If you have grandchildren, you have a unique opportunity to invest in the lives of the next generation in your family. Never underestimate how significant your influence is!
The Significance of a Grandparent’s Influence
by Charles R. Swindoll
When I was growing up, my grandfather never seemed old.
He kept a high spirit all his days, which I got to enjoy in our relationship.
He lived life on tiptoe. He stayed young at heart. He found living to be an adventure: exciting, and intriguing, fun. He taught me how to handle a motorboat. He took me fishing. Plus, the riskiest adventure of all...he taught me to drive.
He put me behind the wheel of his ’39 Ford in El Campo, Texas. I remember ripping the front fender right off that beautiful car of his, but my granddad never moved. “Just back up and try it again, son. I can buy new fenders, but I can’t buy a new grandson. Let’s try it again.” That was my granddaddy, Mr. L. O. Lundy. What a magnificent model! And what a significant influence he had—and still has—on me.
It was nine o’clock on Christmas morning in 1983 when it became my turn.
Ryan Thomas was born to our older son and daughter-in-law. A six-pound, eight-ounce grandson who would provide Cynthia and me a chance to try parenting again...only this time with a lot more to give and a lot less to prove. Grandparenting became increasingly more significant to us through the passing of time as we reinvested our time and energy, our treasure and love—just like my grandfather did for me.
The next-generation brood of Swindolls has now grown to 14 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren! What a great privilege it has been for us to be grandparents...now, for more than 40 years.
I’ve learned grandparents’ favourite gesture is open arms and their favourite question is, “What do you wanna do?” and their favourite words are “I love you, honey.”
Grandparents don’t look for mistakes and failures. They forgive them. They don’t remember that you spent your last dollar foolishly. They forget it. They don’t skip pages when they read to you...nor do they say, “Hurry up,” when you want to see how far you can make the rock skip across the lake. They’ll even stop and lick an ice cream cone with you. But best of all, when grandchildren want to talk, grandparents want to listen.
Long, loud lectures are out...so are comments like, “You ought to be ashamed of yourself.” Things like money and possessions and clothes aren’t nearly as meaningful when you’re with your grandchild. Getting somewhere on time isn’t half as important as enjoying the trip.
Grandparents have made enough errors to understand that perfectionism is a harsh taskmaster, and that self-imposed guilt is a hardened killer. They could be superb instructors, but their best lessons are caught more than they’re taught. Their Christianity is seasoned, filtered through the tight weave of realism, heartache, loss, and compromise.
As a grandparent, Jesus is not only your Lord, He’s your Friend and long-time Counsellor. Like a massive tree, you provide needed shade, you add beauty to the landscape, and you don’t mind being used. You’re there. Even if not much is happening, you are there.
If you have grandchildren, you have a unique opportunity to invest in the lives of the next generation in your family. Never underestimate how significant your influence is!
My latest grandparenting adventure has been mentoring two of my adult grandsons. One grandson is 38 and the other is 30. Neither is married. We meet on Saturday mornings, alone, the three of us. Some of the most meaningful times I’ve ever had with anyone, I’ve had with them.
Looking in their eyes, I can’t help but remember the words of General Douglas MacArthur, which I initially read when our first child, Curt, was born in 1961. It’s called, “A Father’s Prayer.” The aging leader asks God to build him a son of strong character, humble spirit, a person of compassion, determination,
simplicity, and greatness. His closing words almost brought tears to my eyes. After claiming all these things by faith, he adds: “Then I, his father, will dare to whisper, ‘I have not lived in vain.’”
Today, the same prayer is on my lips and tears are on my face. This prayer is for all my grandchildren and great-grandchildren, as it once was for my children. And the tears? Well, my family has gotten used to them.
That’s how it is with granddads.
This article has been adapted by Insight for Living Ministries staff from prior publications by Pastor Chuck.
Prayer: Calling Out single CD message
Anniversaries
by Charles R. Swindoll
Idon’t need to tell you what I think of marriage and the family. You who know me already know. If I’m ever guilty of grinding an axe, I suppose it would be the home...that place where life makes up its mind. No need to add to what you’ve heard from me over and over again— or is there ? Maybe so.
There is a reason I am prompted to say more. I celebrated my 69th wedding anniversary in June 2024. You read it right...that’s over half a century! Seems incredible. I remember in my younger years looking upon those who celebrated their quarter-of-a-century anniversary as folks who were one hop away from a wheelchair. And here Cynthia and I are going on 70. Amazing how time flies! About the time your face clears up, your mind gets fuzzy. Or at least a little misty. Why? I can think of four reasons.
Memories
They have a way of washing across one’s mind, like the surf upon the shore, when anniversaries come. Funny memories. Also, painful ones. Yet
all of them dripping with nostalgia. Like our honeymoon—a colossal comedy of errors. And our 18 months of forced separation when we were 8,000 miles apart, thanks to the military. Such lonely times. But so essential in our growing up and facing reality. My midstream switch in careers...back to school, that tiny apartment, those disciplined, mind-stretching hours poring over the books. The births of our four children (plus the loss of two we never got to see) and those energydraining years from diapers to kindergarten. Wow! How much we learned together...how deeply our roots grew together...how rugged and long were some of those roads we travelled together.
An anniversary reminds you, “Don’t ever forget the memories. They are imperishable.”
Changes
You just don’t live half a century with the same person without doing a flip-flop in several major areas of your life. I suppose the single most significant change I’ve experienced is in the realm of sensitivity. I have learned to
read between the lines, to hear feelings that are never spoken, to see anguish or anger, joy or jealousy, confusion or compassion in faces that communicate what the tongue may not declare. What an authority I thought I was 69 years ago! And what a difference a wife and a pack of kids make! And 14 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren! God has used them to temper my intensity. The change from an opinionated dogmatist to more of an open-minded learner was really needed. Really overdue. That process, by the way, is still going on.
An anniversary reminds you, “Be thankful for the changes. They are important.”
Dependence
My marriage has taught me that I am neither allsufficient nor totally selfsufficient. I need a wife. I need her support, her insight, her discernment, her counsel, her love, her presence, and her efficiency. She is not my crutch...but she is my God-given companion and partner, ever aware of my moods and my needs. She hears my secrets and keeps them well. She knows my faults and forgives them often. She feels my failures and apprehensions and encourages me through them. For 10 full years Cynthia was unaware of the fact I needed her. I was one of those husbands who plowed through life like a freight train—bullish, intimidating, selfish, and on top. Finally, the cracks began to show. Couldn’t hide ’em any longer. The Lord showed me the value of sharing my hurts and admitting my fears. Of saying things like, “I’m wrong...I’m really sorry.” And even being up front with my wife and declaring how very much I depend on her to help me hang in there.
AN ANNIVERSARY REMINDS YOU, “DON’T EVER FORGET THE MEMORIES. THEY ARE IMPERISHABLE.”
watch God pull off. Sometimes they are little things, like working in the garden together, dropping a few seeds and seeing the sprouts, then the fruit. Or praying together about one of the children...you know, asking God to grab their heart and soften their spirit. As that dream happens, you smile at each other. You understand. Occasionally, the dream is a big thing—calling for sustained prayer for the return of a prodigal, adult child or for endurance through the long illness or the death of a child. Occasionally, the dream calls for sustained sacrifice, mutually shared. Like getting through school. Or remodelling your home. Or getting out of debt. When the reality finally occurs, no words can describe the pleasure of that long embrace, that kiss of profound accomplishment.
An anniversary reminds you, “Think of the dreams you have weathered together. They are intimate accomplishments.”
Anniversaries are a beautiful combination of memories, changes, growing dependence, and dreams. Ours dates back to June 18, 1955, when a couple of kids said, “I do” and committed themselves to each other for life... having no idea what threatening storms lay ahead of us or what unspeakable joys would weld us together. For life.
I am a grateful husband. May God be praised for the genius plan of marriage and the thrill of celebrating it annually with the one I love.
An anniversary reminds you, “You don’t have to make it on your own. Your partner is irreplaceable.”
Dreams
One final thing is worth mentioning. Dreams are what you anticipate as a couple and then
Adapted from Charles R. Swindoll, Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life (Portland, Ore.: Multnomah 1983), 221–22. Copyright © 1983 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Used by permission.
Job: Faithful through Adversity
by Insight for Living Canada
The Old Testament character of Job was a wealthy landowner and a faithful, godly father who lived during the time of the Patriarchs. Although he is one of the most famous biblical characters, we don’t know much about him. What we do know is that God allowed Satan to strip Job of everything he had. God knew Job was a man of strong character
and that, despite Job’s difficult circumstances, he would not turn away from the Lord.
Name
The name Job likely derives from a Hebrew verb meaning “to be hostile to” or “to be an enemy.” As a noun, it means “the persecuted” or “object of enmity.” Other sources suggest the name means “returning” or “father.”
Outstanding Characteristics
Endurance and humility.
Summary
Job was a spiritual and moral patriarch of great wealth and high social position. With God’s permission, Satan robbed Job first of his wealth and livelihood, then his 10 children, and finally his health. Neither his wife nor his friends were supportive as he endured this financial, emotional, physical, and spiritual suffering. In fact, his friends added insult to injury by suggesting that Job’s sin brought the calamity upon him. It seemed that everything and everyone, including God, was against him. Finding no comfort in his friend’s words, Job turned in humility and submission to God, who, in the end, revealed Himself in a new way to Job, ended to his pain and suffering, and restored what had been taken away.
Key Scripture
3. Use discernment to detect wrong advice
Job’s wife advises him to curse God and die. He refuses because he’s discerning—as we must be when in the midst of trials. We don’t yield. We go back to the Scriptures, find our direction, and stand firm. Well-meaning people do not always have a divine viewpoint. The Bible always does.
4. Don’t encourage using empty words
GOD ALLOWS THESE CHALLENGING SEASONS TO BE A PROCESS FOR REFINING AND RESHAPING OUR CHARACTER.
The only things Job’s so-called comforters had to offer were empty words in the form of philosophical meanderings and theoretical concepts. This brought no relief or break in Job’s misery. Philosophical words fall flat when they are mouthed before those in misery.
5. Remain hopeful and endure through trials
But he knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold. (Job 23:10)
Lessons Learned
1. Accept God’s sovereignty
Like a bolt out of the blue, Job’s world explodes, and God didn’t warn him ahead of time. It could happen to you and me. The next airplane trip could be our last. God has a plan but we don’t always know what it is. He just isn’t obligated to inform us.
2. Keep things in perspective
Job isn’t in denial. He faces the music. He’s overwhelmed, broken, sad, and bankrupt. But his vertical perspective is firm, clear, and in place. The God who gives is the same God who takes away. It’s easy to lose sight of Him when hardship assaults us, but stay focused on God. A vertical perspective will keep us from horizontal panic.
God knows our trials. They are not without purpose. God allows these challenging seasons to be a process for refining and reshaping our character. Like Job, sometimes we have done nothing to deserve suffering but must endure it anyway. We must continue to worship the Lord despite what we’re going through. We can be assured that He is full of compassion and mercy. With the Holy Spirit’s help, we can exhibit perseverance and endurance and imitate the humility of Job under any circumstance. Better times will come—if not soon or if not later on this earth, they will come when we stand before Him and He distributes rewards. God knows. God always remembers. God will reward.
Job’s story teaches perseverance in faith, acceptance of God’s sovereignty, the value of good advice, the necessity of humility and repentance, and the assurance that God will restore and bless those who endure faithfully through adversity.
Bible Basics: Preservation and the Indestructability of the Bible
by Steve Johnson
How can one be sure that the Scripture, revealed and inspired by God and recognized as canonical by the early church, has been handed down to this day without any loss of material?
Because God preserved it.
Before the written Word of God was ever attacked, Satan persistently tried to undermine the spoken Word of God. One of his attack schemes is to first raise doubt by questioning God’s Word, then to outright deny its truth. In the beginning, Satan questioned God’s Word when he asked Eve, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” (Genesis 3:1). Then he denied God's Word when he asserted, “You won’t die!” (vv. 4). This scheme has been repeated over and over again throughout history.
Another satanic scheme is to twist the meaning of Scripture. Satan attempted to distort the Scripture in his wilderness encounter with Christ (Matthew 4:6–7). He quoted Psalm 91:11–12 out of context, suggesting that Jesus should put God to the test by throwing himself down from the temple pinnacle since God promised to
protect Him. However, Jesus rightly pointed out that Scripture also says, “You must not test the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 6:16), thereby showing that Satan was twisting the meaning of the Psalm.
When God’s Word was eventually written into the form we have today, Satan continued using this strategy to create doubt, denial, and deception.
At other times, Satan’s attacks have not been subtle. Through King Jehoiakim, he attempted to literally destroy the Word. “Each time Jehudi finished reading three or four columns, the king took a knife and cut off that section of the scroll. He then threw it into the fire, section by section, until the whole scroll was burned up” (Jeremiah 36:23).
Throughout history, there have been many efforts to destroy the Bible through overt and physical attacks. For example, in 175 BC, the king of Syria, Antiochus Epiphanes, ordered the Jews, on pain of death, to destroy their Scriptures and worship the Greek gods. But Judas Maccabeus saved the books and led a revolt that won independence for the Jewish nation.
In AD 303, the Roman emperor Diocletian ordered that Christianity be outlawed, its
leaders killed, and their Bibles burned. In God’s providence, the next emperor, Constantine (AD 313), legalized Christianity and even paid for 50 new handwritten copies of the Bible.
Intellectual attacks on Scripture have persisted throughout history as well. Philosophers such as Celsus (AD 178) and Porphyry (AD 232–303), along with the Roman emperor Julian (AD 361), a nephew of Constantine, renounced Christianity, were openly hostile to the Bible, and wrote against it.
Scripture even survived the opposition of its so-called friends. On numerous occasions in centuries past, church authorities burned the Bible under the guise that the translation was vulgar. They stated that it would do more harm than good. Thousands of copies were destroyed.
Modern rationalism also attacked Scripture. Rationalists argued that biblical events must be judged in the light of human reason and experience, questioning the reality of Jesus’ miracles and denying Christ’s deity. Figures like Voltaire, Thomas Paine, and Robert Ingersoll passionately attacked the Bible. These critics have since passed on, but the Bible continues to endure.
eternal word, O Lord , stands firm in heaven” (Psalm 119:89)—and on earth—“‘And this is my covenant with them,’ says the Lord . ‘My Spirit will not leave them, and neither will these words I have given you’” (Isaiah 59:21).
The indestructability of the Bible also means the purposes of God, as written in Scripture, will never be thwarted, even in the smallest detail. Jesus affirmed this in Matthew 5:18, “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.” And through Isaiah the Lord said, “It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it” (Isaiah 55:11).
THE EFFORTS TO DESTROY THE BIBLE RAGE ON, BUT SCRIPTURE HAS AND WILL CONTINUE TO OUTLAST ITS ENEMIES.
God intended His Word to abide forever. He anticipated humanity’s and Satan’s malice towards Scripture with divine promises to preserve it. The continued existence of Scripture is guaranteed in Isaiah 40:8, “The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.” Jesus also affirmed in Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.”
The fact that God has preserved His Word also means that no inspired Scripture has been lost in the past and is still awaiting rediscovery. The actual content of Scripture will be perpetuated both in heaven—“Your
God has given us very simple instructions for the preserving of His Words. He tells us repeatedly not to add or take away from it. This is preservation in all its simplicity. Deuteronomy 4:2 is the first text warning us not to add or take away from the Word of God. Notice how preservation and obedience go together: “Do not add to or subtract from these commands I am giving you. Just obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you.” Deuteronomy 12:32 reiterates this truth saying, “So be careful to obey all the commands I give you. You must not add anything to them or subtract anything from them.”
Revelation 22:18–19 are possibly the bestknown verses on the preservation of the Bible:
And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book. And if anyone removes any of the words from this book of prophecy, God will remove that
person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book.
Not only has the Bible survived its attackers and critics, but it’s the best-selling book of all time. Each year the Bible outsells all other books. Its critics have railed and ranted, only to pass away and be forgotten with time, yet the Word of the Lord has lived on. It will continue to be the world’s best-seller. Despite the attacks on the written Word of God, the abundance of copies of Scripture available today is powerful proof of God’s preservation. As 1 Peter 1:24–25 says, “The grass withers and the flower fades. But the word of the Lord remains forever.”
The efforts to destroy the Bible rage on, but Scripture has and will continue to outlast its enemies. Even if all people turn away from the Word of God, it will remain indestructible. God has said that Scripture will endure until heaven
and earth pass away and we meet on the Day of Judgment. For now, we must read it with understanding, obey its every commandment, live by it, die by it, and thereby share the great promises contained within it.
Steve Johnson is the executive director at Insight for Living Canada.
THE INTEGRITY OF TRUE HUMILITY
insight for living ministries
The following mini-study is presented to familiarize you with Pastor Chuck’s method of Bible study and provide an opportunity to study the passage yourself.
IN“Nothing is more Christian than walking humbly with our God.”
—Pastor Charles R. Swindoll
this study, we’ll pinpoint four characteristics of humility that John the Baptist modelled as we learn how to walk humbly with our God.
Prepare Your Heart
What does it mean to be a humble person? Ask the Lord to help you learn true humility as you open His Word and study John’s example. Turn to the Scriptures
In John 1:6, the spotlight suddenly swings from Jesus to John the Baptist. In so doing, the gospel writer draws a dramatic distinction between Jesus, who “was God” (John 1:1), and John, “a man” sent by God (1:6).
Observation: John’s Mission, Role, Acclaim, and Beliefs
: O Observe John 1:6–8, noting the contrasts between John the Baptist and Jesus. How did the gospel writer describe who John was and who he was not?
: O What was John’s central mission?
: O According to John 1:19–23, what specific roles did John not fill? What role did he fill?
: O As the spokesperson for Christ, John baptized people in the Jordan River as a sign of their repentance. When questioned by the Pharisees (John 1:25), what characteristics of John’s humility do you see in his response to them in 1:26–29?
: O As an admired leader and authority figure, what temptations do you think John may have battled?
: O John’s ministry grew, and so did his fame. Soon, the itinerant wilderness preacher had his own congregation. John’s disciples worried that Jesus’ growing ministry would overshadow John’s. According to John 3:2529, when John’s disciples asked him about it, how did John respond, and what does his response reveal about his character?
: O The downpour of public adulation could have waterlogged John’s humble spirit with pride. According to John 3:30, what perspective about himself and Jesus kept his pride in check? How do you see this statement forming a basic rule of life for John?
Interpretation: Principles of Humility from John’s Example
Review the key verse from each section above and write a principle that begins with the phrase, “A truly humble person should...”
:I The Man and His Mission—John 1:6–8
“God sent a man, John the Baptist… John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light” (John 1:6, 8).
Principle: A truly humble person should...
:I The Role and Its Temptations—John 1:19–27
“I am not the Messiah…I am a voice shouting in the wilderness…I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandal” (John 1:20, 23, 27).
Principle: A truly humble person should…
:I The Public and Its Applause—John 3:25–29
“I am filled with joy at [Jesus’] success” (John 3:29).
Principle: A truly humble person should…
:I The Basis of John’s Humility—John 3:30 “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John3:30 NASB2020).
Principle: A truly humble person should…
Correlation: The Fruit of
Our Devotion to Christ
Paul noticed some fellow church leaders “preaching out of jealousy and rivalry” (Philippians 1:15) and motivated by “selfish ambition” (1:17).
:C According to Philippians 1:18, how did Paul avoid the competition-and-comparison trap?
: C According to Philippians 1:21, what did Paul believe?
:C How did Paul’s devotion help him stay humble?
True humility flourishes in our devotion to Christ and crowds out the weeds of envy and jealousy.
“‘He must increase, I must decrease.’ That’s not a motto we hang on the wall; we live it.” —Pastor Chuck Swindoll
Application:
Humbly Living Out
Our Devotion to Christ
:A Let’s tie up our study with four characteristics of John’s true humility that we can emulate.
1. Accept your God-given role, including your limitations. Understanding what you are meant to do and not do in life helps you be realistic and humble about your limitations.
2. Resist subtle temptations to be someone you’re not. John rested in his God-given role on this earth—the sidekick, the
follower. Likewise, God made you to be you and not another. You have a unique role to fulfill on this earth.
3. See God’s hand in another person’s success and rejoice over it. You avoid envy and jealousy when you humbly delight in the well-being of others.
4. Fully commit to exalting Christ and wholly submit yourself to Him. The motto, “Jesus must increase, I must decrease”, is the cardinal secret, the only foundation on which you can build a humble life.
:A Which of these characteristics resonate with you today? How? Which one do you truly need to embrace the most?
:A How can you occupy yourself with Christ today? What praise can you offer for one of His amazing attributes?
Rather than talking about yourself, your problems, or your circumstances, begin your trek toward humility by sharing these praises with someone. Others will notice Christ increasing in your life without even realizing that you are decreasing at the same time.
A Final Prayer
Father, broaden my vision of the greatness of Christ. Draw me nearer to Him so that He alone fills my view and I can see nothing else but His glory, His beauty, His grace. Help me to consider every event in my life as tribute to Him and an opportunity for me to give Him praise. Help me to grow in humility so that I may decrease in order that Christ can increase in me. In His name I pray, amen.
Go to insightforliving.ca/humility to download the full-length Searching the Scripture Bible Study and listen to Pastor Chuck’s message.
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