Month: August 2010

The Best

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Will I do the right thing?
Will I want the right thing?
Will I accomplish that thing in the end?

All the “wills” will be answered
One way, one day –

In the way that recalls the Giver of right,
In the day that pins all hope on Him.

God energizes my will to want right.
God energizes my flesh to do right.
God brings about what pleases Him.

God is at work in me.

He makes me want the best, and
He enables me to live the best,

When I realize the best is His pleasure.

“For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” – Philippians 2:13

Effective Educational Assessment Is Rooted In Biblical Truth

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A proficient educator will utilize two types of assessment: formative and summative. Formative assessment is used to evaluate a student’s progress so that instruction may be modified for purposes of improvement. Formative assessment is not a final evaluation, but rather a feedback process whereby the teacher can make proper adjustments with the goal of increased comprehension. Formative assessment keeps student improvement at the forefront.

The goal of summative assessment is to determine a student’s mastery level after a specified period of time. Summative assessment is often used to issue a final grade or mark at the conclusion of the instructional period. Summative assessment is somewhat final and culminating in nature, as the period of instruction has ended, and final evaluation of mastery of content is made.

Careful educators engage in formative assessment more frequently than we might realize. Walking into the classroom, they immediately gather feedback via body language as to whether or not a student is apt to participate or will need significant motivation at the outset. An attentive teacher decides minute by minute which student should be called upon, based on confidence level and other factors. Teachers ask questions, give quizzes, engage in discussion, monitor guided practice, and utilize many other methods to gauge the success of instruction on a weekly, daily, and hourly basis.

The constant barrage of feedback an educator receives enables him to adjust instructional methods in order to improve student learning. If teachers teach simply to assign grades, the paradigm is both useless and ugly. Assessment should happen – whether or not accompanied by a grade – in order to make changes as necessary for the success of student learning. An educator ought to take in the streaming feedback and use it to modify instruction. Sometimes the formative assessment assures a teacher she has reached the goal of student mastery, and sometimes the assessment prods the educator to re-approach the method of instruction in order to see a greater – or broader – level of student mastery reached.

If I think I have taught a brilliant lesson with the objective of students being able to solve a quadratic equation, but at the conclusion of the lesson only ten percent of the class is able to actually solve an equation, then I need to make adjustments. Perhaps I moved too quickly through the material (as quadratic equations excite me!). Or maybe I did not provide enough guided practice. Whatever the case, I know that I must work again toward my objective, for my goal is to see my students able to solve quadratic equations. Their success is my vision.

Though the subject of assessment is popular in both Christian and non-Christian educational settings, the fact is that assessment’s truth is rooted in the Bible. All truth is God’s truth. Whether humanist educators acknowledge the fact or not, a proper view of assessment is drawn from God Himself; for He is the Creator of the world and all its learners.

Amazingly, both formative and summative assessments are seriously Biblical in nature. Does God test His people? Absolutely! When He tests people, what is His goal? Is His goal our destruction? Never! His goal is that we grow in grace and knowledge and become more like Him. In I Peter 1:7, we are told that God’s desire is that our trials result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though testing is often painful in a multitude of ways, God’s goal is that we grow. He desires we become stronger and better in Him (James 1:2-4). He assesses us – not in order to modify His ways – but to see us modify our lives – that we might be complete in Him.

Just as much as formative assessment flows from the heart of God, so does summative assessment; though this fact is more sobering. While God tests us in this life in order that we might grow, there is coming a day when every person will face God’s summative assessment. He will finally – at the end of history – demand an accounting of each one of us and assign us to our final destiny. Those who have rejected Him will face eternal damnation (Revelation 20:11-15). Those who have clung to Him will face a final evaluation of their lives for the purpose of ultimate reward (I Corinthians 3:11-15; II Corinthians 5:10). At this point, there will be no chance for improvement – no time for modification. God’s summative assessment will have taken place.

We see that effective educators will be adhering to Biblical truth when they employ both formative and summative assessment, demonstrating once again that all truth is God’s truth. May educators reflect the grace and love of God in their employment of formative assessment, and may teachers reflect the reality of human accountability to God when they utilize summative assessment.

Why the Wilderness When I Want Happiness?

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Avoidance of pain is currently upheld as one of the greatest of aspirations. “What can God do for me that will make my life better, easier, and more palatable?” we ask. Isn’t a happy life a natural outcome of salvation?

Perhaps we need to go back to square one and be reminded of salvation’s essence. In Biblical terms, to be saved means to be delivered from sin’s power and consequence. First and foremost, we are sinful people who need drastic deliverance from our bent toward evil. The problem is not our material discomfort or our lack of satisfaction; the problem is that our very nature – and our actions – offends a holy God. God’s sacrifice of His own Son for the sinfulness of us brings our deliverance. A person who trusts in the atonement of Jesus is covered with His righteousness. That is deliverance. It is a pronouncement of being right – despite who we are – because we trust in Jesus.

Now, let us go back to the original question, “Isn’t a happy life a natural outcome of salvation?” Maybe we should be asking a different question, “Isn’t our salvation – our deliverance – the most important thing?” What could be more important than my hell-bent soul finding deliverance from sin? What is more vital than the eyes of my heart being fixed intensely on the God who saves me? What is more critical than my direct journey to the home of ultimate righteousness God is preparing for me?

In God’s estimation, there is nothing – simply nothing – more important than our deliverance. In fact, when God miraculously delivered the Israelites from slavery to Egypt, He chose to send them the long way to the Promised Land – through the wilderness. Why such a difficult path to traverse? Exodus 13:17b-18a makes clear, “God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, ‘The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.’ Hence God lead the people around by the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea.”

The wilderness would be difficult, with challenges galore. However, the short route through Philistia meant a direct turning back. God knew His people would be too quickly tempted to go back to bondage in Egypt, and they would then never reach the Promised Land.

So it is. The wilderness of our lives can be sadly difficult. Truly, only God Himself knows why we must travel the path we do. But, one thing we know for a fact: the avoidance of pain is simply not more important than our full deliverance. I will travel this wilderness path, since I know it means I will not turn back. I will see God one day in the place He resides.

The Only Thing We Ever Really Have

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All the money in the world. Fame beyond imagination. A body to be envied. Success of unbelievable proportions. All of this is meaningless the moment we take our last breath. And, perhaps, all of this is meaningless right now. The world is filled with people who are scared on the inside because life on the outside does not provide security whatsoever.

Think about this: we cannot even guarantee we will have a heartbeat in the next five minutes. When we strip away all the pride and self-sufficiency, we realize we are helpless creatures – completely unable to secure our destinies. What do we ever really have?

All we ever really have is the opportunity to connect with our Creator. We are at His mercy; and His mercy provides the opportunity to reach out to Him and react to His desire to hold us tightly.

I cannot control the world. (That is quite an understatement!) I cannot control tomorrow. I cannot control people. I cannot control the continuance or discontinuance of my very earthly life. The Word of God makes clear that God alone owns everything and controls everything. In Psalm 24:1, David penned, “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”

We may rebel against God’s ultimate ownership and control, but the truth remains unchanged no matter our disagreement. Many people’s ongoing denial of the sovereignty of God keeps them up at night, causes them internal and external distress, diseases their minds with discomfort and confusion, and saps them of the energy to live.

When a person comes to terms with the simple truth that the only thing he or she has is the opportunity for relationship with God, then a person is on the road to a life worth living.

David also said in Psalm 111:10 that “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” In other words, to stand in reverent awe of God – to recognize we are at His mercy – is the ultimate starting point for the wisdom necessary to navigate this world.

What is the way to the only real life there is? Admit that you are helpless in the shadow of the living Lord who created you. Ask Him to make things right between you and Him by the sacrifice of Himself – the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Godhead. In this sincere plea, we ask God to cover with the righteousness of Jesus our sin and inability to please Him.

What then? We rest. Isaiah proclaims in Isaiah 30:15, “In repentance and rest is your salvation.” We rest because we now finally and clearly see that the only thing we ever really had was the opportunity to connect with our Creator. Believing we are in control is a delusion, and one can never really rest in a lie. “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)

Electrons and Questions of the Heart

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Do you ever feel like even you cannot figure out what you’re really thinking? Have you ever wished you could express to someone the deepest ponderings of your heart? Does your mind get tired as you try to decipher the meaning of circumstances? Is the rush and demanding pace of the culture overwhelming your brain?

The good news is this: there is an answer. Preceding a recent time of prayer, all of the above noted feelings swirled about me. As I prayed, God brought me back to foundational truth.

Please do not allow the mention of science to dissuade your continued reading. After all, if God is real, He is the Maker of all things scientific. The alignment of scientific fact with the ways of God is most heartening.

Our foolish childhood inattentiveness in physical science class notwithstanding; protons, neutrons, and electrons are core components of atoms. The material world consists largely of electrons spinning around nuclei of protons and neutrons.

More amazing than even the seemingly ubiquitous existence of these unseen particles is the precision of their weights. The mass of an electron is 9.11 X 10-31 kilograms. Now, that is the number 911 with thirty zeros in front of it! What a tiny, tiny particle! The electrons whirl about the nucleus of each atom. Of what is the nucleus made? It is made of protons and neutrons.

Though the electron’s mass is so miniscule it seems immeasurable, the mass of a proton is 1,836 times greater at a diminutive 1.6726 X 10-27 kg. Amazingly, though we are dealing in masses so small they stagger the mind, the neutron weighs just slightly more than the proton and electron combined. By how much, you ask? By the number 1,389 with 29 zeros before it! Yes, a neutron outweighs the combination of a proton and electron by 1.389 X 10-30!

Why are we amazed? (You should be amazed, by the way.) Here are the mind-boggling facts:

    “If the combined mass of electrons and protons was not slightly less than that of the neutron, the two would unite to form neutrons, leaving the world devoid of electrons and protons. If the combined mass was more than the neutron, then neutrons would decay into protons and electrons, leaving the world devoid of neutrons. Neither scenario results in a life-sustaining universe.” (Meister, 74)

Do we get it? The numbers and differences in weights are so small they seem almost meaningless to us. Yet, at a level that deep, everything must be right on for life to exist. The Creator is that meticulous, that overwhelmingly exact and involved in what He has made.

Similarly, the Creator is that meticulously involved in our hearts. Following are two passages from God’s Word to consider:

    “Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.” (Psalm 139:4-6, ESV)
    “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thought and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12, ESV)

As I prayed the other day, thoughts of the precision of the mass of atomic particles spurred me to ponder the amazing accuracy of God’s understanding of every part of my mind and heart. He is not confused by the ongoing collision of memories, hopes, analysis, disappointments, encouragement, emotions, and strivings happening in me. He sees and measures each one.

Though the thought of God’s immense knowledge is “too wonderful for me” (Psalm 139:6), I rest in it. I cannot figure myself out, but He can. I need that assurance, for what point is there if nothing makes sense to anyone?

God’s Word is able to divide soul and spirit and discerns the intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). Oh, thank you, dear Jesus, for I am unable to know my own intentions at times.

What joy came when God impressed on me His ability to know it all, His care to hold my heart and mind together – down to the tiniest detail – just as He holds the atoms together with marked precision.

There exists no physical life without God’s grand assessment, precision, and power to guide each detail. There is no life at all without His power to know us. And since He knows us like that, how should we respond? The answer is found in Part II, yet to come.

Reference: Meister, Chad V., Building Belief (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2006)

God Is Bigger Than The Plan

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Lately I have been pondering plans. You know – plans of all kinds – long term, short term, strategic, five-year, selfish, unselfish, corporate level, personal, realistic and unrealistic.

We live in a world of plans and schemes and hopes and dreams. Encouraged at every turn to map out our lives and careers, we devise many scenarios. We feel pressured to articulate the steps of next week, next month, next year, and so on and on and on.

Orderliness is of God. The mathematician in me cries out on behalf of logic and regularity. As human beings created in the image of God, we ought to strive for order and design. However, we need to remember that we are just that – created in the image of God.”

God alone stands transcendent, above and outside His creation. He is, therefore, unable to fail, never confused, unaffected by wrong passion, clearly able to see the future, powerful enough to clear obstacles, wise enough to differentiate between obstacles and blessings, and loving enough to desire our best even when we cannot understand His working.

Proverbs 19:21 (NIV) declares, “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.”

Our plans originate in our hearts. God’s purpose originates with God. I am the created. He is the Creator. I have many plans. He has one purpose.

The only way my plans make any sense is as I seek to align them with His will. And even then, in my limited understanding, I can misinterpret the will of God. I can selfishly confuse what I want with what God wants.

Let us therefore be sure to put God before the plan. To us, the plan seems so big. But the plan is so much smaller than God.

Having recently earned a graduate degree in educational leadership, I know the value of strategic plans. Having been created by a transcendent God, I know He is bigger.

If my plans come to pass because God sees fit to bring them about, so be it.

If God’s purpose supersedes what I had in mind, so be it as well.

If I exalt my ideas above His, I am hopeless.

If I exalt Him above my ideas, I may just see my ideas coordinate with His purpose!