Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve... But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Joshua 24:15, NKJV

 

According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it.

I Corinthians 3:10-11, NKJV

 

If you are like me, you are concerned about the state of our nation and the state of the world. People seem to be getting meaner and are openly feeding their lusts in ways that we know are offensive to God. Nations are going to war with other nations and even themselves. While this has always been a fact of this world in which we live, the violence just seems to be progressing at an alarming pace. Governments seem to be uniting against their own people - there is hardly anything in which they do not meddle in, nor does there seem to be a limit to their lust for their own power and for our money. Authorities no longer seem capable of minding their own business, and they certainly seem unable to serve in the capacity for which governments were established in the first place.

 

While there are notable exceptions, the vast majority of our public schools seem to be little more than an experiment in perversion. Even many of our so-called Christian colleges appear to have lost their moral compass and are striving after worldly standards rather than those established by God.

 

So, what can we do?

 

Joshua told us 3,400 years ago what the secret was: It was to serve the LORD our God and make sure that our families were doing the same! 2,000 years ago, the Apostle Paul emphasized this very standard. He told us that we were to be careful how we built our house on the only foundation that would survive these problems that are so common in this world in which we live. And we are not only to be careful as to how we build, we are to use the very best materials available.

 

But how does this relate to us, today? Quite simply it means that we are going to have to stop being influenced by the evil choices that the majority of people are so prone to make. Regardless of who they serve, we must choose God. This means for the single person, that they must only choose friendships and potential mates from among those who have a similar mindset. For those who are already married, that they must unite to follow Christ as the most important decision of their lives. For those who are parents, they must raise up their children in the way they should go, and they must protect their children as best they can from evil influences.

 

The only way to do these things is to build our spiritual houses on the foundation of Christ according to the blueprints we have been given in the Bible. We must be cautioned, however, that this will mean work. A master builder keeps those blueprints ever before him so that he can consult them in order to construct a house precisely according to the plans. And if he has questions on some area or another, he will likely also consult the architect that made those blueprints when he was designing the house. For Christians this will mean becoming daily Bible readers and it will also mean that we pray on a regular basis throughout the day to the Architect who designed our spiritual house.

 

It will mean worshipping with the church as often as we are able. This means not only attending the first day of the week worship on every first day of every week but also considering attending whenever the church meets for Bible study and worship. It means that we will not seek out a church that feels good and agrees with what we want them to teach, but one that most closely reflects the body of Christ that we read of in the Bible.

 

The level of commitment that we are talking about here will necessitate sacrifice. It may require finding other schools for your children or teaching them at home. It may require that you leave the church you are attending in order to find one that is teaching the precepts of God rather than the opinions of men. It will require you to devote daily time to Bible study and to prayer. It will require an insistence that your children be obedient to the rules of your house, because you are using the rules that you received directly from God's Word. And speaking of these rules, let us not forget that the greatest of these is love, so we must implement these rules in that love so that our family is safe, secure and blanketed with that love and compassion.

 

The New Year is upon us, and many tend to set resolutions as to what they desire to accomplish in the upcoming year. May I suggest that you design your resolutions to accomplish these vital goals that will assist us in building God's house in the way that will be most pleasing to Him. If you are serious about our desire to "change the world", we are first going to have to get serious about building our own house first. Once having accomplished that, we will be able to help with the changes on a bigger scale. 

 

So, how are you and your house doing? Are you serving the Lord? Are you building on the foundation of Jesus Christ with the very best that you have? The answer to these questions will definitely determine your future house, and it will go a long way in helping influence the eternal dwelling place of those you hope to encourage to get serious about the building of their own spiritual houses. It's a big task, to be sure, so let's get to the work while we are still able to do so. May I suggest that we begin with this resolve: "As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD".

For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

Psalms 84:10, RSV

 

We are at that time of year when people all over the world are beginning to think of making their New Year's Resolutions. Most will be admirable things like losing weight or getting their household budget under control. Some will resolve to get out of debt, others to start an investment plan that will make them rich. More noble still, some will resolve to spend more time with their families, others to shore up the foundations of their marriage in some way.

 

But the resolve that is really needed begins with the understanding that we are here to serve God. Because of this many people will resolve to attend the worship more, others to read their Bibles more. These are certainly worthwhile goals, and anyone who has ever made such a determination and actually carried it through has experienced the benefits of such a pledge. I would certainly encourage you to have some sort of change in your life, whether at the New Year or any other time of year that your need for renewal is at its peak, for such life changes are indeed important.

 

But the one caveat that I would add to such a commitment is this: You must first see the need for such a change of lifestyle. This understanding can only fully come about for those who have had a change of heart that is motivated by a love for God. Even beyond that, a person is going to have to feel compelled to make this change - it cannot be a light thing, nor can it be forced. 

 

It must be genuine!

 

Such is the message of the passage we read above from the 84th Psalm. It begins with a fuller understanding of perspective than most people will ever possess. The writer understood that being in the presence of God was so superior to any other place that it was literally a thousand times better to him, and that he would willingly trade a thousand days of living the high life apart from God for one day with Him. In fact, he would far prefer being a doorman at the House of God, rather than being inside where the party was going on with the "fun" crowd.

 

It is this type of mindset that we are going to need if we are ever going to make a resolve that has eternal worth, and it needs to be stressed again that the prompting for this kind of soul-changing event must come from an overwhelming desire to be with God. This was what made David a man after God's own heart, and it was because of this state of the heart that God pulled him from tending the sheep to a position and purpose that is beyond most of our comprehensions.

 

It was this type of desire to serve that the righteous men and women described in the 11th chapter of Hebrews had. It was an understanding that the temporary pleasures of the physical world were so inferior to the eternal joy and peace of Heaven, that they were willing to suffer any consequences to exchange their earthly realms - no matter how comfortable - for the hard work and even persecutions that would come from their choosing heaven over the world.

 

People will only make such a decision or have such a heart for God if they are truly and absolutely drawn to serve God in whatever way He desires them to. These are people who have gone way beyond the typical attitude that is so often filled with a reluctance to serve because of the high price it will cost. These are the ones who would happily sell all their possessions just to secure a single pearl because they already determined that no price was too high to obtain such a treasure.

 

If you and I want to make a resolve to pick up our cross and follow Jesus, we are going to have to be absolutely sold on the reason for why we are doing so. But, once we have the clarity of vision that allows us to see that just a few brief moments with God are immeasurably better than countless days anywhere else, then we will be ready to make a resolution that is actually worth something. And the beauty of such a resolve is this: For those who would rather spend a day with our Lord than a lifetime in revelry with the devil's children, these people will someday find out that instead of a mere day in the Master's court, they will be spending an eternity! And that trading of a carnal perspective for one that is spiritual will make all of the difference in the motivation needed to make a decision that is truly life changing. Do you have what it takes to make such a resolve? 

 

Do you remember the wonder of it all?

 

One of my earliest memories is of Christmas when I was about four or five years old. We had made the nearly 600-mile ride from Broomfield, Colorado to Lubbock, Texas in one day. We arrived just after dark on Christmas Eve to Mammaw's house. I don't remember if we had eaten on the road or after we arrived at my grandmother's (mom's mother) but I do remember that we kids had to get to bed, and quick, before Santa arrived. Mammaw just had two bedrooms, so they made a pallet on the floor in the living room for me and my brother. Now the living room was the most exciting place in Mammaw's house at that particular time of year, for it was where the Christmas tree was situated. This was important, for this would be the place where Santa would leave the loot we were anticipating.

 

I remember Dad staying up late watching some war movie on Mammaw's black and white. I think it was the Bridge Over the River Kwai because there was a bridge everyone was fighting over. It was an exciting movie on an exciting night, and it was hard for Steve and I to get to sleep. But get to sleep we must, for Santa would not come if we were awake. This was the rule, and I knew it to be true because Dad kept reminding us whenever he saw that we boys were still wide awake.

 

Do you remember what it was like trying to go to sleep on Christmas Eve? You would lay there with a combination of adrenalin from the excitement, and a surge of sugar from candy canes and hot chocolate you had consumed. If you had set the covers on fire, I'm not sure that it would have been any harder to go to sleep than it was with the anticipation you had for Santa Clause coming to town!

 

I remember another Christmas when I was about seven or eight. We lived near Seattle, Washington, so we did not go "home" to Lubbock that year - it was just too far. My Dad (who fancied himself a clever man) had about enough of we boys getting up at the crack of dawn, so he formulated a plan. First, he removed all of the goodies from our stockings that were hung over the fireplace in the living room and replaced them with onions. Then he closed the pocket door to the family room where the tree and presents were located. Now the pocket door was seldom used, and my brother and I had forgotten we even had one.

 

With the trap thus set, Dad lay awake in bed listening for us to get up. He heard us find the onions, but he did not hear us replace our little sister's stocking goodies with our onions... he would find out about that a little later though.

 

Anyway, after the dry run to the stockings, Steve and I ran into the family room - right into the pocket door! The noise must have rocked the entire house - I know it rattled mine and Steve's heads. I don't know about Santa, but I'm pretty sure Dad's belly shook like a bowl full of jelly when we hit that door. Year's later, Dad told us that he could hear us whispering in a hurried conference as to how to proceed. It turns out that Dad had jammed the door with a spoon, and it took us quite some effort to get that door open wide enough to squeeze through.

 

But when we did, it was incredible!  The tree lights were the only lights that were on, and all we could see under the soft glow of those lights were our presents. It was if magic had been worked at our house that year, for under the tree were two shiny new bikes! And they were not just bikes - they were Stingrays! And while by this time we did have some doubts about Santa (thus Dad's brilliant onion strategy) there was still nothing in the world like coming into a room lit only by the lights of the tree and beholding the splendor of what Santa had brought us.

 

Isn't Christmas marvelous!. It was something we looked forward to from the last day of school at the Christmas break, to the culmination when we finally got to see the presents under the tree. I miss those times, and I really miss my parents, but the memory of these moments makes me realize just how fortunate we kids were to have loving parents who went to such lengths to make Christmas such a time of joy for their kids. 

 

And, in case you thought I did, I didn't forget. We also remembered the reason for the celebration of this special time of year. While it's true we are not sure of the exact timing of Christ's birth, our family always celebrated that wonderful day at Christmas. After all, if even the angels celebrated when Jesus came into this world, could we do any less? 

 

My Mom and Dad were the best parents a boy could have, but it wasn't because of the gifts they gave at Christmas. It was because they were Christians who loved God and who loved Christ and who were determined to raise their kids to do the same. I think they did a pretty good job, and I know that they made sure that our lives were filled with joy all along the way. And the best times, I was sure when I was a kid, were those seasons that culminated with Santa Clause coming to town! Even on the year he brought those onions for my sister...

And the king answered the people harshly, and forsaking the counsel that the old men had given him, he spoke to them... saying, "My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions."

I Kings 12:13-14, ESV

"Now LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David... So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?"

The LORD was pleased that Solomon had asked for this.

I Kings 3:7-10, ESV

 

This is a true tale of two kings. One was King Solomon, raised by his father to seek God and to seek wisdom. And though his father David had made a number of mistakes in his life, failing to realize that he was first and foremost a servant of God was not one of them. Because of his understanding, he raised Solomon to realize that he was to be a servant as well. For a while, Solomon did just that. When made king, Solomon requested that God give him a heart of discernment so that he could rule the people well. 

 

Somewhere along the line, however, he got sidetracked. He began to look to his own interests and became less of a servant of God and the people he ruled, and more of a self-centered man interested primarily in his own pleasures. And this was the example he left for his son Rehoboam. Because of this, Rehoboam never knew what it meant to be a servant, and he therefore never understood what it meant to be a man. So when the people asked him to lighten the load that his father Solomon had placed upon them in his older years, Rehoboam answered in the way of a spoiled boy, instead of a mature man. This not only split his family in later years, but it split the nation in his younger ones. And Israel, the mightiest nation on the face of the earth during the reign of Solomon became a splintered group that eventually became easy prey for her enemies.

 

And it was all because one king had raised his son to be a man, and one king raised his son to be a boy.

 

There is an important lesson for all us dads in this story. Sometimes a man gets so caught up in his work and in his hobbies that his children seem to only get whatever is left over. And leftovers are poor fare indeed in the raising of men. When a child, boy or girl, is raised to understand that the job and the fun come before God and the children, then that is likely the way that they are going to turn out. On the other hand, when a boy or girl is raised by a father who recognizes that service to God comes first, that service to family comes next, and that the job and the hobbies (important as they are) come somewhere after in the hierarchy of importance, then that is the way that they will likely believe as well.

 

Many men will bristle at this suggestion. After all, the family needs to be taken care of financially, and a man needs to relax - doesn't he? And while both the job and the winding down are important, we men need to learn early that this is not the purpose that God has placed us here for. He has placed us here to serve Him, and to lead our families in the same! Which means we will raise our children to be servants of God because we are "heavenward" thinking and we realize that this is what we are placed here to do.

 

And this heavenward thinking that makes a man worthwhile will also result in our boys becoming men someday. The earthly focus, while it might train up our boys to be a man's man in the eyes of the world, will not train them up to be real men. And a real man when given the choice between the discerning heart needed to lead the people, or a bullying heart to control the people, will always choose the route of discernment. 

 

David. a man after God's own heart, made his share of mistakes but still raised his son Solomon to be a man. Solomon, a man given more wisdom and wealth and power than anyone else, became a selfish and distracted man who raised his son Rehoboam to be a boy. 

 

How are we raising our sons and daughters? It is something all we men need to be giving serious thought to, don't you think?