Praying For Our Students

Father in heaven,

We pray for the students returning to or beginning school this year.

Be with them and bless them in this endeavor.

When they feel excited, let that excitement become diligence and gratitude.

When they feel anxious, fearful, or discouraged, meet them with your peace.

Remind them that they do not enter this year alone.

You go before them, you are with them, and you will help them.

Give them motivation for the work you place before them.

Teach them to receive learning as both a gift and responsibility.

Form in them habits of attention, honesty, perseverance, and care.

When assignments are difficult, help them not to give up quickly.

When success comes, keep them humble.

Grow in them a love for what is true, good, and beautiful.

Awaken curiosity in their minds and integrity in their hearts.

Help them to wonder at the world you created,

to recognize your wisdom in what they study,

and to pursue truth rather than merely grades or approval.

We ask you to bless their friendships.  

Give them companions who encourage their growing faith.

Protect them from relationships that pull them toward foolishness, pride, cruelty, or compromise.

Teach them respect and humility.

Help them to honor teachers, administrators, and authorities.

Give them teachable spirits, able to receive correction without bitterness and instruction without pride.

Let their conduct adorn the gospel they are learning to love.

Above all, draw their hearts to Christ.

Let this school year not only be one of academic growth, but also of spiritual growth.

Give them love for your Word, your Name, and your Glory!

Father, be with them and bless them this year.

Amen.

(Chuck Bokisa is the principal of Providence Academy.)

It’s Volatile Out Here

[Image from Gage Skidmore]

It feels volatile out here. It’s understandable why. Iryna Zarutska’s look of horror before her death is haunting and her murder is revealing some significant rot in our justice system. And now yesterday a 31 year-old husband and father was assassinated because of his Christian faith and political views. The murder of Charlie Kirk is clear evidence of the rot of ungodliness in our culture.

What does God’s Word tell us about how God’s people are to process and respond to the rot of sin? At least three principles to remember:

Remember to be angry and do not sin.

It’s right to be angry with sin. By all accounts Charlie Kirk was a genuine and devoted follower of Christ. He was a husband. He was a father. He was a young man. He devoted his life to engaging people with ideas that would lead to human flourishing. He regularly shared the good news about salvation in Jesus Christ. He took the moral stances of Scripture seriously and tried to convince others to do the same. He was murdered. Be angry.

But do not sin. (Eph. 4:26) We should pray for the authorities to catch the assassin and to punish him to the fullest extent of the law (Rom. 13:3-4) but we should not seek vengeance (Rom. 12:19). We should feel and express the pain of injustice but we should not return evil for evil (Rom. 12:17). We should be clear-headed and straight-forward in our condemnation of evil but continue to walk in the Spirit and bear the fruit of the Spirit. 

Remember it’s worse than we know.

Isolated evil events are symptoms of the greater disease. When viewed through the lens of Scripture we should remember that this is not merely about political discourse, radicalization, mental health, or any other of the presenting symptoms. This is about sin. This is about the radical corruption of human nature. This is about creatures rebelling against their Creator. 

Isolated evil events are also flashpoints in a great cosmic war. The apostle Paul writes, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12). Satan is at work to diminish the glory of God. He wants to stop the spread of the gospel. He wants to silence God’s Word. He wants to make sure the salt doesn’t reach the rot and the light doesn’t reach the darkness. He wants God’s image-bearers to suffer and dishonor their Creator.

This is bigger than we often imagine. These are flashpoints in a war between heaven and hell. In light of this the Christian’s most powerful and productive course of action is to share the gospel. To Attack the gates of hell with good news that Jesus Christ can restore rebels to a right relationship with their Creator. The preaching of the gospel will deplete the ranks of Satan and bring glory to God.

Remember to pray.

Pray for the Kirk family. Pray for Charlie Kirk’s church. Pray for Turning Point USA. Pray for justice. Pray for righteous leadership. Pray for the fear of God for our country. Pray for peace. Pray for the return of Jesus.

Just pray? That’s all. If you are a follower of Christ, there may be much that you are called to in response to the rot. We are, after all, to be salt and light (Matt. 5:13-16). Our responses will vary depending on our vocations, spheres of influence, personalities, and spiritual gifts. But we are all called to pray and then respond in obedience to God.

If we are dismissive of prayer in situations like these, it may be that we truly don’t realize just how bad it is out here. It may be that we don’t see the evil of sin. We should work toward righteousness, just laws, a moral society, but we should pray and pray fervently for Jesus to return and bring the peace and justice that only he can (1 Cor. 16:22). Pray his promises and live with the assurance that he who promised is faithful.

It feels volatile out here. But “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).

(Ihor Zhakunets ("Magister Z") teaches Greek in the Grammar School.)

CHILD SOLDIERS

https://youtu.be/AhmvvdC3Tkk

Every so often a new documentary is released reminding us of the atrocities happening around our world. A particularly heinous act that has drawn much attention is the recruitment of children as soldiers in third world countries. Fierce war lords capture children, train them, and exploit them for their nefarious purposes. Generally, people are dismayed by these kinds of atrocities. Even if we understand that war is sometimes inevitable in a broken world, we instinctively want to protect the vulnerable. Children should not be fighting wars. Instead children need nurture, care, and guidance as they grow into adulthood. Only when they are thoroughly trained, only when they have reached this stage of adulthood can they be considered prepared for war.

As far as I am aware of, there are only two groups of people that consider sending children into war, a good idea, dangerous warlords and oblivious Evangelicals. We often hear well intentioned Christian parents make the argument that sending children into the public schools is a good idea because they want their children to be a light in the darkness. Although the intentions may be noble, the strategy is foolish. A developing child is exceptionally malleable and therefore will be naturally influenced when placed under the authority of an institution. This is particularly dangerous if the institution not only refuses to espouse the Christian worldview, but at its core hates this worldview.

As parents we often forget that our greatest enemy is not physical but spiritual (Ephesians 6:12). We send our children to some of the darkest spiritual places in our society with a desire for them to be the light, while they are being indoctrinated by wickedness. The long held rationale of sending children as warriors to a spiritually dark

battlefield must be abandoned by Evangelicals.

Although there may still be several outlying reasons as to why it would be acceptable for Christians to send their children to public schools, these reasons are becoming few and far between. Why not choose a school that shares your family's values? Why not choose a school that stands firmly on the gospel of Jesus Christ? Why not choose a school that is committed to Christian excellence in academics? Why not choose a school where your children will feel safe and cared for? Why not choose a school that will teach your children to pursue the true, the good, and the beautiful? Why not choose a Classical Christian School?