continued...
The antidote to all of this?
Being captivated by the wonder of God. Saturation in the wonder of
God. He is the most Interesting, the
most Beautiful, the most Desirable, the most Satisfying.
Just this morning we were reading John Piper:
“The devil is real and terrible. He is much stronger than we are, and he aims
to deceive and destroy. Jesus said, “He
was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth,
because there is no truth in him. When
he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of
lies (John 8:44). Yet he has been
decisively defeated through the death and resurrection of Christ…therefore, if
you would have power over the devil, and if you would escape the snare of his
deceit and the destruction of your faith, then do what Jesus did and what all
the triumphant saints have done.
Treasure up the word of God, and wield it like a sword against your
foe….when the powers of darkness are arrayed against you, and aim to destroy
your joy, nothing is more precious than to have the word of God ready for the
battle. The fight for joy is not for the
unarmed…
“The wise and godly man [woman, girl] turns away from the
counsel of the wicked with all their promises of pleasure and finds that “his
delight is in the law of the Lord, and on this law he meditates day and
night. He is like a tree planted by
streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not
wither. In all that he does, he
prospers” (Ps 1:2-3). The lovers of
God’s word praise the preciousness of the Bible and the pleasures it
brings. They say that it surpasses the
most valuable earthly things, gold and silver; and they say its taste on the
tongue of the mind and heart is sweeter than honey, and that its richness is
like the finest food…."
“The law of your mouth
is better to me than thousands of gold or silver pieces…I rejoice at your word
like one who finds great spoil…I love your commandments above gold, above fine
gold…How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth…I
have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food…your words
were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me joy and the delight of my heart, for I am
called by your Name…”(taken from various Scriptures) THIS—this—is the trajectory we are looking
for, in little adolescent steps of grace, increasingly gaining strength and
potency in the lives of our children as they side with the people of God, even
those who are suffering, but always those who are single-minded in their
purpose and who hate the remaining sin in them and seek to confess and forsake
it. This can happen in a five-year-old’s
way, and in a fifteen-year-old’s way, and in a nine-year-old girl’s way. But it is a Way, a way of thinking, of
talking, of living, and it is a becoming.
That is not to say that pious talk is constructed to impress. (This can
be the prideful and hypocritical bane of a pastor’s son or daughter.) It is to
say that the bent of the heart is hungry for more of that which is good, holy,
praiseworthy, pure, kind, loving, truthful, of good report. This looks different in a high-spirited girl
than a quiet and reflective girl, and so it should. But the charming aspect of its reality, the
grit and tenacity of its purposefulness, shines through either way. And it not only shines through in the
presence of her father and mother in her moments close in their presence, but
also as the overflow of the heart when she is around other people without her
parent’s presence.
“Knowing God is the key to being happy in God. The more we know of God, the happier we
are…when we became a little acquainted with God…our true happiness commenced;
and the more we become acquainted with Him, the more truly happy we
become. What will make us so exceedingly
happy in heaven? It will be the fuller
knowledge of God.” (John Piper quoting
George Mueller)
Let’s captivate the hearts and minds of the next generation
with the surpassing awesome grandeur of our Creator, Lord, and Savior. There is enough Story there to keep us all entranced
for a lifetime!!
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