God has a purpose

by Art Dappen

We have found this article, which was written in September of 2004, to be a much needed challenge.  We hope it will be a blessing to other christian parents, too.  This past summer, we have heard many lament, in effect, "Where are the Timothys?"  Perhaps the answer is not that hard to find.  -- the Kleins

When God says "Teach my words to your children," he has a purpose. 

What is the purpose of teaching the Bible to our children? The modern world does not think it is important to teach the Bible. Even the modern church thinks that it is more important for children to study academic subjects than to study the Bible. The average Christian boy or girl studies six hours of academics a day, compared to a few minutes of the Bible. Few parents seriously teach the Bible to their children. 

God tells parents many times to teach his Word to their children. God desires that the children know his Word and come to him. The Word of God causes children to know God, to believe him, and to understand what he wants them to do. It tells the children how to follow Jesus. 

The Law of God reveals God's righteousness, just as the whole visible Creation of God reveals his power. Without the Law of God, no one could imagine the character of God, because that character is not seen in the physical universe. You could watch the sun, the mountains, and the ocean for thousands of years and never realize that God is full of mercy and truth.  His merciful and truthful character is not declared by the trees, rocks, and rivers, but it is revealed in the Law of God. The Law reveals the qualities of God's character as he acts in righteousness and as he judges sin.  God's judgments against sin teach us that such sinful behavior is unacceptable to the righteous God.  

What then will a child receive who diligently studies God's Law? He will obtain the knowledge of God's righteousness. He will thus know who God is, and what God expects him to be. He will also understand why certain behavior is evil: because it opposes the righteousness of God.  

All the men whose lives are described in the Bible are examples to us, but especially the example of Jesus. These examples show us what it means to believe God and to be servants of His righteousness. Jesus tells us to follow righteousness, and the way he walked was the perfect expression of righteousness.

Today many people are trying to serve God, but not in the same way that Jesus and Peter and Paul were serving him. Modern methods are very different; they do not depend upon the power of righteousness, but the power of electronics, the power of mass psychology, and the power of medical science. Modern Christians are enlightened by human knowledge rather than by the knowledge of God's righteousness.  

For this reason God does not answer their prayers to the same extent. A lowered knowledge of God's righteousness has resulted in a lowered power in prayer. Since God does not answer their prayers as he did in the book of Acts, they must resort to human technology and science. Thus the modern Christians are rapidly departing from the faith of the New Testament, a faith rooted in righteousness and depending wholly upon following righteousness.  

The thing that puts power in prayer is the righteousness in the heart of the one who prays. "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." (James 5:16.) Jesus said the same thing to his disciples: "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." (John15:7.) When Jesus speaks of "his words abiding in us", he is speaking of his righteousness abiding in us.  

Modern education does not teach righteousness, but teaches all of man's modern discoveries as a substitute for righteousness. Those who place great value on education are those who have lost the power of righteousness, or perhaps never had it to begin with. They do all their works to be seen of men and to receive the accreditation of men. They diligently seek the praise of men because God gives them no praise. Their lives have little righteousness. Jesus said of such men, "How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?" (John 5:44.) 

Jesus and the apostles did not use the world's education or science in order to serve the lost and needy because they had something vastly better. Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father." (John 14:12.) In order to work such works, we Christians must be full of faith in Jesus, particularly in his words which he left to teach us the ways of righteousness.  Abundant righteousness in the heart will come from meditating upon the Word of God. It will not come from studying the words of proud men who go about to establish their own righteousness through their good works. 

How are we going to represent Christ in this present darkness? By seeking his righteousness and showing the world the power that exists in such righteousness?  Or by seeking the wisdom of modern man's science and showing the world the power that exists in such science? Let us fix our eyes upon Jesus, and follow the example of his life.  

We should hunger and thirst for righteousness so that we can properly serve the Lord. The Word of God will create that hunger and thirst for righteousness.  However, let us identify the substitutes for righteousness which the children are taught to nibble on, and which take away their hunger for righteousness.  

In the first place our society has a general craving for fun, enjoyment, and excitement. Children are fed a constant diet of things to awaken and deepen their craving for fun and thrills. This "fun and games" mentality is an unscriptural training which will poison the hunger for true righteousness in the child.  

In the second place our society has a craving for success, prosperity, and security. Children are fed a constant diet of ideas which will awaken and deepen their craving for success, prosperity, and security. This "get ahead” and “be successful" mentality is an unscriptural substitute for the true righteousness which is the only true security. "But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." (Luke 12: 20-21.)  

Spiritual growth will not occur in children if the parents are appealing to the child's flesh. When parents appeal to the flesh, they will get growth of the flesh, nothing else. But when the parents appeal to the spirit, they will get growth of the spirit. The most spiritual thing on earth is the Bible. For this reason God commands the parents to teach the words of the Bible to the children, and teach them without ceasing: while at home, while traveling, in the evening and in the morning. His words should be written upon the doors and posts of the home.  

Will this cause the children to hate the truth? No more than speaking constant English to a child would cause him to hate English. In reality, the constant exposure to anything will cause a child to like it more. This is why Australian children like Vegemite.  

Timothy was a child who had been taught the Scriptures from his childhood, and it did him great good:  "...from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." (2 Tim 3:15.) Little wonder that Timothy was different from other men. Paul testified of him, saying, "But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state. For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's. But ye know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the gospel."  (Philippians 2: 19-22.)  

When God says "Teach my words to your children," he has a purpose. He wants more Timothys. The word of God will produce them if the parents teach the word diligently to their children. ✞

Copying the Bible in Botswana!

We recently happened an exciting testimony about a missionary in Botswana who was encouraging people to copy the Bible.

 Our family has been copying the Bible for several years, but we heard about it from others who had been copying the Bible.  However, Kelly Carruthers actually got it from the Bible!

Kelly just realized that his time was limited, he was spread pretty thin among many places, so to encourage the believers to press on in their growth in the Lord, he just gave them notebooks and told them to copy the Bible. He believes that the Word of God is living and active, and that the Holy Spirit uses it to help us grow. Where did Kelly come up with this idea? He had seen God's instructions for the kings of Israel in Deuteronomy 17:18-20

And it shall be, 
when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, 

that he shall write him 

a copy of this law in a book 

out of that which is before the priests the Levites: 

And it shall be with him, 

and he shall read therein all the days of his life: 

that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, 

to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: 

That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, 

and that he turn not aside from the commandment, 

to the right hand, or to the left:

 to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, 

he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.

Of course, the results of the believers copying the Bible was amazing.  No wonder, huh?

We recently wrote to Kelly, and he gave us permission to share his response with our readers.

Dear Dave & Debbie 

Here is my story and I think you will identify with many things. 

Seven years ago, many of the missionaries in Southern Africa underwent training on creating dependency among our African Christian brothers. We even considered the idea that giving a Bible to someone might be dependency. I contemplated this aloud with some volunteer Americans and they were deeply offended. In my prayer time the next day the Lord spoke loudly, "You don't know what you are talking about it, you should get a notebook and try it." So I did. Not believing it was really possible I started in Philippians and was amazed at how the Bible was actually programmed to teach itself. Then I began to discover more inner clues to the amazing power of the Word of God as it stands on his own. 

After copying for myself for about 1 and 1/2 years, I started to hand out notebooks to my African brothers and sisters. They began to see what I had been seeing and even more things. I was so amazed at their insights and discoveries. I have been using this method without knowing there was actually anything in print like what you have as resources. I have finished the Bible 3 times and have given copies to my children. I am walking through it for the fourth time and believe it conditions my heart to stay in tune with the one who called me here...

The other thing I have noticed is the maturity of those who are writing.  Their theology is well-balanced because they treat all the verses equally.  They also stay focused on Matthew 6:33.  

Just two weeks ago one of the main guys in Zimbabwe was contemplating going back to school and or attending a trade school.  I believe in helping people better themselves so I was willing to help if he wanted.  He went back home to Zim and prayed about it.  Changed his mind and told me why.  Matt 6:33.  He wants to seek the kingdom first and then Matthew 28, he wants to make disciples and doing the schooling thing would only take him away from that focus.  He believed God will provide for his needs if he does these two things.  

I noticed on your web site that you thought it a shame that the television was advancing certain ideologies ahead of the gospel.  I couldn't agree more.  Capitalism is not Christianity, but obedience to the word of God is what we are after...

May the word of God continue to bless you and show you his amazing promises.  He will not share his glory with anyone else, not even the church, if it doesn't put him first.  "No one can receive anything unless it is given to him from heaven."  John the Baptist has impressed me most recently, he delighted in hearing the voice of the bridegroom.  I love to hear it second handed from other disciples who also hear his voice.  

Be blessed, Kelly 

Isn't that such a wonderful testimony?

Kelly also gave us permission to share this article he has written on Bible copy for believers back in the States.

Copying the Bible! 

I bring you greetings from Botswana, Africa. Many of you have heard my wife and I speaking about a new/very old discipleship method. This method involves a notebook, pen and your favorite translation of the Bible. We recommend you start in Matthew and begin writing down every word and every verse. Why? The end goal of this method is prayer. As we compare ourselves to the words we are writing and whether or not they truly describe us, it will give us something to talk about with God. It may end up in praise to him concerning the changes we have seen, or a need which He has pointed out, or a word to share with someone else. Jesus saved us to be in a relationship with him, not just learn about him. It is the voice of Christ which brings healing, faith, strength, and conviction.
Some people have asked some questions and I thought it would be good to write them down. Maybe you have had the same question and did not have a chance to ask us personally. 

1. Can I summarize what I have read? 

No! Summarizing will only include what you remember from reading. We want to allow the Spirit of Christ to use any phrase in the verses we are copying he chooses. Summaries leave out too many things. 

2. How much a day should I copy?

 As much as you want. To keep us from becoming Pharisees we do not want to set any type of limit. I do recommend “daily”. Yesterday’s spiritual meal will not suffice for today’s spiritual battle. Try to write out complete sections, whether that is a chapter or an individual story.

3. What version may I use? 

Any. Just be sure it is a translation and not a paraphrase. 

4. What am I looking for? 

Surprises. Repetitions. Yourself. Copying the scriptures will help you to know how “Christ-like” you are in your daily living. Oh, I almost forgot. You are also looking for God’s heart. Nothing he did nor what Jesus did was by accident and the way the writer of the gospel presents it is not by accident. 

5. What should I do after I finish Matthew? 

Keep right on going. It is very important to finish all of the gospels before proceeding to the rest of the New Testament. Then on to Genesis. Even if it takes you years, the journey will be worth it. 

6. What if I don’t understand something I am writing? 

No problem. Write it out, reread it aloud when you finish that section, but whatever you do, don’t stop. We are only responsible for what we do understand. Sometimes God might even hinder us momentarily until later when we can handle that particular section of scripture. 

Please feel free to email me any question you may have. My email is kaknnc@gmail.com But most important, email your testimonies. We remember 10% of what we hear, 30% of what we see, 70% of what we write down, and 90% of what we talk about with others. Share what you have discovered, and continue to walk by child-like faith.

Cool homeschooling verses

Here are some cool homeschooling verses, 1 Peter 1:13-25

Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:

But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

This scripture seems to give a good perspective for us as we raise our children, to keep our perspective on what really matters.  If we don't intentionally put this before us and our children, we could unintentionally teach our children that worldly things matter more than eternal.  We will not be teaching them to seek first the kingdom of God.

We have to do things differently from the way the world does things if we desire something different from what the world offers, especially in teaching our children.

Only the Word of the Lord endureth for ever.  

How can we demonstrate that to our children today?

More effort

The whole world understands that a doctor or an engineer can’t be trained in a haphazard manner. It involves continuous study for 15 or 20 years. But very few people realize that the study of the Word of God requires even more effort. If earthly things require much study, what of the heavenly? By not giving that much importance to the Word of God, the vitality of the church has fallen and become only a religious tradition.

This situation cannot be remedied with a week of evangelistic meetings or with a short Bible lesson every Sunday in Sunday school. It can’t be remedied with emotional praise services or with miracles or with divine healings. It can’t be remedied with dramas, missionary trips, and other activities for the youth in the church. The people get excited about such things, but the next day they return to their same lives of spiritual ignorance because they haven’t made the Word of God to be their principal meditation.

Modern Christians have given ten or twenty years of their lives to the study of this world’s wisdom in the schools, and only a few hours to the study of the Bible, which is the Word of Truth that God communicated to the world through his prophets and apostles, Jesus Christ being the principal expositor.

The only remedy for this lukewarm state of the church is to put our children to study the Bible as if it were the thing of most value in the universe. ✞

-  Art Dappen (1946-2006), author of The Education of Kings.  This article was excerpted from his newsletter, PlaticAMOS.

God speaks

Today marks six years since the homegoing of our dear brother in Christ, Art Dappen.  We hope this article of his will be a blessing to fellow christian parents.

__________________

Many people want God to speak. He speaks when there is a need to. But he doesn’t speak when there is no need.

I have seen fire extinguishers in buildings to be used in case of fire. Normally there are words written on the outside of the extinguisher to explain its use. An employee isn’t paid to stand there day after
day, saying to those who pass by, “Look, this is a fire extinguisher in case there is a fire. It works like this.”

An employee is not necessary. A simple written sign is sufficient.

Likewise, God has already spoken by his prophets and by his Son almost everything that he needs to tell us. There is no need to repeat it again.

What the prophets wrote is sufficient. And since the Word of God is eternal, there is no need to revise it or change it.

One day John Paton, a missionary to the Islands of the Pacific, was building his house on the island of Aniwa, and needed some nails and tools. He grabbed a piece of planed wood and with a pencil wrote a few words on it. He handed the wood to the old chief Namakei, asking him to take it to Mrs. Paton, who would send the things they needed. The chief looked doubtful and asked, “But what do you want?” The missionary replied, “The wood will tell her.” The chief was angry, thinking that the missionary was making fun of him, and demanded, “Has anyone ever heard wood speak?”

But after much persuasion the chief took the wood. He was amazed when the woman looked briefly
at the wood and then gave him the things without being told what they needed. The chief brought back the things, and made eager signs that he wanted an explanation. The missionary looked at the wood and read the words in the island dialect, and informed the chief that in the same way, God speaks to us in his Book. There God has written his will, and when anyone reads it, they can hear God speaking in the Book, just as Mrs. Paton had heard her husband speaking in the wood.

This incident awoke in the poor chief a great desire to see the Word of God printed in his own language.

He began helping the missionary to learn the words and expressions of his dialect with much enthusiasm.

And when at last the missionary began to translate portions of the Scripture, the joy of the chief was unbounded. (John Paton, Missionary Patriarch, reprinted Vision Forum, 2001, p.320.)

This story repeats itself in hundreds of places around the world. The people who live in darkness see a great light when they hear the Word of God.

It’s not for nothing that we are preparing our children at home. It’s not for nothing they are copying the Bible. The businesses, companies, and rich employers are waiting for us to send them our children to do their work. But there are other people who are waiting for something millions of times more important. For whom are you preparing your children to work?

Electricity is arriving in many tribes, and soon afterward the televisions. It is a shame that the electronic message of materialism is arriving before the Word of God. Jesus Christ is calling his disciples to
arise and go. We are in a race, and we must get there first with the gospel. ✞

They're here!

We just received the rest of our shipment of paperback copies of The Education of Kings!

This is the first time we had them entirely commercially printed. Our earlier attempts were fun and exhausting projects, but we are very happy with the improved quality and durability of these nicely bound books.

They were a big hit at the Wisconsin CHEA conference (post to follow) and we are excited to have them ready for the CHEF conference later this month! Praise the Lord!

Pre-conference preparations!!!

After an April spent by most of us lying around coughing, consuming mass quantities of garlic and cayenne cold remedies, Kleenix and herbal teas, plus some of us having a baby (mostly me), unfinished April projects have rolled over into May. So, we have been scrambling to get two months worth of projects done in a few weeks....because it is almost conference time!!!

We are so thankful to have our next RV school bus conversion underway and in our driveway!

Solomon and Noah have removed several unneeded benches to serve our initial needs for space. We still have tons of stuff to do, but the preliminary stuff should be done in time for our upcoming trip to Wisconsin, praise the Lord!

We are catching up on our laundry backlog after our front loader became a sogging machine. We are making periodic trips to the laundromat until the repairman comes, hopefully tomorrow!

We are doing lots of shopping.

And taking lots of pictures our sweet littlest Klein. His little head was once entirely covered in downy blonde hair but now has developed a smooth bald spot on top, which we think is where he is kissed most frequently. We have to wash his scalp frequently, as he often smells like whatever condiment was used for the most recent meal (e.g. ketchup).

We have a new supply of The Education of Kings in production and anticipate having plenty for our conferences this year!

Most of the kids have gotten much more civil about waiting in line for their turn to hold baby Daniel Amos.

The girls have been working hard on renovating our former office into a larger girls' room. It will also serve as a guest bedroom, and we are anticipating guests, so we are jamming!!!!

At just about one month of age, Daniel gives each photographer the hope that they will be the one to snap his first voluntary smile. You can almost make one out here. (This photo was pre-bald-spot.)

Projects involving the girls usually come in closer to budget because they don't require as much Mountain Dew.

Abi and Susanna re-caulked the scary caulk in the guest bathroom so our guests don't run screaming for their lives!

Sarah is surveying the purpler walls of the new girls' room.

Hannah is printing, folding and stapling as unto the Lord!

Zak is working hard on his client's new site, though sometimes he feels he isn't getting anywhere.

Blessed to be a blessing!

It is the eve of the eve of CocoaConf, and we are bustling here, ready for a wonderful several days in cool Columbus, Ohio!

(But is Columbus ready for us?)

We are once again seeing the Lord bring together a lot of details for us in this upcoming event, and it reminds us of the ways in which he brought things together for our family's homeschool conference activities. Things really get cooking for us in June!

Our calendar filled up
(not unlike our nasal passages)

...must be conference time!


Deadline intertwined with deadline,
forming a springy, bouncy trampoline on which to bounce -- boing!

As every man hath received the gift,
even so minister the same one to another,
as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
1 Peter 4:10

Our purpose for going to the homeschool conferences, offering Christian literature and occasionally speaking, is to meet new people and help build up other families. In the process, we gain a lot of encouragement ourselves! If the Lord tarries, we still have many homeschool years to go. We can claim no credentials, but we just have a desire to share what the Lord has been teaching us.

This year we expanded our conference coverage by a whopping 33% by adding a new conference to our schedule!

It takes everyone working together to get our tribe out the door!


Sarah is getting pretty good at thinking through our lists in advance. That saves a lot of headaches!


It's a bus thing....mapping out the storage plans for the seat storage.


Producing copies of the booklets at our table. Some are articles we have written, most are by others. Many of them were written by our friend, Art Dappen, who went to be with the Lord in 2006. His family had a ministry based in Mexico, and so the articles were all written originally in Spanish for Christian parents in Mexico.

Folks perusing the Associacion Amos 5:24 table
at the El Hogar Educador conference in Mexico

The Dappens had literature tables at the homeschool conferences in Mexico, and folks could select from the various titles at their table. Through this and other ministries, they met and encouraged countless Spanish- and English-speaking families.

Art Dappen had the discernment to see the educational idolatry which was supplanting the discipleship emphasis in Christian homeschooling. What began, for most families, as an exodus from a godless institution has, in many places, evolved into a sure-fire attempt at getting kids into better universities (and at a younger age!) and high-paying careers.

We once thought Art's view was prophetic. (After all, he preached against television in Mexican towns that didn't even have electricity yet!) But we have since discovered that there were many similar voices pre-dating Art's!

We are currently working on an abridgment of a work by William Cowper, written in the 1780's, which offers many of the same Bible-based arguments against institutional schooling offered today! Cowper pointed out the educational elitism of his day! We were amazed.

John Bunyan, the "uneducated" author of Pilgrim's Progress, was spurned by the educational elite of his day, who insisted he must have plagiarized his best-selling allegory. However, because he didn't know languages, and had read almost no other book than the Bible, their accusations were pretty weak!

Anyway, we saw the tremendous potential in sharing like this at homeschool conferences, and when the Lord moved us north in 2006, we took the opportunity to do likewise. Since we don't sell anything, we have lots of opportunity to just talk with parents without them feeling some pressure to buy. It is so neat to hear what God is doing in the hearts of so many young families!

Producing the literature involves significant time folding and stapling, which allows us to employ some of the dominant skills in our family!



Hannah inventories each document so we can figure out how much to print of each.



We have a collation station.


As we have read and learned through the years, we have seen it is important to share what we are learning with our children, so they understand why we do things so differently from the norm. The Bible offers a better norm! We discuss the articles and love to listen to audio messages regarding the Bible and family issues together. (If they appear bored at first, we just keep on anyway until it clicks! It's just like teaching them to like healthy food instead of Cocoa Puffs!)

Through this exposure, our children are becoming discerning about the things they hear.


Sammy employs a special crease-forming tool, technically known as a teaspoon.


Piles and piles of paper!


Collation celebration!


All boxed up and ready for the road. Now, to find a safe, dry place in the bus...



The, um, open and spacious floor plan of the bus (read: unfinished) gives us flexibility to bring whatever we need from home, from tents and sleeping bags, and folding tables, to the mint condition sofa sleeper we find on the side of the road!


We are getting a little more organized with each conference, and we LOVE that we have plenty for everyone to do. It becomes a family effort. From printing, to proofing, to matching socks, to burning CD's, to Gorilla-gluing the covers, to folding and stapling, to scooping ice cream. Everyone gets involved.



Just getting the clothes packed takes a few weeks!


We lay out everyone's wardrobes in the den, and Sarah checks off everyone's list to make sure we don't run out of socks or anything. Non-stop laundering is employed during this phase — just like every other day!

----

Throughout the year, we pray for our homeschooling brothers and sisters to press on and be encouraged in the Lord. We pray that the things we have been privileged to share, things which the LORD has shown us and helped us in our j o u r n e y, will be a blessing and produce good fruit in their families.

We are up against a formidable enemy who wants to destroy families from every angle. But if we stay in God's Word, and teach our children to do likewise, the enemy is no match.

"...Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts."
Zechariah 4:6

On education

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John,
and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men,
they marvelled;
and they took knowledge of them,
that they had been with Jesus.
Acts 4:13

"Education presents a positive image of humanity, but it is not true. Sinful man is not positive. Culture and science will not help him at all. Education has taught him to not understand his true condition and his danger. Only the message of the Bible can awaken men to their lost state, and show them that there is a way to avoid the eternal lake of fire. Education teaches that men do not need Christ because they are already intelligent and advanced, and that the Bible is not important. It is the principal force standing against the Bible. The educated men of Jesus’ day crucified Him, and persecuted the Church. The educated men of today deny Christ, and are the principal enemies of the truth of the gospel."

-- Art Dappen, The Education of Kings

Is the whole Bible as important to you as a phone number?

This essay, written by a dear friend of ours, gives very practical reasons why copying the Bible (as the Lord commanded the kings of Israel to do in Deuteronomy 17:18, 19) is a fundamental way to not only learn and understand God's Word, but to elevate it in our hearts and minds as the supreme source of wisdom and understanding.

(You can read this essay, entitled "Exactness", along with a collection of related essays, in "The Education of Kings", available on our website in pdf or mp3.)

-----

Exactness

When our family began to copy the Bible, we did not understand the concept of exactness. Our copies of the Bible were very messy. We did not understand the importance of honoring the perfection of the Word of God. The idea of exactness can be summed up like this: It is not important to write more verses, but to write perfect verses. If our hearts do not honor the things that are truly inspired by God, then a careless attitude affects all the things that we do.

Exactness begins with the Word of God. It doesn't begin with teaching a child to add and subtract correctly. It doesn't begin with teaching a child to count his money correctly. Exactness begins with teaching a child to copy verses from the Bible perfectly. If we have an attitude of "that's good enough" with the Word of God, what will God think? If we train our children to think that other things are more important, and their copies of the Bible are messy, they will learn to put God last.

God is a Spirit, and spirits speak words. "The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my tongue." (2 Samuel 23:2) Our attitude toward the words of God reflects our attitude toward the Spirit of God. We can boast that we believe in God, and say, "God is first,” but our attitude of indifference toward the Word reveals the actual condition of our hearts.

Exactness in copying the Bible costs us more time and effort than simply copying a certain number of verses. Exactness ensures that the letters are legible and written in the correct order. If an error occurs, it must be corrected. All of this is more important than correct mathematics, a clean house, and good manners.

Our family discovered that we had not dedicated sufficient time to exactness in the Word of God. Since the Spirit of God inspired the Word, it is important to make sure that we preserve that inspiration. Errors ruin the trustworthiness of the Bible. Our hearts should love the perfection of the inspired words of God. "Love rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth." (1 Corinthians 13:6)

Carelessness can ruin a recording. Carelessness can ruin a business agreement. And worst of all, carelessness can ruin the inspired words of God. The Word of God is more important than the earth, but because of carelessness, people don't take it seriously. Many read the Bible carelessly, and do not dedicate time to it to get the right message. For this reason there are hundreds of Christian denominations, with an equal number of differing doctrines-- all supposedly taken out of the Bible. People dedicate eight hours daily for 16 years of their lives, preparing for a profession and to earn money, and do not dedicate more than 10 minutes a day to the Bible-- and during those few minutes, they do not treat the Bible as if it were as important as a telephone number, which has to be dialed exactly.

The carelessness of fathers toward the Word of God is reflected in their children's copies of the Bible. It is a sad commentary when our children have good manners, clean rooms, combed hair, straight teeth-- but their copies of the Bible are messy. Or some people don't think the Bible is even worthy to copy. When God is not first in the family, His Word is not first. These people consider other things more urgent and important.

Let's begin with the letters. Every letter should be legible, and not appear to be a different letter. For example, the letter 'e' sometimes takes the appearance of the letter 'c', or the letter 'o' can look like the letter 'p'.

Children should learn to make their letters correctly and carefully, so there is no confusion. It helps to not have the letters touch each other. A longer line in the letter 'd' distinguishes it from the letters 'a' and 'q'. A curve above the letter 'f' distinguishes it from the letter 't'. The letter 'r' should be different from the letter 'v'. These may seem to be small things; but Jesus emphasized the importance of every jot and tittle of the Word of God, because these are the marks that identify the letters. Neatness in the letters comes gradually, but exactness in the way each letter is formed is essential from the beginning.

Now let's look at words. Words may be misspelled. The order of the letters is very important, and care must be taken to maintain the order. Sometimes incorrect order of letters can produce a different word altogether. Letters must not be omitted, or substituted for other letters. These types of errors result from carelessness. The apostle John warned us that we should not add or take away from the words of God.

If you believe that all of this is straining out a gnat, what would you say if your bank reported a balance of $550 instead of $5500, omitting the last '0'? Only one small '0' makes a big difference. Would you not be worried? We can see that a small error is very important. Why would we think that our balance in the bank is more important than the inspired words of God, which communicates eternal salvation to mankind? Oh my friends, what must God think of our lukewarm attitude concerning eternal things?

Now let's look at phrases. A phrase is a group of words such as 'the Son of God,' or 'truly my disciples,' or 'in spirit and in truth.' Every word in a phrase is important to communicate the exact message. No word can be omitted, added, or changed. Changing the order of the words could cause a mistake, and thus a misunderstanding. We have a set of cassettes of someone reading the Bible, and in one instance, the reader omitted the word 'no' in a sentence. The omission of the word 'no' makes the phrase mean the exact opposite of the meaning of the original phrase.

Exactness is important because it guides those who want to know what God means. The correct words lead to the correct understanding, but incorrect words lead to an erroneous understanding. The serpent is the father of all those who twist the words of God.

See here the importance of the supreme care in the use of the Word of God. The basic message should not be changed, nor copied with errors. We are called to be witnesses, and a faithful witness gives true testimony of what he saw. The truth is important, and the truth leads to liberty. When we are mistaken, we are blurring the truth, and it will be more difficult for others to understand and be set at liberty.

Some people have the ability to write very beautiful letters. Nevertheless, it is more important to write correct letters than to write beautiful letters. Artistic letters please the eye, but they do not promote better understanding. Ugly exactness is better than beautiful mistakes. Proverbs 11:22 says, "As a jewel of gold in a swine's snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion."

The purpose of Scripture is to impart understanding so that people can believe in the Lord. I realize that it is possible to read, or copy, the Bible correctly, and still not understand. But such a writer was not thinking about what he was writing. This problem is not related to copying with exactness and fidelity.

To solve this problem, many things can be done that will promote the better understanding of Scripture. Copying the Bible is not the same as having faith, but if it is done properly, it will lead to understanding and faith. Copying the Scripture with exactness is the best way that I know to gain understanding of the Gospel, and such understanding leads to faith.

Copying the Bible is better than reading the Bible, because it involves more of the body and the brain. Copying the Bible includes reading it, but it adds another dimension-- the dimension of exactness. He who only reads the Bible really never knows if he read it correctly, or if he omitted or misunderstood words. But he who copies the Bible is sure that he saw every word, and that every word was correctly processed in his head, in order to be reproduced on the paper with his hand. This method produces, without doubt, better understanding and a more sincere faith, just as writing down a telephone number produces better retention than just hearing or reading it. For this reason God commanded the king of Israel to copy the Scripture with his own hand, and to read his copy all the days of his life. (Deuteronomy 17:18-20)

Copying the Bible produces better readers-- readers who do not skip, add, or invert words. Copying correctly leads to less errors and better understanding. On the other hand, to attend religious services, and listen to hymns and messages on the Bible does not produce exactness. The listener is not required to reproduce anything with exactness. But he who copies the Bible will acquire that faculty of exactness.

Before beginning to copy the Bible, children should learn to copy words without errors. A good exercise is to copy Genesis 1:1 until one can copy it without error. Now that he can do this, he can begin his first copy of the Bible. Children should copy only one verse daily, or only one line daily, until they can copy without errors. One verse well written is better than ten verses with errors. A perfect verse, without errors in handwriting or punctuation, can be called an excellent verse. A student who can write perfect verses reaches a level of excellence: Excellence 1- he can write one perfect verse; Excellence 2- he can write two perfect verses in a row, etc.

There are different types of perfection-- perfect letters, perfect words, perfect verses, and perfect understanding. If a person doesn't even copy the words perfectly, there is no hope that he will understand correctly.

Let's give God the honor He deserves, and let's give the Word the honor it deserves. Let us honor the perfection of the Word of God.

The Education of Kings -- the story behind the book

Putting the collated pages inside the scored and folded cardstock covers.

Applying glue to the edges of the pages.

Carefully alligning the glued pages into the covers.

Compressing the glued books until they are dry.

This evening, we are gluing pages into cardstock covers, and then wedging the untrimmed books under heavy dictionaries until the glue is dry. Tomorrow, we hope to find a local printer to trim the outside pages, giving them less of a "home published" look. We are preparing for next week's homeschool conference near St Louis, Missouri.

Here is some of the story behind this important book which we carry at our literature table at homeschool conferences...

Our family's first venture into home-printing/publishing came several years ago, upon meeting Art and Linn Dappen. At the time, we lived in Edinburg, Texas, a stone's throw from the Rio Grande.

Prior to Edinburg, we lived in the city of Madison, Wisconsin. Dave had a contract with the state of Wisconsin. But the opportunity arose for Dave to take a job which he could do entirely from home. We felt this was our opportunity to move to Mexico, with Dave working from home in Mexico. After some research, though, we learned that the type of computer connection Dave's work would require, at that time, was extremely expensive in Mexico. So, after prayer and house hunting, we found a house in Texas fairly close to Mexico, and Dave worked from home. The location at the border opened many doors for us, both to see more of God's work in Mexico, and to meet some very special people.

Among the many we met were Art and Linn Dappen, missionaries in southern Mexico. Their family has been one of many which the Lord has been using to build up the church in Mexico, through training children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. The Lord has brought them through amazing things and taught them so much.

Our first meeting with the Dappens was when their family came to our home to stay for one week! The ten family members brought all their clothing in ONE huge duffel bag! Still relatively new at the traveling-with-a-big-family game, we were in awe!

Anyway, they were in our home for maybe 30 minutes before we realized we had known each other for years! Well, no, but it felt that way. Our hearts were knit together instantly.

Returning the favor: one of our visits to the Dappens' home in Mexico

Art had been writing newsletters and articles to build up Mexican families for many years. At the annual Mexican homeschool conferences, his family had a literature table, offering free booklets. Art was often invited to speak in the sessions.

After that first visit, our house at the border became a regular stop for the Dappens when they came out of Mexico about every 6 months. We received all their packages, shipped from family from back home in Washington. The timing of their visits coincided with the two annual Mexican homeschool conferences; they would normally prepare their literature during this time. They had these awesome booklet staplers...kind of a cross between a normal stapler and a giraffe. We were anxious to help, and they patiently showed us the meticulous way they put them together. They eventually purchased a photocopier, which we housed for them.


Most of Art's writings were in Spanish, but he did occasionally create English versions (some of which you can find here) to send to friends in the States. After we had seen some of the articles he had assembled for Mexican families regarding copying the Bible as education, Dave encouraged him to translate them into English. Art was very interested in doing so, when time allowed. Life was so busy for their family.

But things did slow down for Art. About six months before his homegoing in November of 2006, he became very ill. Initially, it looked like the Lord was calling him home then and there, but he did recover some. During his last trip to our home, in August of the same year, still pretty weak, Art decided to make use of his down time in doing the translation work.

He selected some of the articles he felt would be the most beneficial, settled in a quiet room in our home, and began translating the articles, recording them on audio cassette. He put a lot of effort into this process. Because of his frequent coughing spells and difficulty sleeping, it is amazing to think of the huge job he accomplished. We know the Lord helped him.

The cassettes were then given to our son Ben. Ben carefully transcribed each tape, adding punctuation and separating paragraphs as best he could. Then, he printed out the transcription of the first six or so articles, and gave them to Art so he could make any corrections or clarifications. Art was pleased with Ben's initial transcription work. But before Ben completed all the transcriptions, the Dappens had to head back to their home in southern Mexico.

Well, at this time, we knew it would be our last visit at the border. Dave's work from home had all dried up. His previous client in Wisconsin still wanted him -- but he had to be in Wisconsin. So, we were scheduled to move back to Wisconsin right after that August conference. That was kind of a heart-wrenching time, although we felt it was the Lord's clear leading for us to head back north.

Our move to Wisconsin kept us busy for some time, moving in, fitting us all in a very small house, etc. We got busy with other things, and regrettably, we put the transcription project on hold.

Well, on November 9, 2006, we received a phone call that Art had gone to be with the Lord. As the reality sank in, we realized we had left something undone.

A memorial service in the States was scheduled for a month after his death. As we prepared to take the trip to Washington state, Ben jumped back into his transcription work. We got tips from our friends, the Richardsons (also in Mexico) for gluing books together. Our desire was to bring copies of the book to the memorial service. We had never done a "paperback" before, so it was pretty rustic and imperfect, but done with much love.

For the cover on the current book, Art's son Bobby later supplied us with a photo of Art's copy of the Bible...his last page was written the day before his death. (We later put together an audio version of Education of Kings, read by Bobby, which you can find here.)

The title, "The Education of Kings" came from the scripture Deuteronomy 17:18, 19. Before Israel had a king, when they were still pilgrims in the wilderness, God told them, one day they would have a king, and that king was to make a copy of all the law (given through Moses), and read it every day, so that he would obey the law and not seek vanity. Art saw from this, in God's eyes, this was the epitome of "education". Who needed to know more than the leader of God's people? And where was he to look? The law of God, of course. Art saw how modern man has set up his own high places, relegating the Bible to mythology or merely literature. Even professing Christians have placed many things before God's Word.

It's interesting that educators have valued "copywork" for centuries. But God thought of it first.

So, the book. It's a compilation of essays. It can be read in any order. In some places, the translation is still a bit rough, as Art never completely went through all the transcriptions. It's not a perfect book, by any means. It is certainly not the 67th book of the Bible. But we feel strongly that much can be gained through the insights of our dearly missed brother. We saw the fruit of lives ordered by attempting to keep God's Word at the forefront, of boasting not in self, but in the word of the Lord.