God’s Ministers Attacked in Vancouver Riot

(photo by CBC News)

I’m not a huge hockey fan but I leapt on the Vancouver Canuck fan bandwagon when it looked like they were heading for the Stanley Cup. I watched the seventh and deciding game of the final series and knew several people who attended the game. Unfortunately, the game is not what is remembered about that night when the Boston Bruins won hockey’s ultimate prize.

Later in the evening my wife and I watched the news in disbelief. It seemed that many people in Vancouver and mainly younger ones had lost their decorum, common sense and perhaps temporarily their minds and had entered into a mob mentality, overturning cars, lighting fires, smashing windows and looting stores. This was, and is not the Vancouver my wife and I know, love, and experienced during the Olympics with tens of thousands of people crowding the streets peacefully celebrating with each other. What went wrong?

That night as we watched the disturbing images fly by on the news, the scenes that really struck me were those of young people attacking, kicking, screaming and swearing at and throwing things at the police. They even lit and attempted to light police cars on fire.

I have several friends who are police officers in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, and have had personal conversations with them which I found equally disturbing. One of them, a non-christian, has been so badly treated by people while he’s working that he’s almost lost faith in society and its inhabitants all together. Another one who is a Christian, has had the same experience and has trouble not separating himself from people all-together. I’m not just referring to how these officers are treated by outright crooks, that would be somewhat understandable. You would be appalled if I told you how some police are treated daily just for giving out traffic tickets to so-called law-abiding citizens.

Part of the problem is that we have somehow unitentionally allowed an almost antipolice, them-against-us, they’re-all-crooked-and/or-incompetent attitude to lodge itself into our societal subconcious about those who lay their lives down daily to protect us and make sure our society works; and sadly this same attitude has so crawled into the minds of our young people, that they don’t give a second thought to doing what they did in Vancouver that night.

In one recent conversation with friends, I suggested that perhaps they should have sent firefighters down to control the crowds. Can you imagine those young men acting that way towards firemen and women? Why not? Because we have not allowed the respect for people in that profession to be degraded to such dangerously low levels. Are there some bad police on every force? Probably. Are there bad firefighters in every city? Probably. So why do we choose to believe that a few bad apples spoil the whole bunch only when it comes to the police force? Simple answer, we want to do what we want to do, when we want to do it, even if it’s wrong and or against the law. We really only want the police to be on the job to stop people when it protects us, our families and our stuff.

It’s part of the fallen nature. Here’s what Jesus had to say about it:

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” (John 3:19 – 21 NIV)

The fallen nature demands that we get to do whatever we want to do. So, whether it’s a police officer, a judge, Jesus or God, human nature resents being told not to do what’s wrong when that’s what we want to do. However, that is not the nature that we as Christians should be listening to. Paul wrote this:

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. (Romans 13:1 – 7 NIV)

It always amazes me that Paul wrote these verses when his beloved Israel was being ruled by a wicked Roman Empire, and the Religious Leaders who governed the Jews had killed Jesus and were now persecuting Christians.

The point is that as Christians, we are to recognize that although the system is not perfect, and every governing body has bad apples, the general system that involves the rule of law that is enforced by the police, the sheriff, the courts, judges, the armed forces and even polititians, is God’s system in this world to keep law and order. We as Christians are to respect and keep the law and respect and treat with honor those who work as his ministers in that system. When we do, we uphold law and order and God’s system. When we don’t, we are unknowingly rebeling against God and working to discredit and dismantel his system.

Even worse, when we break the law, even in small ways, and/or bad-mouth the police or talk to them rudely, we set an example for our kids that could possibly lead them to the unthinking acts that unfolded in Vancouver after the Stanley Cup final.

While my kids were growing up, I, like many dads, had to drive them around a lot. The few times I was pulled over, I always tried my best to not just be a good example, but also to instill a respect for the law and its officers into my children. It’s surprising to see how police officers react when you are polite, appreciative, respectful, and honoring to them; you can tell they’re not used to it. The times I was speeding, I acknowledged my wrong, apologized and thanked the officer for doing his job. I remember one time my kids laughing as we pulled away because of how shocked the officer had been by my response to being pulled over.

We need to teach our kids what the Bible says about the law and his ministers, and demonstrate to them what it means to be law-abiding citizens who honor and respect those ministers. We also need to help, support and honor these officers in anyway we can so that those who are still led by their fallen nature begin to understand that we as a society will not accept or put up with God’s ministers being disobeyed, attacked and disrespected. When this happens outside a hockey game for no apparent reason in a mostly peaceful city, I believe it shows that the future order of our orderly society may depend on it.

 

 

Are We There Yet?

“Are we there yet?” This little family road trip question has become so iconic, that it’s become common fodder for comic routines and movie scripts. I would imagine that this travel question has been around as long as families have been traveling. It’s probably a good thing that all of Noah’s sons were full-grown, or Mr. and Mrs. Noah may have probably ended up threatening to turn the boat around.

Think about the Israelite’s trek through the wilderness. After crossing the Red Sea, they got to the edge of the Promised Land quite quickly, but because they didn’t trust God and refused to go in, God sent them on a forty-year road trip. The idea was that all of the adults who refused to believe were to die before their children would be allowed in. Can you imagine the conversation, “Are we there yet?” “Am I dead yet?” Read more

Proverbs For Kids

The very first book I ever wrote was called, ‘Proverbs For Kids From The Book.’ Its illustrations introduced the beloved ‘verb characters’ (Proverbs in action - pictured here) and the book sold over 100,000 copies. The idea was to give parents a simple and effective tool to help them teach their children from the one book in the Bible that identifies itself as a book of teachings that parents are to pass on to their kids. (Proverbs 4:1 – 10)

King David taught his son, Solomon, godly wisdom, and Solomon wrote what he was taught, and also what he learned for himself serving God, down in the book of Proverbs. The book has been used to teach many, many generations of children, God’s wisdom and common sense.

Of course the book is inspired by God and included in his Word, and so it stands on its own as an amazing source for learning wisdom for our kids; but the irony of what became of Solomon in his later years, and his son Rehoboam, needs to be examined in order to understand how to truly teach our kids God’s wisdom.

Solomon started off very well. The well known story of him asking God for wisdom is legendary.

That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” Solomon answered God, “You have shown great kindness to David my father and have made me king in his place. Now, LORD God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed, for you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth. Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?” God said to Solomon, “Since this is your heart’s desire and you have not asked for wealth, riches or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, riches and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have.” (1 Chronicles 1:7 – 12 NIV)

His wisdom, accomplishments, and extreme wealth that all came as a result of that conversation with God, are well recorded (1 Kings 10) and are also legendary.

Unfortunately, Solomon’s apostasy is also recorded.

They were from nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been. (1 Kings 11:2 – 4 NIV)

So this great man who was given so much wisdom that it wowed the world, lost it all because he forgot the most basic piece of ultimate wisdom that he learned from his dad, King David, and which he wrote down in Proverbs himself more than once;

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. (Proverbs 9:10 NIV)

Solomon’s son, the first young man to have benefited from the book of Proverbs (his father’s writings to his son) shared his father’s fate and didn’t turn out so wise. When he became king in his father’s place, he sought wisdom from counselors (good so far), but when his friends gave him different counsel, he decided to follow the not so wise ideas of his friends (not wise). The big thing though is, unlike his father who asked God for wisdom when he became king, there is no record of Rehoboam praying at all.

So what happened?

We are right to teach our children extensively from Proverbs and we should be, but there’s something else we need to teach them as well. The book of James is sometimes referred to as the New Testament’s book of Proverbs, and here’s what James (Jesus’ brother) had to say about wisdom;

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. (James 1:5 NIV)

James was aware of Solomon’s one time prayer for wisdom, but that is not what he was talking about. He was talking about communing with God, and looking to him in each situation for wisdom and guidance.

Somehow, Solomon got the idea that God gave him wisdom so that he could run off and do what he wanted with it. Imagine a person who wants to learn about investing. They are offered the opportunity to work with, and be taught by, the greatest expert in investing in the world. This beginner doesn’t want to take the time working with this expert, so when he meets him, declines the opportunity and asks instead for the expert to recommend a good textbook on the topic.

Solomon didn’t seek God and run after him to know him, love him and serve him. He took the wisdom and ran off (like the guy with the textbook) full of wisdom without walking with, and working with, the one who created everything including wisdom. I wonder what would have happened if Solomon had asked God to help him know him, and to be with him and instruct him as he ruled. Sometimes we do the same thing, we want God’s wisdom so we can run off and make money with it, or get busy with our life plans, but do we stop to get to know God and his plans?

I love this verse that Paul penned under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit:

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. (Ephesians 1:17 NIV)

Paul knew that the ultimate purpose of wisdom is to help us draw closer to God and know him better.

Here’s another great verse that Paul wrote:

My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Colossians 2:2, 3 NIV)

All of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ. So how do we access them? The same way the disciples did, by knowing Christ; we walk with him daily, looking to him to teach us, guide us, grow us and give us wisdom in every circumstance.

Jesus died for us so that, yes, our sins could be forgiven, but also so that we could enter into fellowship with the Father and himself, and learn from them, and follow them and become all that they created us to be.

We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:3 NIV)

Talk to your kids about this post; read them the story of Solomon and discuss what happened. Then start diving into the book of Proverbs, asking God to help you know him, and to teach you and help you learn wisdom daily. Teach your kids to pray for wisdom in each circumstance of life, and the Holy Spirit will remind them of what they’ve learned and help them apply it. Jesus said he’d never leave us or forsake us; that doesn’t mean that he’s still kind of on the job even though he’s far away. No, through the person of the Holy Spirit who lives in us, he’s walking with us moment by moment wanting to teach and train us, just as he did with the disciples, only more effectively because he’s now doing it from within.

Sorry, the book ‘Proverbs For Kids’ that I talked about at the beginning of this post is currently out of print, but we’re currently working on the ebook version. If you want to know when it’s available, sign up to our e-News & Updates on the homepage and you’ll be one of the first to know about it. But please don’t wait, start teaching your kids to walk in God’s wisdom today.

 

The Best

I love cooking! My wife is a great cook but she doesn’t love doing it as much as I do. So in support of the era of the new spousal division of labors, I do the cooking.

I’m not an awesome cook, but every once in awhile I knock one out of the park. When that happens, I write down what I did and try to repeat it. Now I have a small and growing list of great recipes that my family raves about and others ask the recipes for. I’ve got a simple secret for developing these recipes and bulding my list; it’s two words, ‘The Best.’

Let me explain, I’ve been cooking turkeys for many years and up until recently the result has been hit and miss. I finally decided that I wanted to make the best turkey ever. I mean, why take the time to cook such a wonderful meal only to get mediocer results? So I opened my computer and Googled, ‘the best way to cook a turkey.’ Read more

Are Christian Kids Indoctrinated?

This is part 2 of the video of Richard Dawkins, an avowed atheist speaking about why he thinks children should not be indoctrinated in religion.

The atheists accuse Christians of keeping their children cloistered away from other views and indoctrinating these young and impressionable minds as opposed to presenting them with a range of choices. Which they say is unfair to the children.

According to dictionary.com, the word ‘indoctrination’ means to instruct in a doctrine, principle, ideology etc. especially to imbue with a specific partisan or biased belief or point of view. It goes on to say that indoctrination involves teaching someone to accept doctrine uncritically and that a synonym for the word is brainwashing.

Read more

Does God Send Disaster

According to Wikipedia ‘Act of God’ is a legal term for events outside of human control, such as sudden floods or other natural disasters, for which no one can be held responsible. In other words, if we don’t understand it and/or we can’t find any humans to blame for it, then God must have done it.

Although the logic is highly flawed, the truth is when we hear that yet another disaster has happened, most of us wonder what part, if any, God had in it. Did he do it? Did he allow it? Why didn’t he prevent it? People in the media know that we wonder. Ever notice that when disaster strikes and some preacher somewhere seems to say, “God did it” it becomes front page news. Read more

Parent’s Timeout

Much of the time reading email forwards is just a waste of time. I find that my inbox fills up with them until I have to take an hour or  two to scan through them. The reason that I eventually put in the time is, because every once in awhile, I find a few that are hilarious and/or inspiring and worth sharing with others. Here’s one such email forward that I’d like to share with you:

The Neighbor’s Dog

An older, tired-looking dog wandered into my yard; I could tell from his collar and well-fed belly that he had a home and was well taken care of.

He calmly came over to me, I gave him a few pats on his head; he then followed me into my house, slowly walked down the hall, curled up in the corner and fell asleep.

An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out.

The next day he was back, greeted me in my yard, walked inside and resumed his spot in the hall and again slept for about an hour. This continued off and on for several weeks.

Curious, I pinned a note to his collar:  ’I would like to find out who the owner of this wonderful sweet dog is and ask if you are aware that almost every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap.’

The next day he arrived for his nap, with a different note pinned to his collar: ‘He lives in a home with 6 children, 2 under the age of 3 – he’s trying to catch up on his sleep. Can I come with him tomorrow?’

Unfortunately, as with most email forwards, this came to me with no links or author credits so I don’t know where it came from or even if it actually happened. However, it’s hilarious, and most of us can see it happening and can identify with it.

Some families give their kids ‘timeouts’ when they’re misbehaving. Many times the misbehaving comes at times when the child is tired, hungry, frustrated, etc. and the time-out really just serves to settle them down so that they can be talked to and dealt with rationally.

This email forward reminded me that parents get tired and frustrated from time to time and also need a timeout. It’s when we push ourselves past our own strength and run ahead parenting, even when we’re tired and/or frustrated, that we end up misbehaving towards or in front of our children. Every parent needs an exit strategy. Kind of like a fire escape plan so that you can get a little rest when you feel the need before you reach the end of your rope and parent badly. Here are some ideas:

• If you’re a full time, at home parent, and your spouse has an outside job, arrange for your spouse to take the kids for a hour when they get home to let you escape to what ever relaxes you (a bath, exercise, a prayer walk, etc.).
• If your kids have nap times, coordinate the naps to happen all at once. Even kids who are older can have a ‘quiet time’ in their room while their younger siblings are napping. Take some of this time and do something that relaxes you. Resist the temptation to spend all of this time doing chores. You being rested for your kids is more important.
• If your kids take well to the stroller or riding in the car, get out and take a walk or a drive. Don’t have an agenda, just walk and/or drive to relax and maybe see some nice scenery.
• Make time each evening, after all the kids are bedded down, to do something that relaxes you, reading, praying, chatting with friends online etc. Identify which activities recharge you and spend even a small amount of time recharging.
• Plan a bigger timeout at least once a week. Get a babysitter and get out and about doing something you enjoy.

What do you do to make sure that your batteries are recharged so that you can parent calmly and in control? Leave your comments, they could be helpful to another parent. We may not be able to follow our dog to the neighbor’s house, but with a little bit of planning we can keep ourselves rested and ready to go.

(If you know where the email forward originated, please let me know so that I can give proper credit.)

Atheists Against Christian Parenting

The attached video is of Richard Dawkins, an avowed atheist speaking about why he thinks children should not be indoctrinated in religion. Part two will be attached to my next blog.

Recently, there has been a rash of books written by atheists vilifying religion and blaming it for the woes of this world. One best-selling book generated a wave of controversy because it suggested that efforts be made to eradicate religion. The author also takes aim at parents who teach their children religion, calling it a form of child abuse.

Here’s their logic (as far as I can see it). There is no God. Humankind invented God and created religion. Religion is destructive in that it polarizes people, and therefore, causes wars and all sorts of atrocities. The reason religion continues to thrive is that religious parents indoctrinate their children. Therefore, stop allowing the indoctrination of children and the world will become atheistic and wonderfully peaceful.

First of all, let me touch on the things that I agree with. Humanity has suffered much in the name of religion. Also, there are some religious groups in the world that teach violence to their children. There are also many religious parents worldwide that indoctrinate their children, or in other words, tell them what to think instead of teaching them how to think. I agree that all of these things are inappropriate parental behavior.

However, the author in my estimation, has built a very flimsy argument when it comes to Christianity.

Yes, the history of Christianity gets demerits for violence, but to blame present day Christianity for the mistakes of those in the past who did wrong in the name of Christianity is hardly fair. That would be like calling for the end of today’s German culture because at one point it spawned misguided people who caused wars.

The very word Christian means Christ-like or follower of Christ. Everyone who has read the Gospels even once knows that Jesus promoted love, forgiveness, humility and godliness. He did not promote violence, war and insurrection.

The Body of Christ worldwide has come a long way and is a force for good on our planet. When a catastrophe puts people in harms way anywhere in the world, it’s the Christians and Christian relief organizations that dig the deepest and run to care. Millions of Christians and Christian churches worldwide reach out to help and love their families, neighbors and communities every day. These heartfelt charitable acts are a big part of what it is to live a Christian life.

It’s hard to study the history of Western Civilization without seeing the amazingly wonderful impact that Christianity and individual Christians, compelled by their Faith, have had on the world today.

For a great summary read this link:  http://crossandquill.com/journey/?page_id=267

Furthermore, what is it that Christian parents are teaching their children? If you examine the words in red (Jesus’ teaching), you’ll find that a large percentage of what he taught wasn’t about what we believe, but about who we are and how we behave. We teach our children to love, to be caring, kind, generous and considerate of others, to be involved in their communities, to be team players and to be respectful of others who have contrary opinions or beliefs. How can this be damaging to our planet?

Going back to the general arguments about religion being a planet damaging force, studies show that children raised in religion are happier, more other-focused, and less prone to get involved with crime and high-risk behavior. They even tend to exercise more, eat better, and volunteer more frequently.

(Check one of the studies here:  http://www.youthandreligion.org/news/preliminary.html )

A brief study of history will show even the casual reader that things like political agendas, territorial disputes, racial differences and yes, even atheism (the murder of countless religious people in the name of communism, for the sake of the state) have been behind some of the greatest carnages visited on mankind. Should we forbid the teaching of politics, patriotism, property rights, racial uniqueness and atheism?

If your children are old enough, have a chat with them about what the atheists believe and are saying. Perhaps even let them read this blog and help them think it through. Our children need to know their Faith well enough that they can refute this kind of distorted logic when it’s leveled at them.

(RICK OSBORNE / Christian Author, Speaker & Bible Teacher)

God is Love

If our experience is not what God wants it to be, it is because of our unbelief in the love of God, in the power of God and in the reality of God’s promises. (Andrew Murray)

Here are two renditions of a portion of the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-12) with very different perspectives on who God is. They are not meant to be a theological exploration of the meaning of the words in their original Greek. Rather, they illustrate that how we pray and what we expect from our relationship with God will reflect who we – and our children – believe God is, and what we believe him to be like. Read more

Daniel at School

Daniel’s life and the details surrounding it fascinate me. This man of God, full of deep integrity and wisdom, wrote some of the most detailed and much-studied prophecies in the Bible.

As a teenager, Daniel was uprooted from his home and taken as a captive to Babylon. He ended up in the royal court after the king ordered several young Israelite captives of noble birth to be brought to the palace (Daniel 1:3). Until the time Daniel was taken captive, he evidently grew up in either the royal family or in a very influential home.

Daniel was a young boy when the very godly Josiah ruled Judah. So since Daniel probably grew up in an influential family during Josiah’s reign, he likely was raised with spiritual training and with a godly world view. Read more

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