Mr. C's Blog

 “Grandchildren are the crowning glory of the aged; parents are the pride of their children." Proverbs 17:6

Most of us have heard the saying that our children are our pride and joy. My daughters have brought pride and joy to the lives of my wife and myself. We have had the time of our lives being their parents. We have worked to create a loving and what I believe is a fun home. We also have tried to raise them in an atmosphere where Christ was exalted. Our goal has also been to give them a Godly legacy to pass to their children.

In addition, we want them to know that we will always love them, believe in them, and we will never give up on them. I ran across a quote some time ago that expresses how we hope that they will always feel about us: "A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty."- Ziad Abdelnour

We are proud of our children but I also want them to be proud of us as Proverbs 17:6 says above. The second part of that verse is what I am referring to here. We pray that our girls will be proud of us not for the jobs we may have had or some other accomplishment but because of what the Lord has done in our lives. We want them to be able one day to share with their children the glorious deeds that the Lord has done in our lives. May it be the prayer of our lives that our kids would see Jesus in us!

 “The father of Godly children has cause for joy. What a pleasure to have children who are wise.” Proverbs 23:24

My wife and I were filled with joy when our children received Christ and it was also a day of joy when I had the privilege to baptize them. However, 3rd John 4 is right when it says: "There is no greater joy than to know that your children walk in truth." The greatest days for us were the days when it became clear to us that our children owned their faith. It was not ours, but it truly was their faith. I cannot begin to describe to you how much joy floods my heart when I see our girls living the Christian life with a passion and serving the Lord on their own initiative.

That joy is also present as we see them seek the Lord for their plans. It is a pleasure to see Godly wisdom develop in each of their lives. We have been blessed as parents to see our children walk in truth.

A few years ago, I let one of my daughters borrow “My Utmost for His Highest” by Oswald Chambers. After she had read it, I came into my office one day to find a note from her. The note said: “Are you so appreciative of the marvelous salvation of Jesus Christ that you are your utmost for His highest? Dad, this is a question that I have not been able to get out of my head. I am not sure I am, but I am going to be. God is really working in me!"

That note sums up what my wife and I have always desired for our children. There is no greater joy for us as parents than to know that our kids are doing all they can to be their utmost for His Highest!

“And because of His glory and excellence, He has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share His divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.” 2 Peter 1:4 

There are times in all our lives that we have made promises that we have not kept. Most of the time, this is unintentional. You may have forgotten or got so overloaded that you just could not get it done. That is the human part of who we are.

I am so grateful that we serve a God who is not only perfect at keeping His promises but also gives us so much than we could ever imagine. 2 Peter 1:4 tells us that He has given “us great and precious promises.” I love how the verse begins with the fact that we can access the promises because of God’s “glory and excellence.” This verse goes on to tell us that these promises give us an enormous amount of power.

Peter describes this power when he tells us that we can “share His divine nature.”  What exactly does that mean? 1 Peter 1:23 describes it best: “For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.” 1 Peter 1:23

We share God’s nature in that we, as believers, have eternal life. A life that will “last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.” What an incredible gift from God for this life!

More than that, Peter goes on to remind us that His promise is also to help us “escape the world’s corruption.” God promised to give us the power through His Holy Spirit to overcome sin, temptation, and corruption. How does He do that? Because “the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.” 1 John 4:4

Proverbs 29:6 also tells us that “Evil people are trapped by sin, but the righteous escape, shouting for joy.” Praise the Lord we do not have to live trapped by sin or corruption. Christ because of His “glory and excellence” has set us free.

I know from my own life that this kind of freedom comes with joy, peace, and contentment for this life and security for the next life. I do not know what kind of trials you may be encountering today but I pray 2 Peter 1:4 will remind you today that God has made you promises as His child that He will keep, and these promises offer us so much more than we could have ever hoped for!

We will equally face many good and bad times in this lifetime. This is especially true when it comes to raising our children.

If we are committed to doing what is best for our kids, we must realize that we are not called to be their friend or make decisions that are popular with them. As well, we must recognize that they will make mistakes and fail. What will we do when that happens? Where will we stand during these moments? Will we throw in the towel and become discouraged?

It is easy sometimes to think that we as Christians should be immune to disappointments and discouraging events, but we are not. I ran across a great quote that reads: "Expecting the world to like you because you're a good person is like expecting the bull not to charge because you're a vegetarian."-Anonymous

The difference for Christians is that when we face difficulties we have hope because we are anchored in a relationship with an all-powerful God who can help us through any situation we may face. I want you to see two verses below that give us this hope:

"Blessed be the name of God forever and ever: for wisdom and might are His; and He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and establishes up kings; He gives wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding." Daniel 2:20-21

"For the Kingdom of God is not in word, but in power." 1 Corinthians 4:20

Daniel reminds us that all wisdom and power belongs to God. He can change seasons, times, and kings. So surely, He can help us with any difficulty we may face as a parent. Being a member of the Kingdom of God gives us access to real power. It is not like the person we all know who just runs off at the mouth about how powerful he is but can never back it up. I am grateful that we serve a God who can do anything.

I love great praise music and one of my favorites is "Our God" by Chris Tomlin. There is one line in that song that I especially love. It says: "Our God is greater, our God is stronger, and our God is higher than any other." This is a truth that we must continually remind ourselves.

God is omnipotent which literally means "all powerful". I do not know of another concept more critical for Christians today than understanding and embracing this one. We will quickly be overwhelmed and discouraged in trying to raise our children without living out the idea that God alone is able to give us the power and wisdom we need for whatever task we may be facing.

So, how do we practically live out this concept? Ephesians 6:10 tells us to "be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might." What does this mean? It means that in our mind and in our heart, we know and claim daily that He is all powerful. Specifically, we daily recognize that we cannot rely on our own strength to face the difficulties of life, but instead we must rely on His strength.

It is a certainty that we will face difficulties in raising our children. It is not a matter of if, but when and how often we will face them.

Here is our annual virtual State of the School address where you can hear from some of our administration and students about what is going on at MCA and where we are headed in the future. A big thank you to our News Media students who diligently worked on this project!

State of The School from Metrolina Christian Academy on Vimeo.

“Never water down the Word of God, preach it in its undiluted sternness; there must be unflinching loyalty to the Word of God, but when you come to personal dealing with your fellow men, remember who you are- not a special being made up in Heaven, but a sinner saved by grace.”- Oswald Chambers

 We live in a day where there is plenty of division in our world. The division has become so great at times that we see violence as a result. Christianity is under attack in this culture. Our core beliefs are regularly mocked and derided. The question for us as believers is how should we respond?

I am sad to say that far too often Christians have responded in hateful and destructive ways which I believe further hurt our cause. At times, Christians have been mean.  I agree with Oswald Chambers above that we should be committed to the Word of God without compromise. But also, we should, as he says, remember that we are just “a sinner saved by grace.”

The people that attack Christians and Christianity are not our enemy. Ephesians 6:12 confirms this when it says: “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12

Our battle is not against man. It would do us well to remember that God loves them as much as He loves us and that it would take no more grace to save them as it did us.  Therefore, we must engage this culture with a very balanced approach.

We must stand for truth but do so in the love of Christ. I love the way Paul described it in Ephesians 4:15 when he declared: “Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of His body, the church.” Ephesians 4:15

Jesus was confronted, assaulted, and crucified by the culture of His day and yet He “spoke the truth in love.” This is my prayer for my life that I would stand for truth without compromise but while doing so that I would love people. What does this look like?

It means respecting the rights of others to have a different opinion and loving them regardless while we share what we believe is God’s truth. We do not have to be mean. We are to stand for truth. May we begin to pray the truth of 2 Peter 1:2 that declares: “May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.” 2 Peter 1:2