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Thursday, April 30, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Today the Angels Sang for My Daughter
“Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:10
Today after I came home after work, my daughter Naomi came to me and said, “Daddy, this morning I asked Jesus to take all of the yucky stuff out of my heart, and I asked Him to live inside of me. I told Him I was sorry for being a sinner and wanted to be better.”
We have been praying for Naomi since she was born. Many times, I have pleaded with God to strengthen her soul through the Holy Spirit and to have Christ dwell in her heart by faith. I have asked God to root her and ground her in love and to show her the length, width, height, and depth of Christ’s love, which surpasses all understanding. I begged God to fill her with His fullness (Ephesians 3:14-21). Today the fruit of that prayer has come upon our house.
Test of Faith
You may be a little skeptical of this decision, and truthfully, you have that right. I myself am a little dubious. I have a hard time believing that five year olds understand their sin in depth enough to know they are enemies to God and are under His divine judgment. However, I cannot delegitimize her faith, as uninformed as it may be, because of a lack of knowledge. Let me walk through her decision this morning and her prayer to help solidify a few things.
My wife or I did not instigate her prayer.
Stacy was reading to them a catechism book this morning. Today’s story focused on salvation (John 6:47). A young boy named Bill was told the gospel and realized he needed Jesus. At the end of the story, Naomi asked Stacy several questions relating to salvation; “How did Bill accept Jesus into his heart?” She then told Stacy that she wanted to ask Jesus into her heart. Stacy told her she would have to do that on her own and that mommy would not say a prayer with her. The prayer that she said was entirely on her own.
“Dear Jesus, can you please take all of the yucky stuff out of my heart. Help me to not sin against you. Please come into my heart and make me better.” (paraphrase)
As best as she could, she confessed her sin and her desire to want Jesus to be her Lord.
We have noticed God at work in her, especially in the last few weeks.
Almost every night, as a family, we sit down and read either the catechism or a children’s bible. During this time we pray, sing, and have an in depth time of study. We usually end with questions and prayer. There have been times when we have discussed sin and how it offends God and the consequences of our sin, and Naomi wept.
On Saturday, the day before Easter, we watched the Jesus movie as a family. Afterwards, we sat for 45 minutes answering questions about belief, how does Jesus come into your heart, why does she sin, and what would happen she died right now. We were very forthright with her and did not hide anything from her. We had many opportunities to get her to say a “sinner’s prayer.” I could have easily manipulated her to say something to that end. Instead, I left it open. I simply asked her if her sinned bothered her enough to talk to God about it. She would reply no. I left it at that and trusted God to work it out.
I prodded her heart for understanding.
When Naomi told me of her decision, I questioned her about her faith.
Daddy: What is sin?
Naomi: “It is what I do bad against God.”
Daddy: “What are some things that you do that is bad?”
Naomi: “I disobey my mommy and daddy and hurt Ethan.”
Daddy: “Why did you want to pray this prayer today?”
Naomi: “Mommy was reading the story about Bill accepting Jesus, and I knew I needed to that (John 6:37).”
Daddy: “Why?”
Naomi: “Because I am a sinner and I want to go to heaven.”
In the past few weeks, I have asked Naomi other questions:
Daddy: “Do you love Jesus?
Naomi: “Yes.”
Daddy: “How do you show your love for Jesus?"
Naomi: “By obeying him.”
Daddy: “If you die without Jesus, where would you go?"
Naomi: “To the bad place where there is fire.”
Daddy: “Where do you go if you love Jesus?”
Naomi: “To heaven.”
What next?
To have a child except Christ at such a young age is a blessing. However, it must come with much prayer and discernment. There is a lot of unknown territory that must be traveled through. If Naomi is a true child of God, Christ will manifest Himself in her (John 15). She will daily trust Him and listen to His voice (John 10:14-16). If her salvation is genuine, over time, we will see her take up her cross and deny herself, and follow Jesus (Matthew 16:24). We hopefully and cautiously move forward. Praise God!
I told Naomi I was proud of her and that I would pray for her in her faith. Stacy and I are going to wait a bit before she is baptized. We want to be sure she understands what she has done and that her faith is her own. We will talk with our pastor and seek his wisdom as well. We have always contended that our children would take communion, if they were saved, no earlier than age thirteen. Communion is a very serious matter. The apostle Paul warns of judgment if it is taken insincerely (1 Corinthians 11:17-33). We want to be sure that Naomi is genuine and fully enjoys the blessing of remembering Jesus in that manner.
Please pray for Naomi. Please pray that God would strengthen her faith, increase her knowledge of Him (Colossians 1:9-12), protect her purity (Proverbs 22:11), and help her to be radically in love and obedient to King Jesus (Matthew 16:24). Also, pray that God would continue to give us wisdom to raise our children with a passion for His supremacy in all things.
Today after I came home after work, my daughter Naomi came to me and said, “Daddy, this morning I asked Jesus to take all of the yucky stuff out of my heart, and I asked Him to live inside of me. I told Him I was sorry for being a sinner and wanted to be better.”
We have been praying for Naomi since she was born. Many times, I have pleaded with God to strengthen her soul through the Holy Spirit and to have Christ dwell in her heart by faith. I have asked God to root her and ground her in love and to show her the length, width, height, and depth of Christ’s love, which surpasses all understanding. I begged God to fill her with His fullness (Ephesians 3:14-21). Today the fruit of that prayer has come upon our house.
Test of Faith
You may be a little skeptical of this decision, and truthfully, you have that right. I myself am a little dubious. I have a hard time believing that five year olds understand their sin in depth enough to know they are enemies to God and are under His divine judgment. However, I cannot delegitimize her faith, as uninformed as it may be, because of a lack of knowledge. Let me walk through her decision this morning and her prayer to help solidify a few things.
My wife or I did not instigate her prayer.
Stacy was reading to them a catechism book this morning. Today’s story focused on salvation (John 6:47). A young boy named Bill was told the gospel and realized he needed Jesus. At the end of the story, Naomi asked Stacy several questions relating to salvation; “How did Bill accept Jesus into his heart?” She then told Stacy that she wanted to ask Jesus into her heart. Stacy told her she would have to do that on her own and that mommy would not say a prayer with her. The prayer that she said was entirely on her own.
“Dear Jesus, can you please take all of the yucky stuff out of my heart. Help me to not sin against you. Please come into my heart and make me better.” (paraphrase)
As best as she could, she confessed her sin and her desire to want Jesus to be her Lord.
We have noticed God at work in her, especially in the last few weeks.
Almost every night, as a family, we sit down and read either the catechism or a children’s bible. During this time we pray, sing, and have an in depth time of study. We usually end with questions and prayer. There have been times when we have discussed sin and how it offends God and the consequences of our sin, and Naomi wept.
On Saturday, the day before Easter, we watched the Jesus movie as a family. Afterwards, we sat for 45 minutes answering questions about belief, how does Jesus come into your heart, why does she sin, and what would happen she died right now. We were very forthright with her and did not hide anything from her. We had many opportunities to get her to say a “sinner’s prayer.” I could have easily manipulated her to say something to that end. Instead, I left it open. I simply asked her if her sinned bothered her enough to talk to God about it. She would reply no. I left it at that and trusted God to work it out.
I prodded her heart for understanding.
When Naomi told me of her decision, I questioned her about her faith.
Daddy: What is sin?
Naomi: “It is what I do bad against God.”
Daddy: “What are some things that you do that is bad?”
Naomi: “I disobey my mommy and daddy and hurt Ethan.”
Daddy: “Why did you want to pray this prayer today?”
Naomi: “Mommy was reading the story about Bill accepting Jesus, and I knew I needed to that (John 6:37).”
Daddy: “Why?”
Naomi: “Because I am a sinner and I want to go to heaven.”
In the past few weeks, I have asked Naomi other questions:
Daddy: “Do you love Jesus?
Naomi: “Yes.”
Daddy: “How do you show your love for Jesus?"
Naomi: “By obeying him.”
Daddy: “If you die without Jesus, where would you go?"
Naomi: “To the bad place where there is fire.”
Daddy: “Where do you go if you love Jesus?”
Naomi: “To heaven.”
What next?
To have a child except Christ at such a young age is a blessing. However, it must come with much prayer and discernment. There is a lot of unknown territory that must be traveled through. If Naomi is a true child of God, Christ will manifest Himself in her (John 15). She will daily trust Him and listen to His voice (John 10:14-16). If her salvation is genuine, over time, we will see her take up her cross and deny herself, and follow Jesus (Matthew 16:24). We hopefully and cautiously move forward. Praise God!
I told Naomi I was proud of her and that I would pray for her in her faith. Stacy and I are going to wait a bit before she is baptized. We want to be sure she understands what she has done and that her faith is her own. We will talk with our pastor and seek his wisdom as well. We have always contended that our children would take communion, if they were saved, no earlier than age thirteen. Communion is a very serious matter. The apostle Paul warns of judgment if it is taken insincerely (1 Corinthians 11:17-33). We want to be sure that Naomi is genuine and fully enjoys the blessing of remembering Jesus in that manner.
Please pray for Naomi. Please pray that God would strengthen her faith, increase her knowledge of Him (Colossians 1:9-12), protect her purity (Proverbs 22:11), and help her to be radically in love and obedient to King Jesus (Matthew 16:24). Also, pray that God would continue to give us wisdom to raise our children with a passion for His supremacy in all things.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Why The Name Change?
You may have noticed that the name of my blog has changed a couple of times. The first name was in Latin, Sed Nome Tuo De Glorium, which means, To His Name Be the Glory. I chose this name because I have a strong desire for God to be at the center of my being; whether it is at school, home, or on the web. I put it in Latin to add a sense of ambiance. Latin is such a beautiful language that has shaped so many languages around the world. I grieve at the thought of it becoming extinct. Therefore, I wanted to try to keep it alive in some way or manner.
The last name on the blog was Gray to Glory. I came up with this when I was meditating on the progression of my salvation. When I was lost, I was dead and my eyes could only see through the lens of this world; i.e. gray. Everything is gray it seems. There is no black and white or right and wrong. In our Post Modern society, we have made everything relative. All truth is truth and there is no wrong. As a lost person, I bought into this. I believed in a universal God who loved in many different ways and beliefs. I was wrong. God has shown me that His love is seen in His Son Jesus Christ; the radiance of His glory (Hebrews 1:3). Therefore, my eyes went from gray to glory.
The new name, Cross Life, is actually an old phrase. I am sure many men through the centuries in the church have coined this phrase. However, Guy Hershberger, an educator and member of the Mennonite Church, uses this term in his book "The Way of the Cross in Human Relations", a book that discusses how Christians should approach issues such as war, relationships, social and economic obligations, etc. Richard Foster, in his book, "The Celebration of Discipline", borrows the term from Hershberger to help him define the life of a believer in submission. I believe Foster gets it right when he says:
“The foremost symbol of this radical servant hood is the cross…Christ not only died a cross-death, but he lived a cross-life. Jesus lived the cross-life in submission to all human beings. He was a servant of all. He flatly rejected the cultural givens of position and power when he said “You are not to be called rabbi…Neither be called masters…” (Matt 23:8-10). Jesus shattered customs of his day when he lived out the cross-life by taking women seriously and by being willing to meet with children. He lived the cross-life when he took a towel and washed the feet of his disciples. This Jesus who easily could have called down a legion of angels to his aid chose instead the cross-death of Calvary. Jesus’ life was the cross-life of submission and service.” (Celebrations of Discipline pg 115-116)
After reading this, I began pondering my life as a Christian. I asked myself if I was living a cross-life, the way Jesus did. I am sorry to say that I am not. However, it is my desire and passion to do so. I long to empty myself like as my King did and take the form of a servant (Phil 2:4-7). I’m striving to not return evil for evil when I am hurt or threatened, but would trust in the one who judges justly; just as Jesus did (1 Peter 2:21-23). I am fighting to be subject to my wife, my church, my employer, and my God consistently (Ephesians 5:21). I am continually pleading with God to help me take up my cross, die to myself, and embrace my King in His sufferings everyday (Matthew 10:38; Philippians 3:10).
This is where I am today. As surely as the Lord lives, I will change; so long as God gives me breathe. There is no doubt that this blog will change as well. That is the wonder about blogs; they are elastic to some degree and have the ability to evolve as we grow. May the Lord mold and conform this blog into a God-centered, Christ exalting, bible saturated blog and my life into a Cross Centered life.
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