A Home Schooling Father: Lessons Learned Part 1 – The Absolute Need For a Pure and Simple Walk

I have decided to post several small, and Lord willing, edifying posts for those who home school and those of the church at large. It seems that there is so much begging our attention in this day and age that we have entered into a critical season where by we must all remember our focus. I hope and pray these series of short lessons that I have learned, or should I say, I am continually learning, will be a true blessing.

Let me start off by reminding us all, especially men, it is our duty, especially the Christ-like leadership, love, support and at times, direct training from the father, to raise up and train a child in the way they are to go  (Deuteronomy 6:4-9 ; Proverbs 22:6). Fathers, we are to make sure that this is in the top three most important duties and concerns in our life. We will talk more about this in the coming future.

Today I want to talk about the chief most important duty and focus if we are going to truly be successful home schooling, successful in our marriages, in our work, in the church and in our lives. It is to walk with God with a pure devotion and simplicity of faith.

Now, I don’t pretend to have a large family as some of you have double or triple the number of children. We currently have 5 children, 4 girls and 1 boy. Their ages are, 10, 8, 3, 2, and 1. We have home schooled now for going on three or four years. My involvement varies from season to season and as we have need. I am the sole financial ‘bread-winner’. I am gone most of the week working 40-50 hours (Lord willing) and have to drive nearly 100 miles a day as well. Many times I have been asked by men, especially after the release of a new book, “How do you do it? I mean, how do you spend time with your family, work, have time for prayer meetings, write books and blogs and etc?” I usually reply, “Well, tell me, what does your day look like?” Most often their typical week includes plenty of sleep and ample time for entertainment. I simply say, “There is your problem, you need to die to yourself, as Christ did, and love your bride and family, as Christ did and does. You need to sleep less (in seasons) and use your time wisely.” I have by no means perfected this. More on this in coming posts.

Why do I say all this, well, for a beginning post I feel I have to provide you with some history and lay down some ground work for us to move forward. So what is the chief task at hand for both moms and dads. Simply to walk with God. We need to wage a war against our flesh and against the ridiculous schedules we have created that bids for our time and attention. We need to learn what it means to be “shut-up” to God; that is, to simply get alone with the Father.

It is in this place, of being alone with God, that we will find our strength. I have long wondered and many times pondered, just what did it look like for Enoch? “Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.” (Genesis 5:22-24) I mean, the guy had no bible studies, no local church, no prayer meetings, no books, no bibles, no men’s meetings – he had God, and God was enough! Not only did he walk with God, he was a prophet of God, which should not be shocking because if one truly walks with the God of the Bible, then they will know what God loves, what He hates and what He has said. Look at these convicting words that came through Enoch. “It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” (Jude 1:13-15) Enoch certainly knew the Lord.

What can we learn here? Simply: If we desire to home school, or do anything else, we must know how, when, where, and what to do with our children. Let me ask you, who knows your children much more than you do? The government? The new common core training? Public teachers? Your kidding, right? The Author and Perfector of all faith, that’s who! This is why the Bible is profitable for all training (more later on this), God knows everything and everyone. He knows each one’s needs. Therefore, if we want to know what or how to move in life, we need draw our strength, our knowledge, not from people with degrees (not to say this is altogether wrong), but from the Maker of all things.

I realize that your time is limited and we are all in different seasons, but we must strive forward in this area, especially you men who make a verbal profession to Christian faith. We must learn to walk with our God, fight hell on our knees, love unconditionally and yet grow in humility, desire a contrite heart, walk in piety and meekness, while never, and I mean never, giving up the good fight of faith.

Let us desire a simply and pure devotion unto our God. Read these verses below. Think about them. Repent if needed. And respond to the Lord’s leading in your life, no matter if what mankind think your crazy. Obedience really does matter!

“But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 11:3

“But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.” Revelation 2:4-5

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? ‘My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.’” Hebrews 12:1-5

I am including these words below from William Gurnall. I am also including this in a message I am writing geared towards men entitled, “Reveling or Resisting.” I thought it best to include these here as well.

“O, this persevering is a hard word! this taking up the cross daily, this praying always, this watching night and day, and never laying aside our clothes and armour, I mean indulging ourselves, to remit and unbend  in our holy waiting on God, and walking with God. This sends many sorrowful away from Christ, yet this is the saint’s duty, to make religion his every-day work, without any vacation from one end of the year to the other. These few instances are enough to show what need the Christian hath of resolution.

“This gives us then a reason why there are so many professors and so few Christians indeed; so many that run and so few obtain; so many go into the field against Satan, and so few come out conquerors; because all have desire to be happy, but few have courage and resolution to grapple with the difficulties that meet them in the way to their happiness.

“Let this then exhort you, Christians, to labour for this holy resolution and prowess, which is so needful for your Christian profession, that without it you cannot be what you profess. The fearful are in the forlorn of those that march for hell (Re. xxi); the violent and valiant are they which take heaven by force: cowards never won heaven.”[1]