for others (cf. Matt. 22:37-40). Also, life on life ministry is going to require time in order to make a good investment. The time required may be inconvenient or longer than expected. So, a small group leader will be expected to make some level of sacrifice. Discipleship ministry is seldom convenient for the leader. If a person’s attitude is that others must do all they can to accommodate him or her, he or she is not fit for leadership. Spiritual growth and change is oftentimes slow. The small group must practice compassionate patience because people most often do not take in lessons after being instructed only once. A leader must be prepared to teach the same lessons over and over until the small group member understands and applies that spiritual lesson. To those considering or serving as small group leaders:

  • Have you considered or are currently practicing the appropriate love, time, sacrifice, and patience to be an effective small group leader?

The goal of small group discipleship is maturity in Christ (cf. Col. 1:28) and becoming a disciple-maker (2 Tim. 2:2). Small group members ought to be equipped to make other disciples (cf. 1 Thess. 1:6-8). The teacher needs to help students teach others. This is the disciple-making work that all believers are called (cf. Matt. 28:18-20). While it is a humble goal, leaders should desire others to excel beyond them. To those considering or serving as small group leaders:

  • Are you equipping others for the work of ministry and to be disciple-makers?

We depend and praise God for His work to transform souls and sanctify His people into the image of His Son. We are also humbled that God may use us as His instruments to accomplish His sanctifying work.

Thy Redeemer

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Isaiah 54:5

Jesus, the Redeemer, is altogether ours and ours for ever. All the offices of Christ are held on our behalf. He is king for us, priest for us, and prophet for us. Whenever we read a new title of the Redeemer, let us appropriate Him as ours under that name as much as under any other. The shepherd’s staff, the father’s rod, the captain’s sword, the priest’s mitre, theprince’s sceptre, the prophet’s mantle, all are ours. Jesus hath no dignity which He will not employ for our exaltation, and no prerogative which He will not exercise for our defence. His fulness of Godhead is our unfailing, inexhaustible treasure-house.

His manhood also, which he took upon him for us, is ours in all its perfection. To us our gracious Lord communicates the spotless virtue of a stainless character; to us he gives the meritorious efficacy of a devoted life; on us he bestows the reward procured by obedient submission and incessant service. He makes the unsullied garment of his life our covering beauty; the glittering virtues of his character our ornaments and jewels; and the superhuman meekness of his death our boast and glory. He bequeaths us his manger, from which to learn how God came down to man; and his Cross to teach us how man may go up to God. All His thoughts, emotions, actions, utterances, miracles, and intercessions, were for us. He trod the road of sorrow on our behalf, and hath made over to us as his heavenly legacy the full results of all the labours of his life. He is now as much ours as heretofore; and he blushes not to acknowledge himself ‘our Lord Jesus Christ,’ though he is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords. Christ everywhere and every way is our Christ, for ever and ever most richly to enjoy. O my soul, by the power of the Holy Spirit! call him this morning, ‘thy Redeemer.’

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Spring Up, O Well; Sing Ye Unto It

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Numbers 21:17

Famous was the well of Beer in the wilderness, because it was the subject of a promise: ‘That is the well whereof the Lord spake unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water.’ The people needed water, and it was promised by their gracious God. We need fresh supplies of heavenly grace, and in the covenant the Lord has pledged Himself to give all we require.

The well next became the cause of a song. Before the water gushed forth, cheerful faith prompted the people to sing; and as they saw the crystal fount bubbling up, the music grew yet more joyous. In like manner, we who believe the promise of God should rejoice in the prospect of divine revivals in our souls, and as we experience them our holy joy should overflow. Are we thirsting? Let us not murmur, but sing. Spiritual thirst is bitter to bear, but we need not bear it-the promise indicates a well; let us be of good heart, and look for it.

Moreover, the well was the centre of prayer. ‘Spring up, O well.’ What God has engaged to give, we must enquire after, or we manifest that we have neither desire nor faith. This evening let us ask that the Scripture we have read, and our devotional exercises, may not be an empty formality, but a channel of grace to our souls. O that God the Holy Spirit would work in us with all His mighty power, filling us with all the fulness of God.

Lastly, the well was the object of effort. ‘The nobles of the people digged it with their staves.’ The Lord would have us active in obtaining grace. Our staves are ill adapted for digging in the sand, but we must use them to the utmost of our ability. Prayer must not be neglected; the assembling of ourselves together must not be forsaken; ordinances must not be slighted. The Lord will give us His peace most plenteously, but not in a way of idleness. Let us, then, bestir ourselves to seek Him in whom are all our fresh springs.

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The Blessing of Serving in Sparklers

by Arthur Wang

My wife and I have been serving in the Sparklers preschool ministry for two years, and with our utmost joy, we can say that God has used this ministry to grow us in the knowledge of God’s truth and in love for God’s people. It has been an incredible blessing to serve and teach.

The preschool ages are such a wonderful stage of a child’s life. As many know, they are also the most fundamental years in development. They are so energetic, silly, curious, and can be very receptive to teaching. In Proverbs 22:6, the Bible says “Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.” If we establish a strong foundation for the gospel message in each child’s heart, our prayer is that God would use those seeds to someday save them. That said, our Children’s Ministry as a whole emphasizes seizing the time we have with them so that they may learn God’s Word while their parents are in service.

Teaching a group of 20 or so preschoolers can have its challenges. Any small distraction can lead to complete chaos during Sunday school lesson time. I naively thought in the beginning that it would be easier to teach to a preschool audience rather than an adult audience. Let’s just say God humbled me in a very big way. Preparing a lesson that did not dilute God’s Word and yet is understandable to a three to five-year old is no small feat. It involves many hours of preparation and creative ideas to engage the children, using age appropriate terminology. Teaching in Sparklers has taught me to be succinct and concise with God’s Word while at the same time not minimizing the valuable truths of the passages we go over each week.

It involves a lot of patience, love, and understanding the unique traits of each special soul. I pray more prior to when I am scheduled to serve. I pray that God would give me the strength and energy to be super enthusiastic around the children. They may be young, but they are also very perceptive and constantly observing. We need to be good testimonies with the aim to exemplify Christ-like behavior.

Some things I really try to emphasize are God’s attributes. For example, what does the story of Jonah tell us? It is not simply about Jonah, but it is about a forgiving God who gave Jonah not one, but multiple chances. In our lessons, I emphasize who God is (holy and just) relative to who man is (sinful and wretched). Even though there is a huge discrepancy between God and man, God lovingly provided His Son as the sacrifice on our behalf for the sin of all men. How amazing is that? We hope to clearly communicate our need of God to the children, being sure to remind them that we are sinners too.

Preschool-aged children, however small they seem, are capable of learning God’s truth by what we formally teach them during lesson time and by what they observe us say and do outside of teaching time.

Serving in Sparklers has been so much fun and a tremendous blessing. God has taught me that it is only by His mercy and grace that any of us are able to understand the great gospel truths in Scripture. We look forward to not only serve, but to grow alongside other Sparklers staff and the Sparklers’ parents as we continue to study and teach the amazing truth of God.

Renewing Our Minds for Rejoicing, Pt. 6 – “Think Accurately”

by Pastor James Lee

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:4-8)

To think well is to think accurately. We’re commanded to dwell first on “whatever is true”, not on whatever might be true, or whatever we’ve convinced ourselves to be true. But, we’re to dwell on the facts of who God is and what He’s promised, on what the gospel says about our reality. We’re to think accurately about our sinfulness and to think accurately about His amazing grace! Instead of thinking about whatever is true, instead of pondering, mediating, giving our fullest attention to, intentionally and carefully evaluating, and joyfully celebrating whatever is true… when we’re struggling with depression, when we’re not doing well spiritually, when we’re engaged in bitter unforgiveness like Euodia and Syntyche in v.2, whatever is true is exactly NOT what we’re dwelling on. Instead, we tend to dwell on our pride, our unmet expectations, our unfulfilled desires, our vindication, our very real hurts, our immediate relief, our reputation. We’re fixated on falsehood, or selected facts, and not on loving God and loving others. Satan likes to prey on weak minds, seeking to devour us and undermine the unity and witness of the local church. So, the command to think accurately in light of God’s Word is to combat the serious error of thinking only about what’s wrong. Thinking the worst of people and the worst of situations and the worst of our future, is NOT living in a way that takes God at His Word! We’re not consistently resting our hearts and minds with thankful, humble, reliant, prayerfulness and submission, as we see in v.6-7. Unfortunately, instead we’re either believing lies or inventing lies, or we’re trapped in the fear promoted by them, unwilling to trust God and serve others.

Our minds are a battlefield, but the key to our lives is our hearts. That battle rages for the conquest of our hearts. And the command center of our minds is involved in a very real spiritual war, so it’s not that we merely let “Jesus take the wheel”, but that we acknowledge His Lordship over all of us… including over our minds, especially how we think. He’s called us to actively, not passively respond. It’s not the heresy of “let go and let God”, but it’s dependent responsibility. Thus, we’re fully responsible for how we think.

Yes, we’re influenced, and not all of that is within our control. Nevertheless, no one puts a gun to our head to make us give into whatever worldly or false influence we currently choose to believe. To dwell on whatever is true, is to think accurately from the authoritative standard of God’s Word, especially in the context of our relationship with Him. John 17:17 declares, “Your word is truth.” The Greek word for “true” is truth in its broadest, most comprehensive sense, namely divine truth. So it’s not just parts that we like or that serve our self-exalting agendas, but it must be ALL of the truth of God! Truth begins and ends with the Lord. Anything and everything not in line with His truth is by virtue false and anti-Christ, and let every man be proved a liar. Therefore, it ends up proving self-destructive, though it promises happiness, never ruin?!

Godly living comes from godly thinking. That’s axiomatic. And the converse is true as well, ungodly living always comes from ungodly thinking. That’s why Paul commands us in Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” That’s why John also commands us in 1 John 2:15-16, “Do not love the world or the things in the world (world here meaning anti-God world system not people or creation). If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world- the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions- is not from the Father but is from the world.” It may include good things that we make into idols when we elevate them above the Lord. So if we’re going to be cultivating contentment and joy in our lives, it can’t be divorced from what’s in our hearts and what’s in our minds. But all of us, every one of us, has pockets of bad theology. In different areas, we’re blind to unbiblical thinking. We need to be in a process of continually renewing our minds in progressive sanctification. That doesn’t happen once for all, like our justification, it’s ongoing.

The Bible is very clear that our lives are the product of our thoughts. Proverbs 23:7 states, “For as he thinks within himself, so he is.” Turn to Mark 7:20-23 “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” In other words, garbage in, garbage out. What we think, what we say, how we act, reveals what’s in our hearts. And so does what we intake, what we eat, what we entertain, what we read, what we watch, what we think most about. In that sense, they expose us, not excuse us!

John MacArthur said,

“Paul’s call for biblical thinking is especially relevant in our culture. The focus today is on emotion and pragmatism, and the importance of serious thinking about biblical truth is downplayed. People no longer ask ‘Is it true? but rather ‘Does it work?’ and ‘How will it make me feel?’… Too many people go to church not to think or reason about the truths of Scripture, but to get their weekly spiritual high; to feel that God is still with them. Such people are spiritually unstable because they base their lives on feeling rather than on thinking.”

In his book, Your Mind Matters, the late John Stott adds,

“Indeed, sin has more dangerous effects on our faculty of feeling than on our faculty of thinking, because our opinions are more easily checked and regulated by revealed truth than our experiences.”

We can’t immediately control how we feel. For example, I can’t command you to, “Be sad, be happy, be angry”, as though we could flip a switch. Thus, in shepherding others, we exercise a certain patience and grace with people until their feelings catch up, so to be speak, to be in line with the truth. But the good news is that we can (and must) influence over time… how we think… and thus come to even impact how we feel, by biblical thinking.

Instead of thinking constantly about what we’re missing and who’s not giving it to us, we’re to think actively about how rich we are in Christ! His prophets, apostles, preachers, and the Lord Jesus Himself were always admonishing, “Do you not know, have you not heard, do you not understand?” No surprise, that Scripture describes the unsaved mind as depraved, fleshly, hostile to God, blinded by Satan, foolish, ignorant, defiled, but Romans 10:17 says faith comes from hearing the word of Christ! That’s really the beginning of the gift and opportunity of renewing our minds, our salvation! So if you’re a true Christian, you are able to do and enjoy something the rest of the world cannot. Yes, they can grow their intellect, but they can’t in of themselves, renew their mind. That’s the opportunity given to every single believer from day one! 1 Peter 1:13 exhorts us, “Prepare your minds for action!” We’re to love God with all our hearts, soul, strength, and MIND! Dr. Robert Somerville encourages us and invites us to rejoice, “The sphere, in which your joy as a believer exists, is totally unrelated to your circumstances of life or your feelings about them, but related to your unassailable, unchanging relationship to your sovereign Lord.” To think joyfully is the beginning of thinking accurately, and to think accurately is the joyful joy of thinking joyfully. Rejoice!