Joshua Leads His Family

My husband David and our daughter Margaret
at her wedding on June 8, 2008.

A Monthly Holiday Devotions Ezine with a new holiday devotional for the month of June entitled "Joshua Leads His Family," in honor of Fathers Day.


This Fathers Day devotional is dedicated to my husband, David.

14 Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.

15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

16 And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods;

17 For the LORD our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed.
Joshua 24:14-17

In thinking of Father's Day, and the responsibility of fathers to lead their family to serve the Lord, we will look at the life of a very well-known Bible character, Joshua. Though we are never told any details of his family in the Bible, most of us are familiar with the words he spoke in Joshua 24:15, But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Joshua is one of the most amazing men in the Bible; in spite of the sin and lack of faith of the children of Israel, he remained true to the Lord. Joshua leads his family: even though he became the leader of the Israelites, he still acknowledged his leadership role in his own family. Choose this day whom you will serve . . . but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:15

In many ways, we live in a similar time; we are bombarded by the sin and lawlessness of those around us. It is no longer "popular" to be a Christian; Christian truths and principles are constantly being undermined and ignored.

In the face of this environment, it has become more important than ever that fathers (and mothers) be the spiritual leaders in their family. What are the most important things you can do for and with your family to maintain a spiritual environment in your home.

1. Maintain a closeness to the Lord. Read your Bible every day and spend time in prayer for your family. Seek the fellowhip of Christian friends who face the same issues that you do.

2. Read the Bible with your children every day. Teach your children to have their own quiet time with the Lord every day. When they are young, have that quiet time with them, and as they grow older encourage them to spend time with the Lord every day.

3. Go to church as a family, don't send the children without you. As a family, pray and encourage your pastor; don't express criticisms of your pastor, your church, or people in the church around your children. Seek Christian fellowship with other families who have children near the ages of your children.

4. Encourage your children to have solid friendships with other Christian kids. Open your home up to all of the friends of your children; you need to know who their friends are and what they are like.

This is just a start; remember that your children are people, too. Give them the respect that you would show to other people. You are raising adults, not children!

There is only one problem! No matter how hard you try, none of this is possible apart from the grace of God!

Pray today that God will bless you and help you to raise your children to be God-fearing adults.

God Bless You, Linda


For more devotions check my Daily Bible Devotions where we are currently going through the Bible chronologically, and are now reading 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles. I am finding that a chronological reading is very insightful. For example, the Psalms are interspersed with the narratives from 1 Chronicles and 2 Samuel, according to the approximate time they were written. I'm really excited about where God will take us as we go through the entire Bible this year. Hope you will join us!

I have joined a wonderful online Bible education program entitled, Christian Success Institute. Christian Success Institute CSI encompasses all of life in their training of Godly men and women to live successful lives according to Biblical principles. Not only are there Bible studies, but also several career opportunities by dedicated Christians whose desire is to serve the Lord through their business ventures.

This is a site by Christians, for Christians, to teach them to successfully serve Christ in every area of their lives, including business.

God Bless You,
Linda

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