4. Family Devotional: Peter in His Home

Family Devotional: Peter in His Home

Author: Harry Foster

Reading: Mark 1:29-34.

    It is quite clear that Peter was a family man. It must have been difficult for him, finding serious sickness at home just when he wanted to show hospitality to his newly found Lord; so, instead of helping Jesus, Peter had to ask Jesus to help him and his family.

    This the Lord promptly did, by healing his mother-in-law so completely that she was able to prepare a meal for the party and serve it herself.

    By the time the meal was eaten most of Capernaum‵s citizens were gathered around Peter‵s front door, and many found healing from Christ‵s own hands.

    So we see that before Peter went out to work for Christ in the world, he had a testimony to the Lord‵s sufficiency there in his own home. This is where we should all start.

3. Devotional: This Experience Must Come

Devotional: This Experience Must Come

Author: Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)

And he saw him no more. (2 Kings 2:12)

    It is not wrong to depend upon Elijah as long as God gives him to you, but remember the time will come when he will have to go; when he stands no more to you as your guide and leader, because God does not intend he should. You say—‘I cannot go on without Elijah.’ God says you must.

    Alone at your Jordan. v. 14. Jordan is the type of separation where there is no fellowship with anyone else, and where no one can take the responsibility for you. You have to put to the test now what you learned when you were with your Elijah. You have been to Jordan over and over again with Elijah, but now you are up against it alone. It is no use saying you cannot go; this experience has come, and you must go. If you want to know whether God is the God you have faith to believe Him to be, then go through your Jordan alone.

    Alone at your Jericho. v. 15. Jericho is the place where you have seen your Elijah do great things. When you come to your Jericho you have a strong disinclination to take the initiative and trust in God, you want someone else to take it for you. If you remain true to what you learned with Elijah, you will get the sign that God is with you.

    Alone at your Bethel. v. 23. At your Bethel you will find yourself at your wits’ end and at the beginning of God’s wisdom. When you get to your wits’ end and feel inclined to succumb to panic, don’t; stand true to God and He will bring His truth out in a way that will make your life a sacrament. Put into practice what you learned with your Elijah, use his cloak and pray. Determine to trust in God and do not look for Elijah any more.

2. Parenting Devotional: Good Parenting

Parenting Devotional: Good Parenting

Author: H. Norman Wright

Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent] and when he is old he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6, AMP).

    There are so many books about parenting. We hear about permissive, restrictive, neglectful, and authoritarian styles. Which is best? What are parents to do? Here are some answers from Jack and Judith Balswick:

    While some parenting styles encourage growth and are empowering, others hinder or block growth either by fostering dependency or by expecting self-reliance prematurely.

    Early attempts to understand parenting styles made a distinction between permissive versus restrictive parenting. Proponents of the permissive style, while not rejecting the need for discipline, stressed that a child‵s greatest need is for warmth and security. Those holding to the restrictive style, while not rejecting parental affection, emphasized that a child‵s greatest need is for discipline, responsibility and self-control.

    In hundreds of studies done on parenting styles over the last thirty years, two factors—parental control and parental support—have emerged as the most important elements in good parenting. The term parental control means that you, as a parent, actively provide guidelines, set limits, direct and redirect your child‵s behavior in some desired direction. The term parental support refers to the affirmation, encouragement, and general support that you give to assure your children that they are accepted and cared for.

    Some parents are great at teaching right behavior but not so good at following through in their own lives. In effect they tell their children, "Do as I say not as I do." Children will understandably feel resentful when parents fail to live by the standards they preach. Children recognize the incongruence and may be disrespectful or rebellious when parents make demands.

    On the other hand, parents who model right behavior but never provide explanations and good reasons for the values and beliefs they hold are also lacking appropriate skills. It is important that parents guide, equip, and empower their children by taking time to give the whys of the behavior they expect from them. It’s balance we‵re looking for, perhaps best described as a disciplining role.

    What type of parent are you?

1. Hymn: I Know Who Holds Tomorrow

Hymn: I Know Who Holds Tomorrow

Author: Ira F. Stanphill (1914–1993)

(Vocal)

(Music)

(Sheet Music)

1. I don't know about tomorrow,
    I just live from day to day.
    I don't borrow from its sunshine,
    For its skies may turn to gray.
    I don't worry o'er the future,
    For I know what Jesus said,
    And today I'll walk beside Him,
    For He knows what is ahead.

Refrain:

Many things about tomorrow,

I don't seem to understand;

But I know who holds tomorrow,

And I know who holds my hand.

2. Every step is getting brighter,
    As the golden stairs I climb;
    Every burden's getting lighter;
    Every cloud is silver lined.
    There the sun is always shining,
    There no tear will dim the eye,
    At the ending of the rainbow,
    Where the mountains touch the sky.

3. I don't know about tomorrow,
    It may bring me poverty;
    But the one who feeds the sparrow,
    Is the one who stands by me.
    And the path that be my portion,
    May be through the flame or flood,
    But His presence goes before me,
    And I'm covered with His blood.

4. Marriage Devotional: Giving Love

Marriage Devotional: Giving Love

Author: Gary Chapman

Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in 

honoring each other. (Romans 12:10)

    The desire for romantic love is deeply rooted in our psychological makeup. Almost every popular magazine has at least one article on keeping love alive. So why is it that so few couples seem to have found the secret to a lasting love after the wedding? I‵m convinced it‵s because we concentrate on "getting love" rather than "giving love."

    As long as you focus on what your spouse should be doing for you, you‵ll come across as condemning and critical. How about a different approaching that says, "What can I do to help you? How can I make your life easier? How can I be a better spouse?" In Romans 12, Paul writes that when we love each other, we should "take delight in honoring each other." Giving to the one we love does not have to be a chore; if our affection is genuine, giving and serving can be a joy. Giving love will keep your relationship alive.

    Father, help me to concentrate on giving love today. May I focus less on what my spouse can give me, and more on what I can give to him or her. Thanks for being the ultimate example of selfless, giving love.

3. A Quote from A. W. Tozer (5)

 Download Link

2. Devotional: Wait on the Lord

Wait on the Lord

Author: C. H. Spurgeon (1834-1892)

(Audio Link)

Wait on the Lord. (Psalm 27:14)

    It may seem an easy thing to wait, but it is one of the postures which a Christian soldier learns not without years of teaching. Marching and quick-marching are much easier to God’s warriors than standing still.

    There are hours of perplexity when the most willing spirit, anxiously desirous to serve the Lord, knows not what part to take. Then what shall it do? Vex itself by despair? Fly back in cowardice, turn to the right hand in fear, or rush forward in presumption?

    No, but simply wait. Wait in prayer, however. Call upon God, and spread the case before him; tell him your difficulty, and plead his promise of aid. But wait in faith. Express your unstaggering confidence in him. Believe that if he keep you tarrying even till midnight, yet he will come at the right time.

    Wait in quiet patience, and accept the case as it is, and put it as it stands, simply and with your whole heart, without any self-will, into the hand of your covenant God, saying, “Now, Lord, not my will, but thine be done. I know not what to do; I am brought to extremities, but I will wait until thou shalt cleave the floods, or drive back my foes. I will wait, if thou keep me many a day, for my heart is fixed upon thee alone, O God, and my spirit waiteth for thee in the full conviction that thou wilt yet be my joy and my salvation, my refuge and my strong tower.”

1. Hymn: The Love of God

Hymn: The Love of God

Author: Frederick M. Lehman (1868-1953)

(Vocal)

(Music)

(Sheet Music)

1. The love of God is greater far
    Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
    It goes beyond the highest star,
    And reaches to the lowest hell.
    The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
    God gave His Son to win;
    His erring child He reconciled,
    And pardoned from his sin.

Refrain:

Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!

How measureless and strong!

It shall forevermore endure–

The saints, and angels' song.

2. When hoary time shall pass away,
    And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall;
    When men who here refuse to pray,
    On rocks and hills and mountains call;
    God's love, so sure, shall still endure,
    All measureless and strong;
    Redeeming grace to Adam's race–
    The saints' and angels' song.

3. Could we with ink the ocean fill,
    And were the skies of parchment made;
    Were ev'ry stalk on earth a quill,
    And ev'ry man a scribe by trade;
    To write the love of God, above
    Would drain the ocean dry;
    Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
    Tho‵ stretched from sky to sky.

4. Marriage Devotional: The Fullness in Christ

Marriage Devotional: The Fullness in Christ

Author: H. Norman Wright

My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19, NASB).

    Some businesses today operate from a deficit position rather than a surplus. Some individuals and some marriages operate the same way. These people feel empty, isolated, lonely, inadequate, and helpless. Many people go through life with important needs unmet. Some go through marriage

in the same way.

    Aside from your physical needs, do you know what your basic needs are? You need: security; love and belonging (being wanted, cared about, listened to, accepted, understood); self-esteem (receiving attention, respect, significance, value); and fulfillment of your potential of giftedness.

    You and your spouse probably look to each other to meet some of these needs, and rightly so. But your partner cannot meet all your needs. God is the only one who can. He is the primary source for meeting your physical needs for food and shelter (Matthew 6:26,27). He meets your need for security and love (Romans 5:8; 8:35,38,39). God meets your need for significance or purpose (Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 1:21).

    The more you believe these verses, the more you will be able to fulfill your potential and giftedness. In reality, you don‵t ever have to operate from a deficit. Because of what God has done for you and said about you, you can respond to yourself, your partner, others, and to life itself out of a sense of fullness. You are not deficient when you know Christ. Neither is your partner. Experience His resources. Use them. Enjoy them. Express your fullness to your partner and to the world!

3. Devotional: Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord!

Author: H. Norman Wright

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord, Praise the Lord (Psalm 150:6).

    Praise the Lord! Have you ever said that out loud? Praise is not only a response to God but a step in seeing change happen in your life. When you praise God for what He has done, for who He is, and for what He will do in your life, you are released to be more dependent upon Him and less dependent on yourself.

    It's easy to praise God for what He has done because you can reflect back and identify something tangible. But what about the future? How difficult is it for you to praise God for what He is going to do? Such praise opens your life to some possibilities you may never have considered. By praising God, you not only become a risk-taker, but you become more aware of what He wants for you. This may be an uncomfortable idea for you. It may mean that you learn to praise God in an unpleasant job situation or during times of financial difficulty. It may mean praising God in spite of that taxing personal relationship in your marriage or family life. Perhaps you are troubled and perplexed about some situation in your life. This is exactly the time God wants you to praise Him.

    Lloyd John Ogilvie has an interesting thought along this line: "Consistent praise over a period of time conditions us to receive what the Lord has been waiting patiently to reveal to us or release for us." Praising God is a response to His love, His goodness, His faithfulness, and His unbelievable concern for each one of us. When you praise God, you recognize His sovereignty. When you praise God, you transfer from trusting yourself to trusting Him.

    What have you praised God for today? Take a few moments to reflect upon several things you have praised God for in the past and what you can praise Him for in the future. Share your praises with each other and then praise Him together.