Peter Witkowski Evangelism

God Never Dials The Wrong Number

Can anything feel more hopeless than being rejected by God. John Bunyan, the author of Pilgrim’s ProGod-never-dials-the-wrong-numbergress, felt this way. He desperately wanted to come to Jesus, but he did not feel that God wanted him. He knew that he was a great sinner. He knew he deserved hell. And he knew the gospel. But he felt that God would not accept him. He felt that he had not been called. Oh the horror of wanting God and yet not being able to get to him. You could almost hear John saying, “Curse those stink’n Calvinist and their doctrines of God’s sovereignty.”

Perhaps some of you can relate. Perhaps some of you have kids in this spot. They claim that they want to repent but do not feel that they can. They feel hopeless. So what do we do? We remind them of God’s character.

It is true that only those called by God can and will repent. But it is also true that everyone who truly wants to repent is called. Notice what happens in Mark 3:13 “And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him.” Everyone whom Jesus calls comes to him.

IPilgrimsProgress_038729f someone is under conviction, if they desperately want to repent, if they are eager to embrace and to follow God, all they have to do is come. The Holy Spirit never convicts someone only to leave them languishing in hopelessness. God never dials the wrong number. When He calls someone, he will save them. There is not one person in the Bible who desired to be right with God and was rejected. Everyone from Adam on who wanted to believe in God did. As Jesus said in John 6:40 “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

All who feel God’s call will be saved. If your kids truly feel God calling them to faith, simply tell them to repent. Encourage them to embrace the cross. Salvation can be attained because Christ has died for them. Regardless of how great their sins are, Christ has paid for them all.  As II Corinthians 5:21 boldly declares:

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Ultimately the truth that God saves all whom he calls, comforted John Bunyan’s soul. He saw that Christ could and would accept him. Christ has already died to pay for Bunyan’s sin. And he has already died for our sins and the sins of our kids. If you or your kids feel God’s call, go to Jesus. What are you waiting for?

Peter Witkowski Parenting

5 Marks Of A Great Friend

5-signs-of-a-good-friendLast week, we looked at what the Bible says about fools. Specifically, we examined 7 foolish character traits the define someone as a bad friend. (Click here to read that post) But the question remains, “What kind of friend should our kids have? What does a good friend look like?” Let’s take a look at how the Bible describes the wise (i.e. those gals and guys that will prove to be faithful friends). A great friend will:

1.    Love God

If a person is truly wise, they will love God, the source of all wisdom. As Proverbs 2:6 says,

For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

A good friend must cherish the things of God. They must love God’s word, his church, and his people. A good friend will always seek to obey God. As Proverbs 1:7 famously says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

2.     Respect Their Parents

A wise child will value their parents’ advice and counsel (Prov. 4:1,5).  They listen when their parents offer them practical, biblical wisdom about dating, school, work, money, and friends. And because they listen to their parents, wise kids avoid many disastrous decisions. They bring both their mother and their father great joy. As Proverbs 23:24 says,

The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.

Wise kids value their parents.

3.     Speak Well

A wise child does not speak all the time (Prov. 29:9). Their Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat can lay dormant for a few hours. They don’t feel the need to comment on everything thing their friends, parents, and teachers say. And when they do speak, they add to the conversation. Their words are kind, loving, and thoughtful. As a result, they often win people over to their point-of-view (Prov. 16:23).

The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out. – Proverbs 15:2)

4.    Be Humble

How do you know if a child is humble? Try correcting them. Try to help them with the swing, complete their homework, or to stop sinning. A humble, wise kid will listen to you and value your input (Prov. 9:9). They will say, “Show me more!” The fool will say “No thanks; I got this old man” (Prov. 12:15). If anything the fool will try to teach you how to coach, teach, or discipline better. As the Scriptures say,

Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you. – Proverbs 12:2.

Let’s encourage our kids to befriend people who can accept criticism.

5.    Promote Peace

A wise, good friend makes friends where ever she goes. Instead of stirring up arguments and drama, a wise friend brings peace and harmony (Prov. 12:18; 29:8).  In addition to bringing peace with their lips, wise friends keep their friends out of trouble. They encourage their friends to complete their homework, to tell the truth, and to honor their parents (Prov. 13:14). As Proverbs 24:3 says,

By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established;

Let’s encourage our kids to value wise and understanding friends.
As the first point makes clear, to be a good friend one must be a believer. This is not to say that friendships with unbelievers are sinful, misguided, or meaningless. But the best and most meaningful friendships occur within the body of Christ. No one can be a good, wise friend apart from Christ since all wisdom comes from him.  Are we ready to help our kids find good friends?

Peter Witkowski Book Reviews

The Garden- The Curtain And The Cross

Laferton, Carl. The Garden The Curtain and The Cross. The Good Book for Children, Belgium 2016. pp.33. $12.98


Complex. That word well describes the Bible. It is an assortment of 66 books written over thousands of years, in a host of different languages, by a diverse assortment of authors. Tons of books have been written in attempt to explain the Scriptures. But despite all its complex nuances, grammatical structures, historical connections, the Bible is actually a rather simple story. It is the story of the gospel; the story of good news; the story of how sinful men and women can once again have a perfect relationship with God; the story of how Jesus died on the cross to redeem on who believe on him for salvation. In fact, the central story of the Bible is so straight forward, Carl Leafeton can recount it perfectly in his new children’s book, The Garden The Curtain and The Cross.

The Story

As the title suggests, Leafton moves through theme of the Bible by focusing on three important stories. First, he focuses on the Garden of Eden. He describes how God created the world perfectly. Then, he discuss how Adam and Eve brought sin into the world because, “They decided they wanted a world without God in charge.” And because of sin, people can no longer enter into God’s wonderful place. Next, Leafton jumps to the story of the Temple to explain that God is still wonderful and still very separate from sinners. You see, the temple curtain keeps people from entering into God presence. As the author writes, “It is wonderful to live with him, but because of your sin, you can’t come ithe garden and the curtain and the cross 2n.” Thankful, the story does not end with separation. The final phase of the book focuses on the cross. Jesus came to live and to die so that He could open, “God’s wonderful place again!” Because of Christ’s life, death and resurrection, those who believe on Jesus can live with God again. Just like Adam and Eve before, those who trust Jesus, “will see God and speak to God and just enjoy being with God.”

What’s To Like

The Garden, the Curtain, and the Cross conveys the amazing story of the Bible in language and pictures that younger children can easily digest. The pictures are bright, colorfully, and full of movement. It takes more than a glance to see what’s there. And there will not be much down time between pages. The book can be read in about 5 minutes or less. And when the last page is closed, children will have heard that God created the world, that men and women brought evil and sadness into the world by disobeying God, and that Jesus brings us back to God by triumphing over all our bad and sad things on the cross.

And though the book’s is filled with winsome illustrations and kid the garden the curtain the cross 3.jpgfriendly  pros, Laferton upholds the integrity of the scriptures. He keeps his readers from thinking that the story of the Bible is just another children’s story. He clearly states on the first pages of the book that the Bible took place, “right here in this world.” The front cover says that the book contains a “true” story. And, the last page of the book provides the reader with the scripture references from which the story was taken. In short, Laferton has put the story of the Bible into a children’s book without demeaning the life changing power of the Bible. This was quite a feat! Only Kevin DeYoung has done something similar in The Biggest Story. (Both books are worth the read!)

What’s Not To Like

The only downside to Laferton’s book is that is omits the term repentance. Readers are
encouraged to believe on Jesus, but never directly to repent. However, the book does such an excellent job describing sin and the glories of justification (the truth the Jesus pays for all our sins and make us holy) readers cannot help but realize that they must abandon sin to embrace salvation.

Closing Thoughts

Get this book! If you are a parent, grandparent, or Sunday school teacher who works with kids that enjoy picture books, you will want to have the book on your shelf. It recounts the gospel, the whole story of the Bible, in less than five minutes in a way that will engage our kids. Its perfect for family worship times, for bed times, and for story time. My wife and I will be reading this book to our kids! Will you join us?