Strengthen Your Family in God’s Word
Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. Psalm 127:1-5
We get distracted constantly with daily life. We also have normal time constraints. But they shouldn’t keep us from being involved with our families and growing together spiritually. One way to stay focused on your priorities is to stay in the Bible. Teaching your children the Word of God is a well-grounded Biblical principle:
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:4-9
This is why we are starting a Bible reading plan, to read as a family. It doesn’t matter what time of year you start, just start. Here are a few ideas to get you started and to help you stay involved in the plan:
- Download the 39-week plan here.
- WVBS has a podcast that follows a reading plan.
- You can download the audio or use a Bible app to listen to it.
- There are more detailed reading plans that you can download to break it down further.
How you decide to study the Bible with your family is up to you. Some families discuss the Sunday sermon, some do it at bedtime, some quote a Scripture before dinner. What is the emphasis of your life? Is the Bible that frontlet between your eyes when you wake up in the morning and when you go to bed?
Timothy’s mother and grandmother were such an influence on the spiritual growth of Timothy that Paul mentioned their love of the Scripture in the New Testament. It passed on from one generation to the next.
I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 2 Timothy 1:5-6
Be a spiritual reminder for each other. Push each other to keep up. Check in with your friends to make sure they stick to it.
As you read, involve your children. Not only do they need to know that it’s important to you, they need a foundation that allows them to stay grounded and have a basis for decision-making. That foundation also gives them a safety net through life.
Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.Proverbs 22:6
Make 2018 a year of growth, strengthening and renewal for you and your family. As the family goes so go the church. So you will not just benefit yourself but your brothers and sisters in Christ.