Monday, March 31, 2014

Five Basic Helps for Family Devotion



“Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One.Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. 7 Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead.Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." - Deuteronomy 6:4-8

My absolute toughest times of struggle come every Sunday night and Monday morning. I look back at the Sunday Services and too many times I think about "would of, could of, should of." I am my own worst critic. But as much as I do that in the ministry, I do so even more when it comes to the spiritual life of my family. For years I struggled to find a way to consistently and effectively have a time daily time of family devotion. With all the activities young families have going on I know others have struggled with this issue as well. I want to offer today Five Basic Helps that, if you are committed, I believe will help you minister to your family as well.

#1 - Set a Time

I know it can be daunting thinking about picking a certain set time every day when you will commit yourself to do a family devotion but I believe that this is a crucial first step. My entire life I have heard pastors and teachers state that you need to read God's Word first thing in the morning. For us, first thing in the morning is before sunrise and not everyone is awake at that time, plus, someone hasn't had their coffee yet :) So for our family, we have our family devotion before everyone goes to bed. It has been a time that we can remember and that we are committed to. Whatever time you choose (whether it's pre-coffee or post-coffee) it is important that you stick to that time. Avoid the temptation to move it around or skip a night. Pick a time and stick to it consistently.

#2 - Use a Devotional Tool

How many times have you been told to have a quiet time but yet you struggled because you really did not know what to do? I have struggled many times in what to do for our family devotions. We have tried reading through a book of the Bible. We have tried looking up worship songs on YouTube and worshipping together. We have tried many different other things. Then it dawned on me one day, why don't you use your Open Windows? Open Windows is just one of many daily devotions out there that you can use. Regardless, I encourage you to find a daily devotional tool and use it instead of trying to invent the wheel all over again.  

#3 - Read From God's Word

I absolutely love using technology. Our family enjoys our gadgets and connecting with people through the internet. It is truly amazing to me what we can do now technologically. I have the Bible on my smart phone and occasionally I have been in a bind where I have had to do our devotion time with it. I have also chosen to use this method when traveling overseas just to lighten my suitcase. However, I believe that we should model for our children reading from a physical copy of God's Word. Does it make us holier? No. However, I believe our children need to be taught what the Bible looks like, how to look up a chapter and verse, where a book is located, etc. We need to teach our children to sit, look and listen when reading God's Word. Too many times we model a behavior that if we get bored with the sermon or Sunday School lesson  then we will just check Facebook, the news or a sports score all while pretending to read God's Word. Let's remove that temptation and teach our children how to use the Bible.

#4 - Listen

We do not spend enough time listening. We may hear what someone says, but many times we are truly not listening. I am terrible at remembering names because when I meet someone I want to go straight to the conversation; straight to the point. Likewise, when we pray or have a time of Bible study, we tend to go straight to the point and by doing so we forget to listen. Take time during your family devotion to listen to what everyone received from the devotion and the Word of God. Also, during your prayer time, listen to what God is saying to you.

#5 - Be Consistent

As a pastor, nothing seems to bother me more than someone volunteering for a position and then not fully committing to the task at hand. I believe they want to serve God but only if it is convenient and fits into their schedule. That is what you need to decide now. If you are going to do a family devotion, then commit to it and follow through in your commitment. The Lord doesn't need any more half-hearted Christians. Remember what He said to the church in Laodicea? "So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of My mouth" - Revelation 3:16.

I pray that these Five Basic Helps will help you start and be committed to a daily time of family devotion.

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