Early Public University Profs Prayed

This is from the October 23-24, 2010, Wall Street Journal:

"The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which formally opened in January 1795 with a single professor, Rev. David Ker, was the country's first public university to admit students. One of the duties of the school's early professors was to perform morning and evening prayers and examine students on the 'principles of morality and religion.' By the end of June, 41 students had enrolled."

Now that's Higher education!

Regrettably, our public universities no longer petition God's assistance or rely on His wisdom in setting parameters for moral behavior, which leaves public universities sorely man-centered, falsely liberated and secularly narrow-minded. They've exchanged the truth of God for a lie (Romans 1:25).

"Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith." 1 Timothy 6:20-21

"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." 2 Timothy 4:3-4

"My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding." Proverbs 2:1-6

Consistent With God

One of the things that is making life easier is my recent decision to assign God to be the only one I answer to, as opposed to myself or the person I’m talking to. With tendencies toward amiableness (which I like to call being a chameleon), I can easily agree with the reasoning or opinions of those around me. So if I’m with A, their way of seeing things might make sense, and then if I’m with B, their reasoning might make sense. Now, this might not seem like such a bad thing. Oftentimes, the world likes to call this being “open minded” or a “peacemaker.” But there’s a saying that says if we’re too open minded, our brains will fall out. And that’s how it feels sometimes when I try to accommodate everybody’s thoughts and opinions, including my own. Trying to placate everyone is not a peaceful feeling, and, I’ve found, it creates anything but peace in relationships.

The Bible addresses this very issue when it says to not be double-minded (James 1:7). The way not to be double-minded is to look to God first for His take on every opinion, worldview, situation and decision. That means we replace wanting to please or appease others with obedience to God.

In my marriage, as I’ve been answering to God first, my husband and I have been growing spiritually because there is much more accountability to living Biblically, as opposed to selfishly. With my kids, I am allowing God to guide or admonish, as the case may be, and find that I am relating to them on a much steadier and confident level. “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17).

With friends and extended family, I am practicing speaking honestly (as God directs) and am no longer hiding the fact that I’m a Christian. The result is that the resentment I used to feel after family visits disappears because I’m no longer beating myself up for once again denying my Lord.

When it’s God’s perspective, arrived at by being quick to listen but slower to answer so that we can give things over to God in prayer (even just a quick “God, speak your words right now”), through reading the Bible, and taking time to discern what He would have us say or do, everybody wins. Even if our answer or decision isn’t what the other person wants to hear, when we back it up with how we arrived there through God, it’s pretty hard to argue with. Then we must all trust that God will bless the decisions and situations in His way and timing.

“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5

“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.” James 1:5-8

Train Up a Boy With Quality Books

Yesterday's Wall Street Journal has an excellent article titled "How to Raise Boys Who Read" by Thomas Spence. Spence cites a recent report from the Center on Education Policy that says more boys than girls score below the proficiency level on the annual National Assessment of Educational Progress reading test, going as far back as 1992. Spence writes, "The male-female reading gap is found in every socioeconomic and ethnic category, including the children of white, college-educated parents."

Spence goes on to name some of the ludicrous titles of "books" that are promoted to young boys; boys who supposedly have lost the love of reading once held by previous generations of males. Titles that pander to bodily functions, Spence points out, are replacing quality writing as a way to "just get 'em reading," as one school librarian justifies it. (Mark 8:36 comes to mind: "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?")

The real culprit, however, behind the demise of boys wanting to read is video games and the parents who allow them to replace a good book. Video games are more popular with boys than girls, explaining the reading gap between the two. Spence quotes Dr. Robert Weis, a psychology professor at Denison University, who found that boys with video games at home spend more time playing them than reading, and their academic performance suffers.

Unless parents remove or don't allow video games in the first place, or closely and authoritatively monitor their use, this trend is bound to continue. That means parents must actually be the adult that a parent is supposed to be and say "no" to kids who want to keep playing on the computer or PlayStation. And that means parents also set a good example and get off the computer themselves.

Reading has been a major part of my life and my sons' lives since all of us can remember. I read Dr. Seuss to my sons as infants, and read to them out loud long after most kids were done being read to (if, in fact, they were read to at all). And when my sons began reading on their own, they didn't need dumbed-down bathroom humor books to entice them. Every boy I know who has been exposed to C.S. Lewis books has loved them.

Mr. Spence also makes a comment near and dear to my heart when he points out, in the last paragraph of his essay, that "there is no literacy gap between home-schooled boys and girls."

Read Thomas Spence's entire essay here:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704271804575405511702112290.html

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

Sojourner Truth

One of the ways our faith is emboldened is through reading about how other Christians who came before us stood strong in their faith.

One of those people is Sojourner Truth, a woman born into slavery in 1797 in New York who went on to be one of the first, if not the first, black women in America to ever win a court case (when she sued to win her son back from slavery).

One has to read her story to fully appreciate the hardship and terror she experienced as a slave and an abolitionist. Yet her Christian faith in God never wavered, even in the face of personal ridicule such as the time a white man said to her that her anti-slavery speeches wouldn’t do any good and that “I don’t care any more for your talk than I do for the bite of a flea.” Sojourner’s response was to laugh and say, “Lord willing I’ll keep you scratchin.’” Such was her focus on God and His grace that she was able to turn the other cheek and not answer reviling with reviling.

Sojourner visited personally with President Abraham Lincoln, which her biography describes like this: “He showed her around his office, pointing out a Bible a group of Baltimore blacks had presented to him. She held it in her hands and traced the big gold letters—THE BIBLE—with her finger. Although she couldn’t read it, she knew the words in it by heart.”

Sojourner’s biographers show how she lived her life to counter those who misused the Bible to support their own agendas. She relentlessly pressed forward “to do battle using God’s own truth.” Though she suffered unimaginable physical and mental abuse and horrific separation from family members sold away from her in slavery, she came to know Jesus Christ and let Him sustain her and guide her words and actions. If ever there is victorious Christian living, it can be seen in Sojourner Truth.

“Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.” 2 Corinthians 4:1-2

This Time Things Will Be Different...or Will They?

“Ideals are always difficult to translate into reality. For that reason, many attempts to make real life fit an ideal seem to end in compromise.” The editors of “The American Experience” text series

We all do it: get a vision in our head of what the new job, house, marriage, city, car, school, committee, etc. will be like. And for most of us, the expectations we hold are positive--which is a good thing--but also a bad thing when our high expectations aren’t met. Then we feel let down, frustrated and wanting to either cut and run or give-in, throwing conviction and integrity out the door.

The Christian life, however, affords a way to bring our expectations into proper perspective by first checking our motivations with God by whom we can test everything. That’s so important when we’re dealing with people and building relationships. When we check our motivations, ask for our sins to be revealed, seek encouragement and ask for discernment from the one and only source of wisdom and truth, we become equipped to manage expectations and bring them in line with God’s will. For instance, we can determine whether the new venture is something we should even be involved with; we can see the new boss or mother-in-law from God’s perspective; we can pray about a weakness we ourselves have as well as pray for others; and we can daily read God’s word that will shed light on the fact that we will indeed have tribulation, regardless of our situation, but will also have guidance on overcoming and recovering from it.

Ideally, we’d never have to be patient or long-suffering. Ideally, it would never be ourselves that is the problem. Ideally, the new job, house or city would provide a fresh beginning with none of the problems of the past. Many people feel downright entitled to these ideals. But since this sort of perfection has never been the case for anyone in life, it won’t be the case for us, either--no matter how hard we try to convince ourselves.

Jesus Christ and His Word can grow us into spiritual maturity so that we can humbly yet confidently go forth realistically, knowing that life most certainly will throw the usual strife our way, but we can remain joyful, patient and true to God through a steady trust in Him.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

In Remembrance

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

How Do People "Know" God "Isn't" If They've Never Given Him a Try?

This quote came to me yesterday afternoon, and goes along nicely with yesterday's post about spending time with God. It's from Tony Evans of the Urban Alternative:

"Faith is about believing that the One you believe in is believable. The way you find out if the one you believe in is believable is by knowing and experiencing Him." Tony Evans

Read the rest of Evans' short devotional here:

http://www.tonyevans.org/site/c.feIKLOOpGlF/b.5550803/k.4AA5/Devo__stand_alone_page.htm

Many people have ideas--even strong opinions--on the Bible, Jesus, Church and God but have never read the Bible, met Jesus, attended church (or more than one church) and never taken the time to even discover truthfully who God is. They just repeat things they've heard since childhood, accept the secular humanist non-belief of liberal college professors or make up their own conclusions so they can justify how they are living their life. I should know, as I've done all of these things.

Until I decided, like journalist, Christian author and apologist Lee Strobel, to: pick up the Bible with a mind seeking honest answers; attend Bible-believing churches that were completely different than my childhood "church;" objectively see that my university had a huge agenda in shoving its unbelief down my throat; and finally answer God's call to be born again in Jesus and get to know Him and who I could be in Him--before I did all these things--I was walking around with unfounded opinions that I had never taken the time to investigate. I had never experienced True, Biblical Christianity. In the words of Proverbs, I was a fool.

"My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God." Proverbs 2:1-5

"The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly." Proverbs 15:14