What Your Children Say About Your Life…

Posted on by kevinjandt

texting

The purpose of this article is not about me, or my children, but in some sense it is about me and my children. The whole summation of this begins with a question. What is the purpose of children? Why do we have them? How many times have you heard it said, “why would I want to bring children into this world?” The inference is that the world is so incredibly evil that I wouldn’t want to have my children suffer the consequences.

But the reality is a focus on self. Those of us that steward children realize that it’s hard work. There is rarely a time for a “break”. Even in the middle of the night there are bad dreams, or illness and countless other issues. So why bother? I guess it depends on the camp you reside, and if that camp is Christianity, then the way you raise your children speaks volumes about your life. Quick disclaimer: my children are as bad as yours, and I have the same problems raising them that you do, so this is not an article that claims I’m the model of parenthood. Lord knows my daily failures. This article hopes to encourage, and to spur the believer on to love and good works.

I’ve written on Psalm 127 before, and it always bears repeating… Children are a blessing, children are a heritage from the Lord, and children are to be raised to perpetuate the gospel. They are to be trained and they are to be sharpened that they might be sent out into the world to be arrows, to pierce through the hearts of sinful man with the sword of the gospel. That is obvious, and notice that this Psalm begins with this little phrase, “Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it…” – Psalm 127:1

If you are not raising your children for the glory of God, if you are not allowing the Lord to build the house, you are laboring in vain, and I suppose you have not considered this verse, and possibly your eternal standing before God. I hope you will give that consideration today if that is your situation.

For those that desire to raise children to the glory of God it’s important to think about those children as a testimony to our lives. The children you nurture in your home are speaking loudly to the world around you. I have several examples from my own life, and I only desire to talk about those to point people to Christ, not to say what a great parent I am. Jesus said that wisdom is justified by her children, and this means that our salvation becomes evident to all by the fruit that is produced through our lives. Our children bear witness to our lives.

The biggest question that a Christian can and should ask themselves is do your children look different than the rest of the world, or do they blend quite nicely? I’m not necessarily a proponent of our girls wearing matching calico print dresses with little napkins on their heads to be different, but how they act and the message they give out when they are around other people speaks about the training they receive in the home. We certainly don’t have to go very far to see how the world justifies her children. It’s pretty obvious that a kid will have their head stuck in their cell phone, and they can’t engage an adult in much more than a one word answer. They are a rebellious sort, with a sarcastic look on their face. Of course not all of them, because we also get the outwardly compliant child.

This also is a danger, that we raise them to be well behaved. We train them to be counter-cultural only in their external actions. We can train them for our own benefit. To be different, for sure, but it is training in self-righteousness. They can justify themselves through their “good” actions, when inside they are dead men’s bones. It’s a virtual mine-field of parenting to know which side to land on. The bible makes no absolute promises that the children of believing parents will become believers, although I know some groups that try and claim that. I don’t fall into that camp, and I realize from conception my children are hostile to God. They come out of the womb sinners, and I must present the law and the gospel to them and trust in God’s mercy for their souls.

However, when I disciple my children to the glory of God, they will look different. There is just no other way around it. They will be a testimony to the change in my heart, wrought by God. Are we different because we are home-schoolers, or because we attend a certain church? Yes, but that is not the point. The point is to raise your children to see their need for Christ. It always comes back to man’s greatest need is for salvation in His name. He came to seek and save the lost, and for those that have no understanding of their “lostness” then He is not worthy of their pursuits.   He must be the greatest treasure, the pearl of great value.

That is the point. That is why we, that call ourselves Christians, must train and disciple our children. We must do so with great effort. All day, every day.

You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. – Deuteronomy 6:7

Kevin

Will Your Children Be Saved?

Posted on by kevinjandt

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Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward. – Psalm 127:3

Indeed children are a reward, and how can we look upon our precious little ones and not consider them a gift of God. Children are also a heritage says the word of God, they are like a treasured possession that God has given to us for many purposes, one is in the hopes we pass down a godly line and continue to perpetuate the gospel. That is my hope, and that should also be your hope for your children. My hope is in the Lord, that He will save them, and that He will do all His good pleasure.

But what if that doesn’t happen?

I believe completely and trust fully in the Sovereignty of God. In some circles, I suppose I’m called a “Calvinist”, in that I affirm the doctrines of the Bible that John Calvin taught. This is a four-letter word to many in the professing Christian world, but can I trust in a God that sits back and does not have His hand upon everything; even the salvation of destruction of my children? Oh what a difficult topic this is to write about…

The LORD has made all for Himself, yes, even the wicked for the day of doom. – Proverbs 16:4

Have we not read the Scriptures? Do we avoid the hard topic of the reality of salvation? Do we assume because we are faithfully following the Lord that our children will automatically do that? This is a reality, which a Christian must embrace; because there is no guarantee of salvation for our children. We won’t explore the covenantal aspect in this post, but if we only take a cursory glance at Scripture to see how many disobedient children followed their obedient parents, it becomes obvious there is no guarantee.

“But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.” – Jonah 2:9

Do we really trust that salvation is of the Lord? This is a very good question to ask, but it’s a hard question to ask. You can do all the right things. You can take your children to church, you can catechize them, you can teach them the Holy Scriptures, but you can’t guarantee their salvation.

So what do you do now? Do you “let go and let God”? I sure hope not. I sure hope you and I will be diligent, because we also have God’s commands, and the thing I believe is more important than anything else in this conversation is our obedience; if you are a believer, than you MUST be obedient to the Scriptures.

“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” – Deuteronomy 6:6-7 see also Ephesians 6:4

Believing parents, and especially fathers are commanded, you’ve been given an order that you must obey, to train your children, all the time. Not part of the time, not some of the time, but at every opportunity you have. You have a responsibility to carry out the commands of the King.

Our children have a responsibility in this equation. They are commanded to repent and turn from their sin. They are without excuse, as all of mankind is without excuse, if they don’t repent and turn from their sin. There will be no “out clauses” on judgment day.

Listen to the testimony of Charles Spurgeon, in how his mother would conduct family worship and plead with them. Would you do this with your children? Would they understand the gravity of their situation, should they go unconverted? Would you not do anything and everything for your children that they might come to know the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ?

“It was the custom, on Sunday evenings, while we were yet little children, for her to stay at home with us, and then we sat round the table, and read verse by verse, and she explained the Scripture to us. After that was done, then came the time of pleading; there was a little piece of Alleine’s Alarm, or of Baxter’s Call to the Unconverted, and this was read with pointed observations made to each of us as we sat round the table; and the question was asked, how long it would be before we would think about our state, how long before we would seek the Lord. Then came a mother’s prayer, and some of the words of that prayer we shall never forget, even when our hair is grey. I remember, on one occasion, her praying thus: “Now, Lord, if my children go on in their sins, it will not be from ignorance that they perish, and my soul must bear a swift witness against them at the day of judgment if they lay not hold of Christ.” – C.H. Spurgeon

Could you say this to your children? Would you love them this much, to have them consider that you would testify against them?

Kevin

Are Your Children Saved?

Posted on by kevinjandt

saved

One of the great tragedies of religion is the failure to identify and deal with the truth of biblical conversion. As I think back to my life before salvation and the different churches I had attended I was never once asked when and how I was saved. I guess it was assumed that being in a church meant I was saved.

Why would this presupposition be any different with children today?

I believe there is major deception among Bible believing churches and church attendees that don’t know how to deal with this subject. I can tell you that I didn’t know how to deal with it.

First of all, I didn’t even know that I wasn’t saved, until my salvation was challenged.   If you’ve ever asked someone about their salvation and they become offended I’d really wonder why? Isn’t this a legitimate question for Believers to ask of one another? Isn’t God brought the glory He deserves when we discuss how He saved someone?

Salvation is a super-natural work of God where He takes a dead, God-hating soul and regenerates that heart into a heart that has all new desires. It’s really here that this topic begins. We must first understand it’s a work of God. In order to be saved we must recognize we need saving.   We were, or still are, spiritually dead.

Ephesians 2:1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins…

If we don’t understand the significance of this verse, there is no understanding of the doctrine of salvation. Paul is writing to the saints (those set apart for service and worship of God) and he is telling them Christ made them alive. Why? Because they were DEAD!

Secondly, we must understand that God does it.

The prophet Ezekiel wrote about this super-natural work and we can see the purpose and reason behind salvation. Do we benefit from salvation? Most certainly, but is it primarily for our benefit, absolutely not.

Ezekiel 36:22-23   “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the LORD God: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but my My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD,” says the LORD God, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes.

This is God exalting, pride crushing, man debasing theology at its finest. “IF” you are saved, if your children are saved, it’s by the grace of God to bring Him glory. If you think that your salvation is about you then you need to read this again and humble yourself under the mighty hand of God.

It’s important to quickly note that Israel is not the nation state of Israel. Israel is Believers; God’s chosen people, not just Israelites, although some are included in this group. See Romans 2:28-29, 9:6-13, 1 Kings 19:10-18.

Ezekiel 36:24-25 For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.

Do you recognize your filthiness and your idols? When I think about mine before salvation and what God rescued me from, I’m overcome by the work that God has done in my life. Do you ever look back and think, “that was me, but for the grace of God?” When you go into a large public gathering do you look around and see the idols and the filthiness? Do you ever wonder who will be saved? Does it break your heart for the lost?

Ezekiel 36:26-27 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

Did you have anything to do with your salvation? Did you lead your children in a prayer or manipulate them into asking Jesus into their hearts? This verse could not be any clearer. Jesus affirmed this in John 3 when He challenged Nicodemus with his salvation.

Ezekiel 36:31 Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good; and you will loath yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities and your abominations.

Jesus said it this way “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 5:3

If you have no recognition of your past, and your offenses against God, if you think that your children are relatively decent or well behaved children, you don’t understand the holiness of God. Without this recognition there is no chance for them to be saved.

God saves those of a humble and broken spirit (Psalm 51, Matthew 5:4, James 4:9). Broken and humbled over their sin and their offenses against a holy God; recognizing their filthiness. This applies to you, it applies to me, and it certainly applies to our children. Jesus told us the path that leads to life is narrow. Salvation is not decisional, it’s recognition of your sin, repenting and living in a manner completely different to which you were.

If we, as parents, can understand the gravity of salvation there is a much better chance for our children to be saved as we accurately present the gospel. In the end there is nothing more important.

Kevin

Fertile Ground

Posted on by kevinjandt

IMG_6931We’ve lived in our home for nearly twenty years now and the one thing I’ve learned is that we don’t always get projects done around our house quickly. Not that we don’t have the best intentions, it’s just that life takes over and the things we’d like to do get put on the back burner.

The west facing wall of our home has been one of those non-priority projects that has take a bit of time to accomplish. We remodeled our basement to create some new rooms a couple years ago to accommodate our growing family and we put in some egress windows. These make the bedrooms legal so we can have two ways of escape in the event of a fire. This requires digging out the ground around the basement wall, cutting holes in the wall and then putting in windows and window wells which keep the dirt back.

We’ve wanted to plant something along this side of the house for years, and we finally, and when I say “we”, I mean Jen and the girls. Okay, mostly Jen, but the girls assisted with the little ones while she was planting them.

We took great care in selecting our new plants and our desire is for them to grow and flourish in the place we picked to plant them. What will determines success depends on many things. We must do our part in order for there to be a chance of success, but we can’t guarantee it, only give them care and nurturing and then trust what we’ve done will be enough.

Do you see the similarity to the gospel and the planting of God’s Word into the hearts of those around you?

I’m primarily thinking of my children in this analogy, but it certainly applies to all we come into contact, and I’m always hopeful someone that reads this will consider themselves and those around them.

In order to increase our “odds” I must take some steps.

Good Soil

We must plant our plants in good soil. Iowa has a lot of clay and around our home is no exception. It’s so hard and sticky, when we dug the holes it was a big job just to keep the shovel on the back hoe clean. It’s very hard soil and it won’t grow plants well without adding top soil and fertilizer.

Matthew 13:8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

If we want to yield a crop, we must plant in good ground. Jesus tells us in the parable of the soils, not all the seed will fall on good ground, so it’s crystal clear that not everyone will receive the word. But if it’s up to us, we must spread good seed (The Word of God), and it must land on good soil. This is not soil that we have prepared, its soil that God has prepared, it’s God that opens hearts to receive His word.

…but we must prepare hearts to receive the word through teaching and proclaiming properly. In the case of my children I prepare their hearts by cultivating it with the Word of God. As a practical example this means sitting with them and opening the Bible, reading it and teaching from it.

This is my responsibility as a father to my children.

Ephesians 6:4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

If I don’t bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord, I’m provoking them to wrath. Fathers, you are provoking your children to wrath if you don’t bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. Have you ever thought of it that way before? [1]

Prepare the soil to receive the good seed, by training and admonishing them, do it today and everyday you have opportunity. Don’t delay, because every day that soil can harden and become more like clay.

Hebrews 3:13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

It Needs Water

Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

If the word is received on good ground and it appears to blossom for a while, that young plant will need watering through reading and study of God’s Word.

Do you know or are you a Christian that doesn’t read and study your Bible? Then you’re not a true Christian, or you are a rebellious one. Jesus tells us you will need this like plants need water to live.

John 4:13-14 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

Pull the Weeds

Weeds choke out and take over. If you don’t, fertilize, water and tend to the care of your lawn, or your garden you will have nothing but weeds. It’s true in this example and it’s true in the hearts of sinful man.

Matthew 13:7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.

God’s Word is clear and so is the instruction for the Christian. If this doesn’t describe your life, I’d urge you to humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. Seek his righteousness first, and don’t put off the preparing of that soil.

Kevin

[1] Elder Nick Rolland sermon on Ephesians 6:4

It’s all about me!

Posted on by kevinjandt

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I’m a selfish man by nature… I really can’t help, I was born that way.

I was thinking about this recently and discussing how easy it is to live that way with a brother of mine. It comes quite naturally in most situations, but one of the times I notice it most is when I return from business trips.

I’m in an unusual sort of business. Believe it or not someone pays me to provide times for the participants in a running race. This business requires me to be away from home on numerous occasions and sometimes during the peak running season I can be gone for up to a week at some of our very large events.

It’s in these times that I’m particularly prone to myself. It’s almost like a surreal world that I reside when I’m at these events. The bottom line is that I have a certain amount of work that needs to be accomplished and I need to ensure it gets done. I wake up when I need to wake up, do the things that I need to do, feed myself when I’m hungry (in most cases) and don’t have to wait around for a wife and children.

It’s probably similar to a military man on deployment. He’s hanging with the guys and then they head out on their missions. When I come home it’s sometimes difficult to re-adjust. I have to attempt to snap out of “Kevin only” mode and start considering the ones God has placed in my life to nurture. It’s really much more difficult than you think and on more than one occasion (or maybe all of them), my wife has to gently remind me that she desires adult conversation when I return home. And, “oh right, I almost forgot God requires me to lead my family.”

Hebrews 4:12 tells us that God’s word is sharper than any two-edged sword, and it is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, and this is very sharp indeed for me.

Husbands love your wives…  Ephesians 5:25

Husbands your wife is a weaker vessel… 1 Peter 3:7

Father’s train your children… Ephesians 6:4

It goes on and on for me and I’ve often found myself knowing that I need to put things off to stay ahead of the impending email that will soon invade my inbox. I’m pulled in a lot of directions, because Jen wants me to lead and I just got done leading and I’m a bit worn out.

It would certainly be a lot easier to just hide somewhere, but I can’t wait to get home and I can’t wait to see Jen and the girls, so the war rages inside.   I have responsibilities and I must provide for my family, but I must also lead them and nourish them and train them.

So the battle continues and it will for a lifetime, because one day the kids will be out of the house and then my role will change, but God still doesn’t let me off the hook. Lord willing I’ll still be a husband, and Lord willing I’ll still be a father, and Lord willing I will be a grandfather and have the opportunity to live out a multi-generational vision for my grandchildren.

What a battle…what a life…what an opportunity to deny myself, take up my cross and serve and honor the Lord.   He never promised a life of ease and comfort, actually just the opposite. If the Christian life you live is a little too easy, maybe it’s not true Christianity and maybe a war needs to rage within you?

It’s pretty easy to live life on cruise control. Jesus said those who desire to keep their life will lose it and those who desire to lose their life will find it. I desire to lose my life, but that doesn’t make it easy.

 

Kevin