Family Devotions Among Other Things

We drove 40 miles south on a dark night in a rain storm to go to a family conference. Two things were presented to me. One, I should get rid of my TV. Two, maybe I was a little lax on family devotions? After going a week without turning on my TV, I decided maybe I didn’t need to get rid of it. (A subject for another day.) But when it came to family devotions, I was convicted.

The speaker’s we went to see were the Maxwell family. A large homeschool family most famous for an organization book Mrs. Maxwell had written. They talked about giving up playing youth and high school baseball and other activities for they could be home at night in order to do devotions. They talked about doing devotions even when guests were over. They meant that the family did devotions every night, and not just two or three times a week when convenient.  It struck me as a radical concept, putting God first in our lives by actually putting God first in our lives even if that meant eliminating activities.

When it came to devotions, I had fallen into a common trap of thinking. The trap of believing God grades on a curve. We think that just because we know someone else that does not do something, in this case family devotions, that we must be doing well since we occasionally do them or at least think about doing them.

With help of my wife, we have managed to get on a better track with family devotions. Though in no way do we think we have them nailed down, nor does anyone gain greater favor with God by doing or not doing devotions, but they draw us closer as a family to him and focus us in the right direction on him.

Here are some things we and a few others we know have found to have worked when it comes to family devotions:

- Place the Bible on the table at dinner. Dinner is a great time for devotions.

- Go through a Book of the Bible. And to get off to a good start, try an Epistle. If you are worried about not having time to prepare? Use a Bible that has notes. All of a sudden you have commentary and a lot of times the notes answer a question your child may ask. You don't have to be perfectly prepared.

- We enjoyed going through Kevin Swanson’s Proverbs study at Generations with Vision.

- Lately, we have been using a book called  365 Days of Praise by Julie Lavender. It works surprisingly well. Our smaller children really like it. It works especially well when you get home from a hard day and you don’t have the faintest idea of what to talk about. This is my greatest challenge to devotions. The challenge of being plain worn out when it comes time to do them.

- Go through one of the Catechisms just like families throughout history have. For little kids, there is the Westminster Shorter Catechism , and for "bigger folks" there is of course the longer Westminster Catechism.  And the one that I have enjoyed going through at our church is the Baptist 1689 London Confession of Faith.

- Check out the Maxwell's themselves. They have resources on family devotions at Titus 2.

What works well for you when it comes to doing family or "even individual" daily devotions?

Hurrah for Advent!

2010 Advent Reading Calender

For years, it seemed I would bungle through Advent hit or miss. I would start thinking about Advent on December 1st, and then when I looked at the reading list and realize I was already days behind. That is if I could manage to find the reading list from where I had tucked it away last January. Then throughout December, I would pull out the list and wonder... now which verse are we on tonight. Are we in the 3rd week 4th day?

But I finally got smart. By getting smart, I mean that I made up a calender. A calender which shows which day each reading was supposed to be done. Not only that, but I  could also write each child's name down on the day that was their day. The day they were to pick the song, light and blow out the candles on the advent wreath, then hang up the marker on our countdown to Christmas calender forever indicating that we were one more day closer to Christmas.  


(For a copy of our advent calender just click the link below)

http://www.scribd.com/full/44162653?access_key=key-2aqabym1nt1fkffwo6l

There is certainly is no right or wrong way to do Advent.  There isn't even anything in the Bible instructing us to celebrate Christmas much less establishing a formal Advent season. After all, Jesus most likely wasn't even born in December. The Puritans, who I consider arguably one of bravest and greatest Christian groups in all of history, didn't even celebrate Christmas because it had degenerated into a raucous party back in merry old England.

But today, who would want to miss out on a chance to join the rest of the world in the biggest of all celebrations. Especially, when it is our celebration. And Advent keeps our family focused on what it is all about: The virgin birth of Jesus the Christ.
 
How does your family do Advent or keep your focus on Jesus Christ over Christmas?

The Bearable Lightness of Being

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." -  Jesus

Mathew 11:28-30

I am sure a vast majority of us have always taken great comfort from the words, “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” But strangely, I had never connected the earlier verses in Matthew leading up to this well known statement of encouragement.

We see earlier in verse 24, Jesus crying out to the cities who should have been his greatest “supporters.” Those who were most familiar with him, but who refused to repent either with the preaching of the "greatest of old testament prophets" John the Baptist or the miracles of Jesus.

In verse 25, there is the challenging revelation that Christ reveals himself to the "babes." The unexpected part of the population. Throughout the new testement, he brings out that he most often reveals himself to those who would not be considered wise and full of common sense by the establishment.

And to these, those who come to Christ by his call. Who the establishment would consider the least, to these who walk yoked, connected like oxen, to Christ. The burden or phortion  (the freight of a ship) is light or elaphros (agile).

The key word here that I have often missed is repentance. To be yoked with Christ, we must be repentant. We must turn from our selfishness, greed, love of the world, and love of the world's approval.

I also am suspect that in our pride and over zealousness, we try to carry burdens we aren't capable of carrying. Burdens that are Christ's, but we try to do alone. Things that belong to God.

The saving of the world…The changing of hearts...The separating of the chaff from the wheat....

Do you feel that we as Christians here in America feel unnecessarily burdened?

Family Integrate? Pro's and Con's

Have you ever thought about changing the "procedures" on how we conduct church? It could be that you have thought that there should be a better way each Sunday to help the local body of Christ feel connected as one unit instead of various different groups? If so, a Family Integrated Church could be what you are looking for. These Churches minimize activities and programs. Especially, those that segregate groups by age (i.e. Sunday Schools and Youth Groups). They also emphasize the parents responsibility and privilege of discipling their own Children.

Here are some Pro's and Cons to Family Integrated Churches:

Pros:

- They are as close to the Biblical model as we can find. The Bible is not filled with detailed instruction on how to conduct a church service. Even though there is room for debate on this, from the best we can determine the early church did the following: Preach the Word, administer the sacraments, share a meal, and share hymns. Nowhere is there mention of Sunday Schools and Youth Groups in the Bible. (Please note that just because they aren't mentioned does not, in and of itself, mean we should not have them.)

- They provide an encouraging environment for parents to disciple their own children. There is always that feeling in our current model that there is a safety net just in case we don't get around to doing it ourselves. This means that sometimes us parents just don't get around to it.

- They eliminate the need to recruit Sunday School teachers. If you have ever been in charge of this, you understand what a daunting and frustrating task this can be. Plus, not all Sunday school teachers are qualified for the job.

- They limit "counter recruitment" opportunities. Not everyone in Sunday School and Youth Group is there to grow in their faith or to ask honest questions. I have had many a Sunday lesson diminished as one child  tries to mock and distract those who are enjoying and learning. Or maybe you were asked, as I was, when growing up to join the church youth group on a retreat because it was a great place to smoke pot.
     
- They are easier on Moms. Most people who teach in Sunday Schools are Moms who have kids in the Sunday School. This means after watching their children all week, they go to church and watch their own children, and everyone elses, and miss the the nourishment of the service.

- They help put families all on the same page and teach children and young adults that church is not an oddity reserved only for grown ups. Everyone hears the same sermon and can later chat about it. This is great news!

Cons:

- They go against our current tradition. This means that if your church switches to this "format" some people will leave your church.

-  They can be a bit noisy. But not as noisy as you may think.This is especially hard for pastors who are producing a TV show each Sunday to be aired over the Internet or local television.

- They can be hard on Moms. It isn't always easy to sit in the service with your children. Of course, even in Family Integrated Churches kids and young adults aren't always perfectly behaved. There is no "format" that leads to perfect behavior. Some Sundays can be taxing. But your children can do this, and most enjoy it.

- There isn't the opportunity to teach Sunday School. For me, a now defunct Children's Pastor this is the worst part. However, most likely, you are the best person to disciple your own child.

A couple books worth checking out are Family Integrated Church by Mark Fox or Voddie Baucham's Family Driven Faith.

Comments and Questions?

5 Reasons You May Be Better Than the Rest of Us...

1. You don't need to pray. In Luke, the disciples asked Jesus how to pray. However, it's great that you have  life well under control and don't need much of God's assistance.

2. You don't need to go to church. The rest of the Body of Christ drags you down from your spiritual high. After all, you have missionary work to do at the ski slope. Next week, it is the yard work ministry.

3. You always know more than the Pastor. Every Sunday is an opportunity to critique the delivery, message, and dress of your local servant of God. A career on American Idol as a judge is sure to come your way soon.

4. Certain parts of the Bible just aren't for you. Because of your outstanding negotiation skills, you have made a special deal with God. Parts of the Bible have been ruled "not applicable" to your life.

5. You have the 67th Book of the Bible at home on your laptop. Included in it are all the solutions to the World's problems. If only God would get it in gear and have some knucklehead  publisher agree with you...

If one of the above five reasons has caused you to chuckle at yourself good, I have not wasted my time.  I confess that I have been guilty of most all of them at one point in my life. My hope is that you really are better than the rest of us.

I have lately seen the words pride and legalist bandied about quiet a bit. Most of the time, it appears the victims of these words are those people who are passionate, sometimes overly so, about certain positive aspects of the Christian life. I think pride can sometimes be a little bit more sneaky. It comes when we are tricked into believing special rules apply just to us. In James, we are reminded to work out our salvation with "fear and trembling." But often our own pride can blind us into complacency. Your thoughts?

Ramblings of Encouragement for a Demographic I Love

In the Apostle Paul's famous chapter 13  in the book of Corinthians, Paul wrote about heaven that, "...I shall know just as I also am known."  These words stand against an American  media culture (i.e. reality TV etc...) which says all should clamor for attention. A world that says it is better to be known for something, even if it may be bad, than to live a life of obscurity. It appears from many of our actions that we are easily tricked into thinking that God notices and rewards people in the same way the world does. There is no Biblical proof of this I can find. We are encourage to live quiet lives both in 1 Thessalonians 4:11 and 1 Timothy 2:2.

Interestingly, there is nothing in the Bible that indicates that there is such a thing as obscurity for the believer. Paul says we will be known. I believe we will not only be known to God but also to our fellow saints in Heaven. Our enemy, the Devil, would love to discourage us otherwise. He would especially like to discourage what I see as still a small but growing phenomena in American Christianity. Women who put off glitz and glory of our time to live quiet lives for the blessings of our nation's children and for the community.

The hope of American Christianity lies with their work. We all must support them and their families. I have read reports that it takes 40 people in a church to bring one person to Christ. But the average home school mom has a 90% success rate in producing Godly offspring. Do the math. It is no wonder that our enemy would like to trick this demographic into thinking that putting all they have into child raising is misapplied energy. Even near where I live, there is a popular ministry focused on children and young adults started by a women who got tired of being home with her children. Go figure.

Moms: You are the most critically vital and important demographic group in America. Be encouraged. God is not overlooking anyone doing His will. I can tell you even from my business world experience that those who focus their energy on raising children are not missing out.  Most weeks, I would rather spend a week at home with my kids than traveling about the country.

God knows us. And in Heaven, we will be known. We will be rewarded for the small things we have been faithful in (Mathew 25:14-23). How that reward plays out. I do not claim to know. We can only have faith that it will and our work will not be unknown. Not only that, but God says whatever we do for our own glory will be of no importance in Heaven. God is not tricking any of us into giving up anything of value. He saved us from destruction and perdition and is only keeping us from wasting our lives. Even though the work of child raising and daily discipleship can be hard, those doing this are doing a great work!

Your thoughts: How can we encourage families and especially Moms in raising their children for God?

The Pursuit of Happiness

Independence Hall

We are a nation  in which one of our declared purposes is the pursuit of happiness.  I have always thought that this was a bit of a hedonistic statement. Did our founders make an error? Some historians think that the statement was from John Locke and originally read, "life, liberty, and property." It was then improvised by Thomas Jefferson to read, "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

But if we truly are or were a Christian nation (which some critics claim we never have been), shouldn't Jefferson have said something a little bit more selfless? Did our brave forefathers goof causing us to veer off course tricking us into building big houses on golf courses instead of more important pursuits?

Of course, happiness is hard to define. In academia, they don't even like the word happiness. They prefer the term "subjective well being" instead. If you think America is the best place for "subjective well being," you may want to check out Eric Weiner's book "The Geography of Bliss." Be prepared to grab your wallet, passport, and plan on moving soon because America may not be the spot you think it is. We are somewhere in the middle of the pack when it comes to this certain type of "well being."

In ancient Hebrew, the word 'ester' is often translated blessed. But it also translates happy.  Strong's defines 'ester' as "happiness, blessedness." In Psalms 84, the Psalmist puts it plainly. 'Ester' (happy) are those who live at your temple. Happy are those who are always praising you. Happy are those who strength is in you. Happy are people who trust in you. Happy are those who cry out to be with the Living God. In short, happiness is found in the pursuit of God. The pursuit of happiness is actually an ideal goal for a nation founded by various groups of Christians based on Christian ideals.

I pray America's greatest legacy will not be be our riches and the liberty we enjoy at least for the moment. But that we will be forever known as a nation that pursues happiness in pursuing God. The Psalmist implies that in our pursuit of God comes all the things we may long for and desire in our nation. What can we do to change the direction of America and make us a nation chasing happiness in God instead of riches or a socialist utopia?