God Is Faithful

Ever wonder where God is in all the chaos going on in the world? Times are difficult for many people. There is an air of uncertainty of what the future holds. Our faith and trust must continue to be in God. He is faithful. He has a plan and is always in control.

Let us journey back in time into the world of Jesus. The world was chaotic. The Romans ruled the world with an iron sword. Life was uncertain. You never knew what a new day would bring. Poverty, disease, sickness, hunger, oppression were everywhere. The local Roman appointed rulers were ruthless. Fear of tomorrow and the future was constant. But God had a plan for the appointed time! Into this world was born the Savior of the world, Emmanuel, God with us. This was not by accident. The scriptures had foretold of his coming. Even down to the time and place. “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14

By law Joseph and Mary had to go to Bethlehem, the city of their heritage, and pay taxes. While they were there, Jesus, the Son of God, was born into the world. Simeon upon seeing the baby Jesus with his parents in the temple declared, “For mine eyes have seen thy salvation” Luke 2:30. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. He had a plan and was in control.

Fear of the future can overtake us, but if we believe by faith that this same God has a plan and is in control we can overcome our fears. This has been a very difficult year for our ministry. Sometimes the future seems very uncertain and fear tries to overtake us, but He continues to sustain us and meet our needs. We praise Him for his goodness to us. We know many of you are going through similar circumstances. Always remember He loves his children and has promised to never leave us or forsake us. He has a plan. He knows the future. Trust Him! Just as he promised the first coming of His Son, He has promised the second coming of His Son. Until then we must live lives that glorify our God and teach and train our children to do the same.

God is Faithful!

Merry Christmas!

Motives?

Our motives can tell us a great deal about ourselves and why we do what we do. Ever stop and take time to ponder why you do the things you do? The psalmist asked God in Psalms 26:2, “Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.” Allowing God to examine our heart and our motives for why we do what we do is a good thing. If we are doing what we do for the wrong motives, then it stands to reason we will probably have problems to deal with at some point down the road. If our motives are good and correct, then we will reap the benefits of our actions.

Let us examine some of the reasons why parents teach their children at home. We ask the question on our school application, “Why did you decide to teach your children at home?” We get various reasons:

“We want our child to excel”

“Medical Reasons”

“Struggling in public school”

“Lack of help in public school with learning disability”

“Want to teach Christian morals and principles”

“Gives us a flexible schedule, more hands on”

“Being bullied at school. Had to remove them from that environment”

You can see that there are various reasons for why parents are teaching their children at home. There are many more we did not list. These reasons obviously led these families to home educate and we are here to help them. But, we want to go a little deeper and possibly see what the real motivation may be and see from God’s perspective His reason for us teaching our children. If we have the right motivation, not just a good motivation, we can get more out of our homeschooling experience and our whole family will benefit from the experience.

In I Corinthians 10:31 it says, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” This includes teaching our children at home. Deuteronomy 6:5-7 says, “Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” These principles are still for today. We should glorify God in everything we do. We should have a personal relationship with God and love Him with all our might and teach our children to do the same. If we as parents do not have a heart for God and desire to glorify Him, then our children will not.

Home schooling to give our children a superior education, or to save them from a bad situation, or as a temporary solution to a personal problem should not be our main motivation, even though these may be good motivation. Our main motivation for teaching our children at home should be that God will be glorified. When we obey Him in this matter (by doing all to the glory of God), He is glorified. Glorifying God will instill in our children the desire to do the same. Don’t miss the real motivation behind why we homeschool or you may not reap the real benefits.

My wife and I have homeschooled our four children from the day they were born to their senior years in high school. They all love the Lord and faithfully serve Him. They have not caused us any grief or rebellion. God’s principles work and we want to continue to glorify Him with our lives as we diligently desire to help your family raise your children for God’s glory.

Examine your motivations. Determine to follow God’s principles. Go deeper than just the reasons you may have had to start homeschooling. Have a conviction in your heart to glorify God and to continue on no matter what may come. Your children will reap the benefits of such a decision.

Casting All Your Care Upon Him

We have a great God! He knows all about us and about all our needs.

“Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Luke 12:27-31

The word “casting” literally means to throw everything on to God; every need, every concern, every discouragement, Everything! “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” (I Peter 5:7) He cares for us. What a comfort it gives to know that our God loves and cares for us. In the verses prior to this, it tells us that God resists the proud and gives grace unto the humble. Next, God’s Word tells us to humble ourselves under the mighty Hand of God and He will exalt us or meet our need. Then, He will get all the glory.

I would like to encourage all of us to do the following: To pray more! Go to your Heavenly Father and share every need you have, humble yourself before Him, share your heart’s cry. Cast all your care upon Him and trust Him to do great and mighty things on your behalf. He wants to hear from us. We many times have not because we ask not. “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” Jeremiah 33:3

To Praise Him More! Our God is worthy of praise. No matter how tough or discouraging circumstances may be in our lives, God is still in control and desires to meet our every need. He has a purpose for everything that happens in our lives. At midnight, Paul & Silas sang praises unto God and he delivered them from the prison they were in. Praise God from the depths of you heart and see what He will do for you. He is absolutely worthy to be glorified and praised.

When we pray to God and praise Him, He is glorified. He wants to show himself mighty on our behalf. Trust Him! If you are having a difficult time with schooling your children at home, do not let discouragement defeat you. Don’t give up! Pray to God for a renewed vision. Pray to God to meet your need, if it is financial. Begin to praise Him for what He is going to do. God will meet your need! Just Cast all your Care upon Him!

Parental Rights

Families in America are under attack. The right of parents to raise and educate their children as God directs them to do is disappearing before our eyes. Parents raising their children is even more than just a right. It is a command of God and yet our government threatens to destroy the very thing God created, the family. Without strong families our nation will not be strong. God’s way is for a father and mother to raise their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

The government thinks better though and has all the answers for raising children. Just look at our society and government schools and you will see that government is doing a wonderful job of turning out well adjusted people. Excuse the sarcasm, but we know their way is not working, but we do know that God’s way works. It is the reason we have been such a great nation in the past, but this is slowly eroding. Go to Parentalrights.org to get a better understanding of how serious this threat is to our families.

Our hope is in the Lord. He is in control and knows all things, including what is happening today in our world. We must continue to be diligent in applying Godly principles in raising our children. We must pray and seek God’s help in these matters.

God’s Word has much to say about parenting. As mentioned, it is more than a right, it is a command. Failure to do things God’s way always leads to more failure. Ponder these verses and may you be reminded of your duty as a parent to raise your children God’s way.

“O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!”

Deuteronomy 5:29

“And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”

Deuteronomy 6:5-7

“Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou doest that which is good and right in the sight of the LORD thy God.”

Deuteronomy 12:28

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

Proverbs 22:6

“He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.”

Proverbs 13:24

“And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up

in the nurture and admonition

of the Lord.”

Ephesians 6:4

“Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.”

Colossians 3:21

“Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.”

Psalms 127:3-5