BJU Press Blog

COME

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To “come” is the hardest and easiest task any human will ever have. Coming to Christ means relinquishing pride. He is the only deity that requires that of His followers. The other so called deities say, “Bring me your works, and we’ll see if they’re acceptable.” Only the true God offers Himself on behalf of His followers. Note how clearly the following verses convey this glorious truth.

cover image of Wonderful Words
“O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker” (Psalm 95:6). All men need to worship God in reverence. Believers need to sing praise to Him. “O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation” (Psalm 95:1). The Lord Jesus gave a universal invitation, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Matthew 11:28–29). Only the Lord Jesus can give rest to the soul. “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger” (John 6:35). “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17).

GOLDEN THOUGHT: Jesus says, “Come unto me.”

[Excerpt adapted from Wonderful Words by Stewart Custer (January 27 reading).]

Hope for a Weary Soul

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young girl standing in front of a wall with magenta hand paintI knew we were in trouble as soon as I heard the sound of my daughter’s cackling laughter. When the sound of a toilet flushing joined the laughter only a heartbeat later, I was already heading toward the stairs.

My daughter stopped laughing. She called out a worried “Mommy?” that was hardly reassuring.

I felt the crisis, quite literally, when I reached the top of the stairs. There was water on the floor. This was bad.

When I finally reached the scene, I discovered that my daughter had unrolled almost an entire roll of toilet paper and had tried to stuff it all down the toilet. Now the toilet was seriously clogged and was overflowing.

The moments that followed my discovery were not some of my best moments. I frantically called my husband, and he told me how to turn off the water. That solved the most pressing crisis. But I was still left with a mess. And a very frustrated heart.

By the time my husband got home that evening, I was in tears. I felt like a failure, not an “I-tried-a-new-recipe-that-was-a-complete-flop” failure, but a soul-crippling one. I was battle-weary, not just from dealing with three disobedient children all day, but from dealing with my own sinful self. I felt like I had utterly failed at being a mom. I was sure that I was ruining my children.

This sense of failure hung on for a while. I would feel it when I would go to church and see other moms who, from my perspective, had it all together, or when I checked my social media accounts. Clean houses. Fancy dinners. Little girls in gorgeous, hand-sewn dresses. Fun (and educational!) activities. These perfect pictures of seemingly perfect families taunted me and cultivated my own sense of personal failure.

book cover of The Battle Within: What Being a Mom Taught Me About Myself by J. Robin Wood

Then one Sunday morning, my husband gave me a copy of The Battle Within by J. Robin Wood. That book, which I started reading the very day I received it, was a balm to my battered soul. Even the forward gave me hope:

I am convinced that marriage and motherhood are extreme tests of  selflessness. I am also convinced that every woman who enters these responsibilities is unprepared for the extent of the selflessness required, and that we are doomed to failure if we try to succeed by ourselves, in our own strength, and for our own happiness.

But there is hope—an absolute rock-solid truth. God is faithful. His Word is powerful and full of comfort. And there is help—real, credible support.

We have everything we need in His Word and through His Spirit to defeat the power of our personal Supermom—our own sinful nature.1

The author of this book is very much like me. She’s a stay-at-home mom with three very young children and is trying to juggle the responsibilities of helping her husband, training her children, and ministering to the body of Christ. She’s very transparent—from the very first pages of the book you realize that she’s not perfect in any of those roles. That transparency was very comforting to me. It helped me realize that I’m not alone in my struggle.

But the author didn’t just offer me a sympathetic “I’ve been there too” pat on the back. She pointed me to the only path to victory, God’s Word. She urged me to look deep within my own soul, to confess my sin, and to renew my mind continually with Scripture.

For as long as I am in this world, I’m going to struggle against my sinful flesh. I’m going to fail. But, as Robin Wood reminds readers, I’m not alone. God truly has given me all that I need—not just to defeat sin but to encourage my heart day by day.

If you or someone you know is struggling under the weight of responsibility that motherhood brings, I would strongly recommend The Battle Within.

1 J. Robin Wood, The Battle Within: What Being a Mom Taught Me About Myself (Greenville, SC: JourneyForth, 2015), i–ii.

How to Use Current Events to Make Science Relevant

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You’ve probably heard in the news about the massive skyscraper fire that erupted in Dubai on New Year’s Eve. A 1,000-foot 63-story hotel was engulfed in flames so large that they dwarfed the fireworks display going on nearby. Hundreds were inside, but no one died.

You may not have heard of the Winecoff Hotel, a 15-story hotel located in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. It burned in 1946, killing 119 people.

The difference between the two outcomes could be attributed largely to the fact that the Dubai hotel was equipped with smoke detectors, fire alarms, and fire suppression systems, while the Winecoff had none.

As BJU Press’s Physical Science textbook discusses, Henri Becquerel discovered nuclear radiation in 1896. His discovery led to a huge number of inventions and innovations that improved the quality of human lives. One of those inventions was the smoke detector, which became widely available in the 1950s. Common smoke detectors use nuclear decay in the process of sensing smoke. Becquerel’s discovery has helped save thousands, if not millions, of lives.

The Daily Post CourierWhat does this event have to do with teaching science?

It involves interest and motivation. You’ve just been introduced to a major science concept and probably want to know more. Your teen will too. It’s interesting for a couple of reasons.

First, the example about the hotel fires links a science concept to a current event and then shows how the two relate, taking a normally dry lesson and making it relevant and interesting by giving it purpose. A science lesson using this example would then go on to include a deeper study of nuclear radiation and decay, but now your teen would be approaching the topic with an understanding of its value.

In addition, this example makes it clear that God has given us a powerful tool in science, one that enables us to serve Him by carrying out His commands to love our neighbors by improving the lives of others around us. Motivation to learn comes from a desire to serve in this way.

Just about any scientific concept can be made more accessible by relating it to something that interests your student.  The end result is that you as the teacher get to be creative and your teen isn’t bored with memorizing endless facts without purpose.

Here are some steps to get you started.

  1. Find a current (or historical) event or problem that was changed or solved using science.
  2. Ask your student to explain what role science played in the event. (Doing so encourages his critical thinking skills.)
  3. Ask your student to research why science worked that way in relation to the event and to explain the associated concepts that influenced it.
  4. Finish the lesson with a discussion of why using science in this way would please God.

CARE

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It is unusual for a single word to have two completely opposite connotations, yet that is the case with the word “care.” In my experience it can mean nurturing and healing or wary and weakening. I either meekly trust in the Lord or live in my own strength—proudly self-reliant. The prophet Jeremiah laments in chapter 2, verse 13 that God’s people had forsaken Him,“the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out . . . broken cisterns.” We become dry and care worn when we seek to live independently of God’s grace, whereas leaning on Him gives us that sense of being cared for.

cover image of Wonderful Words

“That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another” (1 Corinthians 12:25). Paul warns against divisions and urges believers in the body of Christ to help and encourage one another. On the other hand, he urges the Philippians, “Be careful [anxious] for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God” (Philippians 4:6). No believer should worry about his own circumstances; he should pray and trust God for help. The apostle Peter also urges trust in God’s mighty power. “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” (1 Peter 5:7). Peter knew by experience that God can deliver from the worst circumstances (Acts 12:5–11).

GOLDEN THOUGHT: God cares for you.

[Excerpt adapted from Wonderful Words by Stewart Custer (January 20 reading).]

Quizzing with Hands-on Activities

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The Lord has gifted my first two daughters very differently. My six-year-old enjoys quiet, motionless activities such as reading. Even before she could read, we would find her curled up with a picture book, soaking in the illustrations. Our second daughter is always in motion. Even when she colors, she bounces in her seat. She seems to learn best when she is moving. She is four now, and we’re still working on letter and shape recognition. In a standard learning environment with pencil and paper quizzes and tests, she probably wouldn’t get good scores. For example, if my daughter was in second grade and had to sit still long enough to label a map, she probably wouldn’t do well—not because she isn’t capable, but because she learns best through activity.

More Than Pencil and Paper 

The good thing is that away from public schools and high-stakes testing, there’s more freedom to adapt the learning to the child. Activity-based learners, like my four-year-old, can engage in hands-on projects to master what’s being taught. After reading together, we can playact a story to improve reading comprehension. Our driveway can become the “paper” and sidewalk chalk the “pencil” when we practice writing our names.

Such activities can not only aid in teaching but can also help us measure or grade our children’s progress. Some children adeptly learn new material but aren’t skilled at filling out those bubble sheets or regurgitating a set of facts on paper. We can use an activity-based project to gauge our child’s progress even in a subject such as geography, where mastery is often measured by labeling a blank map with a memorized list of places.

global-balloon-activity-1-2016

Global Balloon Positioning

As a dad, I want my daughter to show us what she’s learned. I can’t imagine her (even two or three years from now) sitting her active little body down with a black-and-white image of the world and labeling the continents. But what if she could show her knowledge of the continents with scissors, tape, a balloon, and a rubber band? The BJU Press Heritage Studies 2 Teacher’s Edition includes this learning exercise. By completing the activity my child could demonstrate her understanding of the poles, the equator, and the relative location of the continents. I know my four-year-old would love and excel at this activity. While she was having a great time with her scissors and tape, we could “grade” her progress in developing map skills. It’s a win-win.

Memorize, Draw, Label, Repeat

It’s easiest to teach and grade with pencil and paper. It makes teaching and grading “standard.” But God uniquely formed each of us in our mother’s wombs. So we look different, we have different abilities, and we learn differently.

While some children excel when you have them memorize a map, draw a map, label a map, and repeat; other children do well when they’re moving. Others learn best when they can listen and then talk through the concept. It’s a blessing that we can individualize the learning for the children God has blessed us with.