We probably don’t understand how radical of a commitment this was. Ruth was ready to leave her country and her own people in order to follow Naomi. A person’s identity and sense of stability and security is often directly tied to family and home place. Ruth is willing to give up all of that to follow Naomi. And all of that is despite the fact that Naomi believes that the future is hopeless. So Ruth’s commitment to Naomi is really remarkable. Read More ...
Before making a major move, every family should very carefully weigh the pros and the cons—the costs and the benefits. You don’t want to seek greener grass elsewhere, only to find more problems in the new place. It’s probably not a good idea to move to a place that is spiritually dark and pagan. You must consider the effects of the move on your family. Read More ...
In a perfect world, divorce should not be an issue among Christians. Christians should have strong marriages that are not susceptible to divorce. That’s the ideal. But the reality is that divorce is common in our culture and it’s even common in the Christian church. Read More ...
The biggest spiritual threat against the family is the idea that the modern family does not need to follow biblical principles pertaining to the family. Read More ...
Christian parents are raising the next generation to know the Lord, to love him, and keep his commandments. This is the highest goal. We can’t force our children to do that, and we can’t guarantee that they will. But we can follow the biblical model and raise our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We can take steps that make it most likely that the children will be saved and will serve God throughout their lives. And we do that through proper discipline.
Lack of discipline reflects a lack of love. Withhold not discipline from the child. He who loves his child disciplines him promptly (Prov 13:24).
If we want a pleasant, happy, joyful home, and if we want our children to turn out right, we will be careful to discipline our children appropriately. Read More ...
The Bible warns us that “if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another” (Gal 5:15). Conflict has the ability to destroy the home. So we dare not ignore it or just live with it. We should be able to solve conflicts.
Because people are sinners, some conflicts remain with us. Some people will never submit to biblical standards for living, and they will thus continue to be a cause of conflict. You can’t change other people, and you can’t pick your relatives. All you can do is try your best to manage conflict and reduce it as much as possible.
Within your own, immediate family, you need not live with continuous conflict. If everyone in the family agrees to follow biblical standards, then conflict should be fairly rare and usually quite minor. It’s only as we stray from biblical standards that conflict becomes more significant. As a family grows in its commitment to God and his ways, conflict should reduce. As a family strays from its commitment to God and his ways, we should not be surprised if conflict increases.
And I should also say that if children are experiencing abuse within the home, they need to talk to someone outside the family—me or another authority. That’s one family secret that children do not need to keep.
Don’t tolerate continuous conflict in your home. Do what is necessary to address conflict and reduce it or even eliminate it. God wants the Christian home to be happy, peaceful, and harmonious. Don’t settle for anything less. Read More ...
If we want to enjoy a peaceful, happy home, we must avoid communication that is deceitful, angry, foul, and malicious. Instead, we should use words that are true, that build up, and that extend grace to those that hear us. Read More ...
What are you teaching your children if you allow them regularly to ignore your commands? What are you teaching if you allow the child habitually to delay obedience? You are teaching that the child is in charge; that the child has the right to ignore his parents. Read More ...
God’s expectation is that spouses cleave to one another in a monogamous, exclusive, life-long covenant of marriage. God expects you to be a one-woman man or a one-man woman. We should not allow anything into our lives that threatens marital fidelity. Read More ...
If we want to avoid the distress that accompanies disobedience to God’s law, then the thing to do is to commit ourselves to walking in his law and observing God’s ordinances. Only if the nation as a whole returns to a basic respect for Christian morality can we expect God to bless our nation again. We need a national revival, a wholesale repentance and return to God and to biblical morality. Read More ...