My God Is Not Everyman's God

Right now, for my English class, I'm reading "Everyman," an allegorical play written in 1485. It follows the story of happy, worldly Everyman who has wasted his life away, giving no thought to spiritual matters. But God has decreed that Everyman's time on earth is done, so he sends Death to take Everyman on a journey to the judgement seat of God. The main character represents, just as his name implies, every man. Every man will be summoned by death to have a reckoning with God and all must examine their life and what they spent it on.

But this is not a post about Everyman. It's a post about Everyman's God. Near the beginning of the play, God speaks from heaven, but I was a little surprised by what he said. See for yourself (remember the speech is 15th century lingo).

"I perceive, here in my majesty, how that all creatures be to me unkind, living without dread in worldly prosperity, of ghostly [spiritual] sight the people be so blind, drowned in sin, they know me not for their God. In worldly riches is all their mind, they fear not my rightwiseness, the sharp rod; my love that I showed when I for them died. They forgot clean, and shedding of my blood red ... To get them life I suffered to be dead; I healed their feet, with thorns hurt was my head. I could do no more than I did, truly; and now I see the people do clean forsake me. ... Every man liveth so after his own pleasure ... Charity they do all clean forget. I hoped well every man in my glory should make his mansion, and thereto I had them all elect. But now I see like traitors deject [abject], they thank me not for the pleasure that I do them meant." (italics mine)

At a first glance, it's beautiful, isn't it? Whether you like poetry or not, it's easy to see the rich language, the poetic lilt, the dramatic, merciful tone of God's love. But at a second glance, there seem to be a few problems with this representation of God - namely, He appears, well, a little weak to me. Let me explain what I mean:

It starts with God reflecting on mankind in a somewhat depressed tone; you feel the thread of melancholy weaving its way through the monologue. God seems to be at a bit of a loss. He's almost throwing a little pity party since "all creatures be to [him] unkind" and "in worldly riches is all their mind." Instead of fearing God, they're focused on the world. God just doesn't get it. He made them, created them, yet they reject him. Now sin does grieve God, make no mistake. But it also angers Him, incites His wrath and righteous jealousy. He doesn't gaze on this world piteously, hopelessly, lost in depression because people reject Him. He acts in His strength.

But then this representation of God seems to mourn the ineffectiveness (yes, the ineffectiveness!) of Jesus' atoning death. In his words, "I could no more than I did, truly." He makes it sound like it's up to sinful man to make Jesus' death effective by seeking God! But they don't. "Now I see in the people, they do clean forsake me." God's talk here has a bit of a "too bad" feel to it. He did what he could; He tried to save us, honest. But it's up to us now.

And it continues. Here this representation of the Most High seems again disappointed that His plans and desires are not coming about. You see, it says that he "hoped well that every man in my glory should make his mansion, and thereto I had them all elect." This says God really wanted every single person to be saved, but He didn't have the power to do it. They've rejected him, so ... too bad for God. Once again, the power is ultimately in man's hands.

At a first glance, this monologue of God seems poetic, sweet and loving, even. But when you've taken a look at this a little more closely, Everyman's god was weak. And my God is not weak.

Everyman's god tried to save all people and failed. My God has the power to save those whom He elected to save and chose those He would adopt before the foundations of the world. (Ephesians 1:4-6; Romans 8:29-30; Romans 9:14-24; 1 Peter 2:9-10)

Everyman's god died on the cross ineffectively. My God died on the cross effectively and atoned for the sins of His children through His power alone, not based on anything anyone would do then or later. (Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 9:12; Romans 5:9)

Everyman's god hoped that people would be good and reach out to him. My God reached out to us, choosing to extend mercy to a sinful people, not because of our good deeds, but because of His great grace. (Colossians 2:13-14; Titus 2:11; Ephesians 2:8)

Everyman's god watched the world with pity and disappointment, wishing there was something else he could do. My God is sovereign and in control of everything. (1 Timothy 6:15; Psalm 22:28; Psalm 115:3)

Everyman's god was weak. My God is not weak. My God is not Everyman's god. My God is the Lion of Judah, the Mighty Warrior, the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Curse You, Wilma Poole ... And Your Little Jewelry Shop Too!

It happened during my accounting class today. I was working on posting the entries from the general journal in to the individual accounts for the fictional Wilma Poole and her jewelry shop, Poole's Jewels. For those of you non-accountants, this won't make much sense, but bear with me for a minute. Basically, as I was in the process of filling out the debit and credit columns, I committed a big accounting faux pax. Instead of putting the credits from the debit account into the credit column, I put them all into the debit column. To the normal reader, this doesn't sound so bad. In fact, when I realized this mistake, even I didn't think it was so bad. But it was. It was real bad.

Over an hour of work spent on this seemed to be wasted. Because of one little mistake, my totals were all off. My debits didn't equal my credits. Poole's Jewels was in hot water.

Thinking about how one little mistake in the accounts could unbalance everything really clicked with a verse I read just a little while ago.

"You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion is not from him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump." Galatians 5:7-9

This was in Paul's testy letter to the church in Galatia. What he's saying is that though the Galatians started the race of the faith well, error had crept in, and "a little leaven leavens the whole lump" - or, it only took the slightest bit of error for it to spread throughout the entire church. Like in accounting, one little mistake can affect all the accounts, one little sin in our life or in the church can quickly spread to those all around us.

So though I may be cursing Wilma Poole (and her little jewelry shop too!), I've seen an illustration of how sin can spread, and now I will work extra hard to pray for strength to run the race well (oh, and try to keep the accounts balanced too!)

The Wonder of the Written Word

So today I found myself absolutely amazed at how we got the written word. I started thinking about it during my World History and Cultures class, as I read in my textbook about the Sumerians, the first people to put their language into written form. This is what my A Beka history book says,

"Near the end of the early period of Sumerian history, the Sumerians developed their greatest contribution to civilization: the art of writing. With the invention of cuneiform writing, Sumerian history proper begins, since history is primarily a written record of man's past. ... Sumerian cuneiform writing passed through three major stages of development. The earliest form was composed of pictograms: symbols representing particular objects, such as the sun, the moon, a man, a tree, a bird. Because there was a need to represent the abstract as well as the concrete in written form, the characters came to be ideograms, symbols of things that cannot be pictured and of actions and ideas. ... In the third stage of development, cuneiform characters came to represent word sounds and not just objects or ideas. This last stage is known as a phonogram." 

Jerry Combee and George Thompson, the writers of this book, go on to explain that this first written language contained some 600 characters and wasn't translated until the 19th century by Sir Henry C. Rawlinson.

Wowza. As I was reading this, I got thinking, "How did they ever think of this? Translating sounds to words?" And then my perspective got focused and my questioned changed to, "How did God ever think of this?" The written word is a wonder. It's amazing - we talk and then somehow we have to convert sound into physical shapes and words that we write down and that others understand. Think about that for a moment. God is so creative.

So as you read this, first, be grateful that we have the written word and that you can understand it! And then give praise to our omniscient, all-knowing, Creator. For the written word truly is a wonder.

Another School Year for the Glory of God

Well, it's that time of year again. Kids head for the bus stops in throngs. Leaves are changing from summery green to those bold autumnal reds, oranges and deep yellows. The scent of freshly sharpened pencils wafts through the air. School's here! I officially start tomorrow, but I've done odds and sods all summer and am even beginning some work today (my brother thinks I'm crazy). Another school year has begun!

Which means it's time for another reminder (for me, readers, probably more than for you). Another reminder that this year is for the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31) Not for the glory of self, but for the glory of the Lord. It's not another year dedicated solely to fun. Nor another year for a full-booked social calendar. Or another year for friends. Or another year for good grades, or vacations or health, wealth or happiness, though none of these things are bad in and of themselves! It's only when this year becomes more about them than about seeking God's glory do we have a problem. Because this year is not about us and our wants and desires, but about God.

So whether you start school today or tomorrow or if you started two weeks ago or if you're not even going back to school, I pray that you would start this September, this school year, with the intent of seeking the glory of our God. For He is the only one who deserves glory this year, next year and for all eternity.

The "B" Word

Here are the facts: it's Thursday afternoon. I have nothing on, nowhere to go, no one to see. My grandpa is in New Brunswick visiting friends, my dad is at work - that means I have no car. It's pouring rain outside. I am ... no! I can't say it. The consequences would be too terrible. What was I going to say, you ask? Well, if you promise not to tell my mom, I was going to say that I was bored. Ssh! Don't let her hear you say it in our house! Bored is the "b" word in our home, the summer swear word. Forget about Mom sitting me in the bathroom and washing my mouth out with soap - she'd hand me the soap and make me wash the bathroom! Yes, it's a commonly known rule in our house that if you claim you're bored, you've willfully given yourself over to Mom's evil clutches ... er ... I mean, capable hands. She'll either put you to work doing chores or sit you down and make you do school (one of the few downsides of being homeschooled!) But why does she do that? Is it because she's pure evil? Or does she really have our greater good in mind?

Well, because she's Mom (and she's really not evil), I'm going to go with the last option - she has our greater good in mind. But what is that good? Basically, she doesn't want us to be bored, because when we're bored we waste time. We plop ourselves in front of the TV or just lie around and do nothing. And as fun and good for us as that is (or not), that is really not a good use for our time. And Mom wants us to make the best use of our time. She doesn't want us to waste precious minutes, hours, days that could be used for the glory of God - whether doing productive things like caring for our home by cleaning it or growing in knowledge as we study different things through school work. She wants us to heed 1 Corinthians 10:31 - "So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." And being bored is not glorifying to God. Same as Ephesians 5:16, where Paul encourages the church in Ephesus to "mak[e] the best use of the time, because the days are evil." 

That doesn't mean that all we're allowed to do during the summer is chores and school work; Mom encourages us to read and practice our music instruments and play outside and shoot hoops and have fun. But when we refuse to do those things, choosing the less productive road of being bored, she sees that we can't make the best use of our time on our own, so she needs to help us. She wants us to put to practice Colossians 3:17, "And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."

So as the summer continues, and the days get longer and hotter, and the responsibilities get less and less, let's seek to glorify God with our time so that we don't have to mention the "b" word.

Christmas Countdown: 18 Days Until Christmas

Today was one of those days that makes me sing for joy to be homeschooled! Just a week and a half before every other public and private school in the province gets out ... I am done school (cue Hallelujah Chrous)! Yes, after large amounts of studying, memorizing, working extra and then testing, I'm officially on Christmas Break! Oh, it's good to be homeschooled.

But with all this extra time I have on my hands now comes responsibility. The responsibility to use my time wisely. With three and a half weeks with no school and, soon, no regular activities, I'll have a lot of free time. There's lots of things I could do. Watch Christmas movies, do some Christmas baking, play Christmas carols, wrap presents, read some classic Christmas novels, and a million other things. But in each and every Christmas activity I take part in this holiday break, my goal is to keep Christ central. Through everything. I will slip, of course, because I am human and I do sin, but whether I'm baking or singing, reading or dancing, I never want my attention to waver from Jesus.

This Christmas season, as we have more time on our hands, let's strive to use our time wisely, in a way that would most glorify God and be most central around Christ!

Reflecting on God's Providence as I Begin a New School Year

Today was the first day of school here at the old Crowe homestead. It went really well, and I already feel smarter! The class that started us out this morning was probably the perfect class to start off any school year with - Systematic Theology. In this class, which Dad teaches, we're going through Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology, a great book which I'm learning a lot from. This morning's topic was God's providence.

God's providence means simply that God is the ultimate controller and causer of all events. He governs and preserves everything. Whatever happens, He has willed it to happen. God knew and predestined that I would write this blog post. God knew that I would go out shopping on my birthday. He knew that we'd start off the first day of school with Systematic Theology.

In this morning's lesson, we looked at a few verses that outline God's providence and what it means. I wanted to share them with you. (Hint: the "he" in these verses is Christ.)

"And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together." Colossians 1:17

"For in him we live and move and have our being." Acts 17:28

"You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you." Nehemiah 9:6

"In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will." Ephesians 1:11

"For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." Philippians 2:13

So, as another school year begins and we prepare to get back to work, let's reflect on God's providence. Let's remember this year (and always!) that God is in control. What He wills to happen will happen. We must simply trust Him and do our best for Him (Colossians 3:23). 

Why I'm Homeschooled - Part 2

Yesterday I touched on two of the reasons why our family chooses to homeschool: 1) because of our beliefs and convictions that this is what the Lord has called us to do and 2) because of public school and the pressures placed on my brother and me. The last two reasons focus more on decisions made by my parents ...


3. Friends and Influences

Public school was our main source of friends. We were put in a room with a bunch of kids our age and, naturally, we made friends. Because of all the pressures Travis and I were juggling, we didn't really have time for friends outside of school. When our neighbours were playing outside, we were doing homework. We still had a couple of friends that were outside of the school, but the public school was where our biggest source of friends came from.

Now Mom and Dad weren't exactly thrilled about this. They wanted us to be friends with non-Christians, of course, for the purpose of witnessing and evangelizing, but they weren't so sure if spending all our time with non-Christian friends was the best influence on us. I bet they were thinking about Proverbs 1, which talks about being wise and not letting non-Christians entice you to sin. My parents realized that if all day, all the time, Travis and I were associating with bad influences ... well, as Proverbs 13:20 says, "Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm." My parents didn't want us to suffer harm. They still wanted us to be friends with non-Christians, but not at the expense of suffering harm. That's the third reason why I'm homeschooled.


4. Family and Flexibility

When we first started homeschooling, my dad was in seminary. If you've ever been in seminary (or college or university for that matter) you probably know that it can get pretty hectic. But as if regular craziness wasn't enough, my dad took his three year program in just over two years. Yeah, it was a crazy time. Because my dad had so many classes and essays and homework and tests, we didn't exactly have a scheduled family time. Back then, with Travis and I being in public school, we didn't get a lot of time to spend with Dad. Homeschooling opened up a whole new world. If Dad had a day off classes, we'd spend the day with him and make up our work later. We didn't base our entire year around him, but it sure gave us a chance to spend a lot more family time with each other.

The Lord seemed to be thinking when He led us to the decision to homeschool, because just two years after we had started homeschooling, we made the big move from Texas to Canada. The flexibility sure came in handy then! Now, living here in Nova Scotia, the flexibility works the same way as back in Texas. Though my dad's no longer in seminary, he is a pastor, which is pretty much just as crazy! Homeschooling has offered a flexibility we had never imagined.

Over the nearly four years we've homeschooled, homeschooling has offered us more family time, more growth, stronger relationships with each other, and, for me at least, an opportunity to know God better. With curriculums based on the Word, and subjects on topics such as church history and systematic theology (things we'd never get to study in public school) I'm very blessed to be homeschooled!

"By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches."  Proverbs 24:3-4

Why I'm Homeschooled - Part 1

After reading an interesting post called, "Why I Do Not Homeschool," by author and blogger Tim Challies, I thought that it'd be a great idea to talk a bit about why our family does homeschool. Our family is not the norm in our neighbourhood (or our church for that matter). And though homeschooling isn't the typical choice for most families in North America, it has grown in popularity recently. People homeschool for a variety of reasons that range from religious beliefs to hatred of the public school system. Other people choose not to homeschool also for a variety of reasons that range from fear that their kids will become anti-social to the desire to have their children use the public school as a mission field. But this is why our family chooses to homeschool ...

1. Beliefs and Convictions

For us, public school had always been a way of life. Both of my parents went to public school, and Travis and I were placed in a public kindergarten and planned to graduate from a public high school. But all those plans are fine and good when you're in elementary school, but as I neared the end of my elementary school days, junior high loomed before us like a monster we had never prepared for. Starting in grade seven, I'd be learning (excuse me) getting indoctrinated on the topics of sex education, evolution, religion equality and more. My parents had started thinking and praying and seeking what God wanted us to do. Should we look for other options? As my parents continued praying and thinking and praying and thinking some more, their decision was made very clear to them. It stemmed from Deuteronomy 6:6-7a, which says, "And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children." This is the Lord speaking to the people of Israel. He's just commanded them to "love the Lord their God with all their heart and soul and strength" in verse five. Then right after this, He says, "You've got to teach what I've told you to your kids!"

My parents took this as a wake-up call. The public school system was not commanded to train up Christian kids in the way of the Lord. Parents were. My parents didn't want us to get taught that evolution is the only option and that as long as you practice safe-sex it's okay and all religions are good and equal! They wanted our curriculum to be based upon the Word of God. That's why the number one reason I'm homeschooled is because we believe the Lord has called Mom and Dad to train Travis and I up in home-education.

Now, before I go any further, I want to distinctly point out that we are not public school haters. We do not hate families that choose public school. There are many good, Christian families that choose to send their kids to public school for a plethora of reasons. They have some good arguments in certain cases, but our family has chosen to follow our convictions. Other families follow theirs. Salvation is not based on whether you home-school your kids or not. The reason I wrote this post was not to bash the public school; I simply wrote it to inform you why our family has chosen to homeschool. 

2. Public School and Pressure

When we were in Texas, it all came to a head. We had only been in the public elementary school for nearly five months, but over that time, it was obvious that the school wasn't treating us right. Because the school was not in the best neighbourhood, there were a lot of kids who came from broken homes and who didn't have the love and support of two Christian parents, like my brother and I had. Most of the kids in my classes were on their second or third year of fourth grade. Fourth grade!

So when the teachers saw Travis and I, they saw the opportunity to push us more. Suddenly Travis and I were pushed like we had never been before: an hour or two of homework when we got home at three-thirty, math competitions, writing competitions, science fairs. The teachers began setting personal goals for the kids. If they made their goals, they got a party, but if they didn't, they had to sit by themselves, while everyone else had the party. By now, I was a stress-case. I was going nutty! My goals were all in the 90s, and if I got a 92 on my test instead of a 93, I would have to sit at the "losers" table. My parents couldn't stand it anymore. Travis and I were so stressed, we didn't even have time to be kids. There was no time to play outside with hours of homework and training for competitions we didn't want to be in. My parents finally decided that 'nuff was enough. So that, coupled with the fact that we believed God wanted Mom and Dad to home-educate us, became the second reason why we decided to homeschool.

Stay tuned for part two of this post, as I uncover the last reasons why I'm homeschooled ...

School, School, and Oh Yeah, More School

"The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet." -- Aristotle.

That's definitely true.

Actually, in truth, I like school. I like learning new things. I like delving deep into the world of knowledge (wow, did that sound corny or what?) I admit there are subjects that I don't prefer (curse you, science!), but overall, I really like school. And don't get me started on school supplies! Freshly sharpened pencils, new erasers, pretty binders, new crayons, pencil crayons, stickers, decorating notebooks. Ahh, my happy place.

Today, we began school. As we do every Tuesday, for Bible lessons, we do memory work together. Mom, Travis, and I. We take turns each week picking a memory verse, writing it out all fancy on a piece of that giant construction paper and teaching it to the others. For the first week back to school, Mom chose the memory verse. 2 Timothy 2:15

"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth."

Good verse to start off the new school year, huh? The context is talking about sharing the gospel, but we can apply it in many different circumstances. Like school. Doing our best for the Lord in school so that we have no need to be ashamed when report card season comes. Doing our best for the Lord at work so that have no need to be ashamed when the staff meeting comes up. Are you picking up what I'm laying down? No matter where we are, what we're doing, or how we're doing it, we need to be doing our best for the Lord.

"Out of all the gifts to you, you shall present every contribution due to the Lord; from each its best part is to be dedicated." -- Numbers 18:29

Oh, How Quickly Things Can Change

It's true. For instance . . .

A couple of days ago, my brother, Travis, and I had sat down at about 9 o'clock to do school work. We worked for about an hour, doing English, History, and part of Math. We had a lot of work to do, and we were feeling kind of bogged down. Suddenly Mom came into the dining room and said, "All right, close your books, get a warm jacket and gloves on, and get into the car. School's canceled for the day." Any quizzes and reviews we had that day were also canceled. We then drove up to Peggy's Cove and spent the morning there. After that we went exploring around a place called Tantallon, and to the library, and out to lunch. Oh, how quickly things can change!

It was all a difference in attitude. One minute, we're kind of glum from loads of school work, and the next, we're bouncing around in excitement. God wants us to be cheerful and happy and excited all the time. He tells us in . . .

Proverbs 15:13- "A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed."

Proverbs 15:15- "All the days of the afflicted are evil, but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast."

Romans 12:6-8: "Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; ⁷if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; ⁸the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

God loves us so much, that He wants us to be cheerful in Him. Of course, we aren't always bouncing around in sheer joy. We're gonna get worried, down, stressed, tired, angry, upset, melancholy (isn't that a fun word!), and tearful, but God still wants us to try and be cheerful. That can be downright hard, though. That's why we need to lean on the Lord. We need to pray for a cheerful disposition.