Is Israel Still Waiting On The Land Promise?

Today, many teach that Israel never received the land that God promised to give them. These teachers and their followers carefully watch events in the Middle East, looking to see if perhaps Israel is about to gain the Promised Land. Like the Bereans who examined all teaching in the light of the Scriptures, let’s ask “What does the Bible say?”

In the summary of the conquest lead by Joshua, the Lord adds some commentary in Joshua 21:43-45. It reads, “So the LORD gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took pos­session of it and dwelt in it. The LORD gave them rest all around, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers. And not a man of all their enemies stood against them; the LORD deliv­ered all their enemies into their hand. Not a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.”

Did you notice that statement? “…the Lord gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers…” Can there be a statement any more clear than this? What about the statement “…not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken…”

The idea that Israel still waits to receive the land promise is false. Those who build their hopes on events in the Middle East are sadly mistaken. The fact is that God’s nation is not Israel but His church. Those who come to Christ and put their hope and trust in Him “are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” They are “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” 1 Peter 2:5, 9 -10.

Have you been deceived into thinking the Middle East holds the answers to God’s eternal plan? Clear your mind of these ideas and spend some time simply reading your New Testament. Find out just what God’s church is and how it “makes known the manifold wisdom of God…according to the eternal purpose…” that was “…accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Ephesians 3:10-11.

Email me if you want discuss this further.

Parent to Parent

I wrote this article about 10 years ago. Perhaps it is still helpful -- Bill

Probably no one is ever in a position to give advice in the area of parenting. After all, if you give advice while your children are at home, there is the chance that they will grow up to be unfaithful or half-hearted Christians. But if you wait until they are grown and out on their own, yet still faithful, you have lost touch with the younger folks who are having the children. Your advice falls on ears that think your child-rearing days occurred so long ago that the advice is ancient.

While I am still somewhat close to those early years of child rearing (we have a 4 and 5 year old), I also have some years under my belt (we also have a 12 and 15 year old), so I thought I would give this a try.

Those who are not parents can never fully know the love that develops in parents for their children. The tenderness, the pride, those joyous moments watching their growth and development are wonderful experiences. Far greater is the day your child obeys the Lord and becomes your brother in Christ and stands beside you in the Lord’s work. So how do we get to that point in our children’s lives?

Well, Nan and I are not perfect parents. We thank the Lord often for the four wonderful blessings He gave us. And that’s the beginning.

Pray. You need to be praying for your children - every day. Pray that they will love God all their lives and that He will protect them, keep them and not let them stray. Pray for your efforts as a parent. Ask for wisdom to be a good parent. Ask for forgiveness when you have done wrong as a parent. Pray together and be specific concerning each child and his or her unique personality traits that are either strengths or weaknesses before the Lord. When it comes to your children, "Pray without ceasing." (1 Thessalonians 5: 17)

Instruct your children in righteousness. Fathers are commanded to do this (Ephesians 6:4) but Proverbs speaks about a mother’s counsel to her children (Proverbs 1:8; 6:20). Daily Bible reading and memorizing verses are important steps toward accomplishing this. Sometimes, instilling the Lord’s righteous principles comes through other opportunities presented during the course of a day.

When your children fuss with each other, talk with them about how God wants us to be kind, thoughtful and sharing people. When you are outside, talk about the wonderful things God made. Show them Abraham’s stars. Keep the Father ever before them. When they speak negatively about someone, let them know that Jesus loves and died for that person too. Even at an early age, when they lie, cheat, steal or use improper speech, teach them about those sins and help them learn how to pray to God for forgiveness.

Teach them obedience to God. Don’t just hope that your child will one day be a Christian. Expect it. Assume it. Talk about it regularly with your children. Make sure they are attentive when someone is baptized and tell them that one day they will be baptized. Be sure they understand the plan of salvation at an early age. And make certain to put as much emphasis on Jesus’ death and resurrection, and on their own faith, repentance and confession, as you do on baptism.

Teach them reverence before God. Part of reverence before God means proper preparation before services. Make sure they get proper rest the night before or on Sunday afternoons. Turn off the car radio on the way to services and perhaps read from the Bible or sing songs. Do the bathroom run before services begin and teach them to wait until services are over before they go again. Children can go hours without a bathroom break when playing. Why can they not make it one hour without a bathroom break during services? The constant stream of children going to the rest rooms is distracting. Instruct them that God is present and we are before Him in worship. By teaching children reverence before God, they will learn to control themselves and bathroom runs will become the exception rather than the rule.

By the time children are three or four, they should be expected to sit in services without having be entertained by storybooks or by drawing pictures. A bible or books about bible characters or events can replace these. Drawing should be replaced by taking notes on the lesson. Children should not sleep (sometimes sleeping is better than fussing if they have missed a nap or are sick). At age five children can listen to sermons and answer questions about them in the car on the way home. They should sing when possible and stand for songs and prayers when the congregation does.

Teach younger children reverence, too. Children will misbehave. When they do, take them out, use proper discipline and bring them back in. When our children were very young, the place of privilege was our "assigned" seat. If misbehaving put us on the back row, no toys, books or writing was allowed. Be sure to take children out immediately. Crying is normal and we all understand. But if you have never tried to preach over a crying baby or a screaming child, believe me, the baby or child will win every time. The speaker loses people’s attention for several rows around the baby and the effort to overcome the noise can cause him to lose his place or his train of thought.

Teach them self-discipline. Children need to learn to turn off the TV or Nintendo game after a reasonable amount of time. Help your children learn to say "no" to self and "yes" to spiritual concerns. Solomon said we need balance in the time we spend in various activities. (Ecclesiastes. 3: 1-8) It is difficult to teach this lesson if we, as parents, spend all of our time with the TV or if we fill our children’s lives with outside activities but neglect to balance their lives with spiritual activities. Gospel meetings and singings are wonderful opportunities to be together in a spiritual setting.

Teach by your example. Do you want your children to be faithful? Be faithful yourself. Do you want them to be reverent? Be reverent. Do they see righteous living in your life, or do they hear the preacher speaking against things that you are practicing? Do you fuss at your children for not being responsible yet shirk your responsibilities? Are your children learning dependence upon God because they see your dependence upon Him? Do your children hear you pray at times other than at meals? Do they see you reading your Bible or teaching others from His word? If your children were asked about what is most important in your life, what would they say? Try asking them.

Our children have free will. They can and will grow up to do what they wish. However, we can provide them with a strong foundation from the very first day. If we do so, I believe and pray that Proverbs 22:6 can be a reality in our children’s lives, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."

"Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate." (Psalm 127: 3)

May God bless our efforts with our children.