Faith Starts At Home
OPENING PRAYER:
Dear Father, because I know that You have the words of truth, I ask for insight and encouragement today from Your Word. In Jesus name, Amen.
Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:5-9 NIV
REFLECT:
"Hey kids, make sure and brush your teeth before you go to bed." "Anna, let's say 'please and thank you' next time." "Chris, don't throw your clothes on the floor, put them in the hamper please." These are things we said 100+ times as our kids were growing up. As I reflect back, sometimes I wonder if I was really communicating the most important things with such regularity. Faith training is not just at church, it is primarily for the home. The verses for today are part of what is known as the Jewish Shema. According to rabbinic law it was to be repeated every morning and every night. Jesus, in Mark 12:30, called verse five above the "first and greatest commandment". The Hebrew word "heart" is a conflated word in Hebrew and includes both the heart and mind. God deserves and desires our love and worship. A heart and mind filled with this pursuit leads toward right decisions and actions, even when no one is there to see or hear.
APPLY:
Want to think right, act right and feel right? Start your day today, and tomorrow and the next with the words of the Shema. Talk about how you and your family and friends can better live, love and look like Jesus by reminding and reciting the Bible's words for real success. Try it each morning together for 30 days, wherever you are. "Then you will be prosperous and successful" Joshua 1:8b. It's a family affair.
CLOSING PRAYER:
Thank you, Lord, for family. Help our family to faithfully acknowledge you and our love for you each day. Help me make this a reality in my heart and mind and in my family. To Your glory and for Your Name, Amen