Many of us attend church, at least once in a while, and we sometimes read the Bible, but how can we be sure that our family is grounded in the fundamentals of Christianity? One way is to dedicate ourselves to a plan of study that involves the whole family. Why the whole family? Listen:
Deuteronomy 11:18-21 NKJV
…you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give them, like the days of the heavens above the earth.
God, speaking through Moses, has commanded us to “teach His words” to our children. The task is far too important than to leave such teaching to others. One of the great advantages of learning God’s word, as a family, is that assures you that your beliefs and understandings are “mutual.”
I suspect that it is difficult, with all of the “agenda” that is coming at family members, to spend time together discussing the core values of Christianity. Yet, is anything more important? No, nothing is more important than knowing that every member of the family is seeking to do as Jesus commanded:
Matthew 22:37-39 NKJV
“‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'”
The purpose of these Family Bible Studies is to provide a format for getting each family member to discuss the scriptural topics at hand and to both learn and share mutual commitments. Since some of the concepts are more difficult to understand than others, fathers and mothers will have to assist in explaining what they mean and will, at times, need to restate the core value in words the children will understand.
These Studies are intentionally “substantive”, that is, they will lead you into the meat of the word as opposed to dwelling on the milk of the word. Listen:
Hebrews 5:12-14 NKJV
For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need some one to teach you again the first principles of God’s word. You need milk, not solid food; for every one who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their faculties trained by practice to distinguish good from evil.
Establish a specific day and time for your Family Bible Study and be sure to begin the study with prayer. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. May God abundantly bless your family as you learn “eternal” values. I pray that God will richly bless you and your family, forever.
The Holy Scriptures are God's gift to us. Let no man contradict or deny the Word. God's Spirit in you is the interpreter. His Light shines in your heart as a star in the darkness. Seek Him.
Do not let the sun set on a family disagreement. God's will for our lives is harmony with Him and each other. Anger is a tool of Satan. Do not let him win.
Everything that we see is "temporary", it will cease to exist. The things we do not yet see are "eternal" and will never cease to exist. Don't get too attached to anything in this world!
When we speak with bitterness or anger and are unkind to one another, it grieves the Holy Spirit of God. Our sins grieve our parents, us and God. There is no upside in sinful behavior!
We are "elected" by God to be His children; the Word (in 1 TIMOTHY 2:4 NKJV) says, "God our Savior …desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." Do it.
