Family worship time "Amazing Grace"

I am sorry about the poor quality of the audio, as I was using our digital camera and evidently kept moving my finger near the microphone input. Nathaniel has started playing guitar (self taught) recently and this was the first time he led the family singing while playing his guitar. We made this video to share with our friend Earl as he always encourages our family in singing praise to the Lord. This was recorded during our "verse box" time where we learn and recite passages of God's Word and sing hymns, choruses, and even a few songs just for the kids. Each night is a little different, some times we read a few chapters of the Bible, other nights from our favorite Bible story book which was handed down to me by my mother. I remember reading from that same book (which is now falling apart a bit) when I was a little boy, and it is great to be able to share this with my own children.

A Father's Prayer

These past few months, along with time of Bible study and prayer at home, I have spent many hours in prayer and listening to God's Word on MP3 while I work. I thank the Lord for providing me with a job where I have about 5 to 6 hours per day to listen to Scripture, messages on audio (many from NCFIC ,Voddie Baucham, and more) and I often have great opportunity to pray. In these times, I have often considered especially my role as husband and father.

When I arrive at home each night, I have enjoyed talking with my wife about the events of the day, the struggles with the children's school work, issues of child training and character development in our older children, and a thousand other precious discussions with my beloved wife and friend. With shame I admit that rather than putting into faithful practice these things we glean from God's Word, I often lack perseverance, I struggle, and far too often I fail, but I praise God for His mercy and faithfulness. I am exceedingly thankful for prayer in these times, and I have seen many answers to my prayers if I am patient enough to wait on the Lord and wise enough to hear His voice.

This afternoon as my 3 year old son feel asleep in my arms (in "my" comfy spot in my bed) I cried out to the Lord in prayer, with tears in my eyes and a burning pain in my heart. I cannot even come close to explaining the strain on the mind and heart of a husband and father who feels woefully inadequate, yet knows the command and calling of the Lord of all creation on his life, whose only desire is to be counted a faithful servant in the eyes of the Lord. I pray that I never forget this passion that I feel today. From the depths of my soul I cry out to God and trust He will answer a prayer of faith and obedience to supply my need in this hour.

My Father in Heaven, You are the creator and sustainer of my life. You know the failures of my body, you designed my brain and you know why it is failing as it is(I suffer from a chronic neurological dysfunction). You may heal me or things may grow worse with pain, tremors, and confusion. Lord, I am pleading with you, not to take away the trial, but to give me strength to endure it, to grow through it, and to even rejoice and find joy in You even in the worst of trying days.

Jesus is my Savior and Lord, the lover of my soul, the One who gave His own life and sacrificed himself so that I might have life. Help me to walk in His steps rather than to continually stumble on these rocks in the path. Help me to walk as He walked, faithfully taking each step trusting Him who judges righteously. He is my excellent example in all things.

By your Spirit, breathe in me the breath of life in a new and living way today. Help me to truly see with clarity the Kingdom of God as Jesus explained it to Nicodemus (John 3). Speak to me and guide me as I seek to love and lead my wife, to raise up godly children and walk as an example worth following. I know that to be like Christ is beyond my ability, but with your life and breath in me I know I am able to do all you have called me to do.

Lord, when I can't explain my feelings, my fears, and my hopes for my family, help me to live them out in every way. Help me to walk away from distractions that seem innocuous but truly are sinful if I allow them to distract me from full obedience to you! Give me wisdom to truly enjoy time with my family. Don't allow me to just be in their presence physically yet far away in spirit. You have made me for a purpose, I believe in you and am born of your Holy Spirit. Equip and help me to teach my children to walk in your ways when they lie down, when they rise up, when we walk by the way, to be a walking, talking image of Christ Jesus that they can trust, who they will speak with honestly even when they fail and succumb to temptation. Help me to be merciful as you are merciful to me.

Thank you for my wife, for the strength of her character. Thank you for her love and submission that comes from fully trusting You to protect and lead our family through me as her spiritual head. Thank you for the encouragement she is to me, her unfailing example of faithfulness, of compassion and mercy, things which I fail to exemplify so often. Thank you for each one of my unique and precious children. Thank you for showing your diverse creative ways through their lives, their personalities. Help me to help and not hinder what you created them to be, but let me see them through your eyes and trust you to protect and guide them in every aspect of their future.

Thank you for giving me life, for calling me to yourself, for saving a wretched sinner who deserves judgement, for giving mercy time and time again. Thank you for not throwing in the towel on me as I deserve. Thank you for reminding me that my job as a husband is one exemplified in Christ, my job as a father is modeled in You, that there is nothing you have called me or commanded me to do that I can do on my own, but that I can do all these through Christ who gives me strength.

I commit myself today to your provision, protection, guidance, and I wish to obey you with all my heart, every action of my body, and every thought in my mind. So much I long to truly be like my Lord, my Master, to live worthy of being called "Christian" in every sense of the word. I ask all these things, humbly coming before your throne through the name of my Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Reaching our culture Biblically

Lately, I have been enjoying the messages of Ken Ham from Answers in Genesis. This video message is approximately 50 minutes in length and was recorded years ago at Liberty University.

In the lecture, Ham compares and contrasts the preaching methods of the apostle Peter in Acts chapter 2 (to a Jewish crowd) with that of Paul's message at the Areopagus in Ancient Greece as documented in Acts chapter 17. Mr. Ham has well noted that if our desire is to reach the lost with the Gospel, we need to be in prayer and following the leading of the Holy Spirit. He also notes that most modern evangelistic methods go straight to the New Testament in their proclamation of the Gospel, whereas it should be very dependent on the background and culture of the person with whom we are sharing.
Shop Amazon - Year End Deals
While I don't agree with everything stated in this message or other AiG materials, I believe the issue is critical for us to understand as we are living in a very Greek culture, that is, one who believes in evolution and does not generally have a Biblical worldview or even an accurate history of the world. As always, the focus of the message of the Gospel is the authority of God's Word, conforming our own thoughts and beliefs to agree with the God who is beyond time, who proclaims a 6 day creation as truth as He was the only One who caused and witnessed that creation.

Watch Ken Ham "Why won't they listen?" on Youtube

A little encouragement for homeschool moms (and dads)

Recently, Sara picked up a book at the library called "Lies Homeschooling Moms Believe" by Todd Wilson. I have always enjoyed the brilliant cartoons offered  by Todd Wilson and his insights regarding homeschooling, especially as a Christian father. This little bundle of encouragement reminds us that part of why we educate our children at home is because we want to help them become who God wants them to be, not to be just like everyone else.

Praying in light of God's sovereignty

I recently listened to John Piper recall the life and testimony of George Muller. This man was an extraordinary man of faith, and yet claimed his was not the gift of faith mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:8. Rather, he said that the faith he demonstrated was not only attainable by all Christians, but indeed was necessary for those who truly understand the providence, grace, and sovereignty of God Almighty.

Below is Piper's telling of the events leading up to the death of Muller's wife, Mary. You can read or listen to the entire message HERE

Mary's Death and the Key to His Life

We have the full text of the message at Mary's funeral and we have his own recollections of this loss. To feel the force of what he says, we have to know that they loved each other deeply and enjoyed each other in the work they shared.

Were we happy? Verily we were. With every year our happiness increased more and more. I never saw my beloved wife at any time, when I met her unexpectedly anywhere in Bristol, without being delighted so to do. I never met her even in the Orphan Houses, without my heart being delighted so to do. Day by day, as we met in our dressing room, at the Orphan Houses, to wash our hands before dinner and tea, I was delighted to meet her, and she was equally pleased to see me. Thousands of times I told her—“My darling, I never saw you at any time, since you became my wife, without my being delighted to see you.”

Then came the diagnosis: “When I heard what Mr. Pritchard's judgment was, viz., that the malady was rheumatic fever, I naturally expected the worst. . . . My heart was nigh to be broken on account of the depth of my affection.” The one who had seen God answer 10,000 prayers for the support of the orphan, this time did not get what he asked. Or did he?

Twenty minutes after four, Lord's Day, February 6, 1870, Mary died. “I fell on my knees and thanked God for her release, and for having taken her to Himself, and asked the Lord to help and support us.” He recalled later how he strengthened himself during these hours. And here we see the key to his life.

The last portion of scripture which I read to my precious wife was this: “The Lord God is a sun and shield, the Lord will give grace and glory, no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” Now, if we have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have received grace, we are partakers of grace, and to all such he will give glory also. I said to myself, with regard to the latter part, “no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly”—I am in myself a poor worthless sinner, but I have been saved by the blood of Christ; and I do not live in sin, I walk uprightly before God. Therefore, if it is really good for me, my darling wife will be raised up again; sick as she is. God will restore her again. But if she is not restored again, then it would not be a good thing for me. And so my heart was at rest. I was satisfied with God. And all this springs, as I have often said before, from taking God at his word, believing what he says.

Here is the cluster of unshakable convictions and experiences that are the key to this remarkable life. “I am in myself a poor worthless sinner.”I have been saved by the blood of Christ.” “I do not live in sin.”God is sovereign over life and death. If it is good for her and for me, she will be restored again. If not she won't.”My heart is at rest.”I am satisfied with God.” All this comes from taking God at his word. There you see the innermost being of George Mueller and the key to his life. The word of God, revealing his sin, revealing his Savior, revealing God's sovereignty, revealing God's goodness, revealing God's promise, awakening his faith, satisfying his soul. “I was satisfied with God.”

I urge Christians to consider the understanding revealed here in this passage as spoken by a man of faith and service to the Lord, and of true humility, this man George Muller. His understanding of the grace of God is not confined to the understanding of his mortal mind, nor to the bounds of our physical habitation on Earth, but rather in full view of the immensity of eternity and built upon the authority of God's inerrant Word.

When our son was stillborn  5 years ago, I prayed that God would bring our son back to us. I begged God to let him live, and yet once the panic of the moment was over, I also found comfort in Job's consideration that "The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord" I admittedly did not (during the ambulance ride and subsequent events at the hospital) seek God's glory so much as my own will, but only found true comfort in the end trusting that transcendent truth, that God is truly in control even when I felt so out of control. Let me add here that I urge great caution for anyone looking in from the outside on such trials that we avoid judging one another, but rather share the judgement of my own heart and actions looking back on the goodness of God and the wisdom of His Word.

In the midst of such a difficult time, God often shows us His mercy and wisdom and gives us reason for hope in Christ no matter what comes. If we look at this life in light of eternity, we can agree with Paul the apostle that "to live is Christ and to die is gain". Yet, we cannot look at this life as simply awaiting glory with our Savior, but as servants who have been called and must obey our Master as He has given us labors to do for His glory.

Paul speaking to the Athenians in Acts 17 said that God has determined our "appointed times and the boundaries of our habitation" and that "in Him we live and move and exist" which fortifies our resolve to seek God's glory above our own comfort. In difficult times, it is not that we become callous to our emotions or avoid pain, but rather that we see all things in light of the precious truth that God is in control, His wisdom is far beyond our comprehension, and that we can fully trust the Author and Giver of life with every aspect of our lives on this Earth.

As the magnitude of God's wisdom is inexhaustible, maybe this thought is best summed up with the promise of God from Revelation 21:1-7 NASB

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; 

for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, 

and there is no longer any sea. 

And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem,coming down out of heaven from God, 

made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 

And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, 

“Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, 

and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,

 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; 

there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” 

And He *said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” 

Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. 

I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.

 He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son."

Pride, humility, and judging ourselves rightly

Many people these days use the term "Pharisee" or "Pharisaical" when referring to standards of Biblical authority and teaching on any of a number of subjects. Whether one teaches the reality of an eternal Hell or  call out sins such as adultery or homosexuality, it seems every person quoting the Bible more than Ghandi or  Mother Theresa,  are branded as Pharisees. There are surely some who quote the Bible out of context to prove their own point, but I find that much of this branding is terribly inaccurate and even lends itself to slanderous accusations rather than edification.

I even have to disagree with the definition of "Pharisaical" as offered by Merriam Webster's online dictionary
 "marked by hypocritical censorious self-righteousness" as this definition also supposes ill intent or motivations on the part of the Pharisees.

Testimony of David Hansen

Our friend and coworker in the proclamation of the Gospel, David Hansen, gave this powerful Gospel message about 3 years ago after a near death experience working on power lines at his job. Fast forward to today, David was married this spring and 7 weeks later fell 55 feet from a telephone pole and nearly died again. His recovery is miraculous and continues very slowly, but by God's grace and mercy David is still alive today. While he cannot speak at this point (though we continue to pray for healing) David's message from years past along with his testimony of faithfulness in sharing the Gospel with thousands door to door and in many other venues continues through this message.

You can hear David's passion not only for the Lord Jesus his Savior, but for seeing the lost come to repentance and faith in Christ Jesus for salvation. Check out this message, which is available on CD to give out to others, at http://www.goodnewsgranary.org/media/audio/Will_You_Be_Ready.mp3

CD cover from David's testimony 

Read more about David's continuing journey with updates from his wife Rachel and various family members. Please keep David and Rachel in prayer as they deal with the daily trials as they trust in the Lord to do as He wills.

Word clouds worth considering

I have seen word clouds before and wondered what would happen if I tried to make one with some of my blog posts. Below is the unedited result of doing that. What do I talk about? Look below to see 

Grandma Niswander's book about Alzheimer's

As many of you know, Sara's maternal grandfather, Dean Niswander of Bluffton, Ohio died about 2 years ago from Alzheimer's. A man of many talents and well known for his love of his family, it was hard for us to watch him endure the loss of his memory and other complications from the disease. Grandma (Joanne to the rest of the world), a writer and essayist shares some of her journal posts day by day along with the difficulty of slowing watching her husband die.

If you know someone who is showing signs of this dreaded disease, or if you have lost a loved one to Alzheimer's, I think this book will shed some light on the journey that many people either dont' talk about or don't know how to express. We are proud of Grandma for sharing their story in hopes to help others. You can buy the book at Amazon using the link below. 

An Alzheimer's Primer

The cost is great, but worth it to me

I have been enjoying a daily read through 1 Thessalonians for a little while now. It has been a great encouragement yet a challenge. I noted in chapter 5:22 the verse says in KJV "abstain from every appearance of evil" that in the ESV and NASB it is translated as "22 Abstain from every form of evil."

I have often said that I cannot understand how we can possibly abstain from every appearance of evil. Christians and the world alike have told us that living by faith for provision is wrong, that salvation can come without repentance, that home schooling is wrong, that believing as a father I have some say in who my kids marry is wrong, that reading any version besides the KJV is wrong, and a few that say chiropractic is witchcraft. I avoided getting chiropractic care for years due to this belief that stemmed from my childhood, and now I know better. At the time though, this verse was used to prove the point that it appears to be evil.... to whom?