The Verse: Psalm 22:23 “Shout Hallelujah, you God-worshipers; give glory, you sons of Jacob; adore him, you daughters of Israel.” (The Message)

The thought:

We teach our children weekly that the three most important things in life are to honor God, honor others, and honor ourselves. This morning we are focusing on honoring God.

The questions:

1. Why is it important to honor God?
2. What does giving God honor as a family look like?
3. How does God honor us?

In my devlotional yesterday (I’m reading “Be Still: 31 Days to a Deeper Meditative Prayer Life”.), I read Isaiah 32:17-18 four times using the Read, Reflect, Respond, Relax method utilized in the devotional. Verse 17 reads, “The fruit of righteousness will be peace;
the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.”

So I think a great question is, “What is righteousness?”

Here’s a definition I found over at DiscipleshipTools.org:

Righteousness is defined as conformity to God’s Law, both from our heart and deeds, inside and outside. No one can attain it apart from perfect adherence to the law; Christ was the only one in all of human history to do it. No one can attain it without Divine intervention; righteousness to please God must come from God Himself. Because we all are corrupted by sin, and unable to live according to God’s perfect standards. Thus it must be a gift from God! Even though some people are better than others, your neighbor versus Stalin, both are guilty in view of God’s perspective. (vs. 1: 10; 17). Our only hope is in the Person and Work of our Lord.

What do you think righteousness is?  Let me know

Isaiah 33:14-17

14 The sinners in Zion are rightly terrified;
the godless are at their wit’s end:
‘Who among us can survive this firestorm?
Who of us can get out of this purge with our lives?’”

15 The answer’s simple:
Live right,
speak the truth,
despise exploitation,
refuse bribes,
reject violence,
avoid evil amusements.

16 This is how you raise your standard of living!
A safe and stable way to live.
A nourishing, satisfying way to live.
God Makes All the Decisions Here

17 Oh, you’ll see the king—a beautiful sight!
And you’ll take in the wide vistas of land.

My wife and I help couples in crisis through our Marriage Restoration Intensive program. These verses were part of my daily reading, but I felt like they were perfect verses for anyone going through a struggle or a hurting marriage.

I tell individuals all the time, “You can’t lose if you do the right thing.” This doesn’t mean that life is easy, because sometimes the right thing to do is also the toughest thing to do. But in the end, when it really matters, you can’t lose because God will not forget how you handled yourself and you will be blessed!

Play the Podcast

What does it take to find strength in God? Listen to our latest (unedited) family devotional to find out.

Isaiah 40:29 “He energizes those who get tired, gives fresh strength to dropouts.”

Finding strength in God

Possible family questions:

1. What does it look like if you are depending on God?
2. How have you depended on God before, and how has God given you strength?
3. What would you prayer sound like if you were asking God for strength?

Play the Podcast

Sorry it has taken me this long to get our second edition of the Smalley Family devotional! Remember, these are unedited and uncut (and slightly disturbing). My hope is that you get encouragement to do your own family devotionals because you experience that they are not as clean, organized, and perfect when I do them.

The verse is James 1:5 and is from The Message:

5 If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it.

By the way, you won’t believe how Reagan worked the word “cheese” into this devotional. It is quite hilarious!

Questions you can ask the kids:

1. What kinds of questions can you ask God?
2. Does God seem interested in our problems?
3. Is there any problem that we can have that God would laugh at or ignore?

Our pastor, Ken Werlein, was preaching today on overcoming the storms in your life and he read from Daniel 3.  It is the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

There is a verse or two that really stood out to me this morning and I thought it would make a great family devotional.  We will have this ourselves on Monday, but I wanted to give a heads up to you before Monday.

Here are the verses that I want to focus on (Daniel 3:16-18 MSG):

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar, “Your threat means nothing to us. 17 If you throw us in the fire, the God we serve can rescue us from your roaring furnace and anything else you might cook up, O king. 18 But even if he doesn’t, it wouldn’t make a bit of difference, O king. We still wouldn’t serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.”

What stands out to me in these verses is that they tell King Nebuchadnezzar that “if” God wants to save us, He can.  The word “if” is important for us to understand when it comes to following God’s will.  What they recognized is that God may not want to save them from the fire, but they chose to not dishonor God anyways.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew they were not allowed to worship any idols, even if it meant their death.  So they did what was right in God’s eyes and didn’t worry about whether or not it would turn out well for them here on earth.

They were God focused and not “fire” focused.

We always need to remember that God’s will is far better than our own.  Sometimes we pray for things to happen, as if God himself told us to pray for them, and then we are hurt or dissapointed when they don’t turn out like we wanted.

This is why, when I pray, I always end my prayers with, “and God, if this is not your will, then please give me the wisdom to see your will because ultimately, Lord, I want your will done in this thing and not my own.”

Play the Podcast

I can not believe I’m doing this, but (because apparently I am going to do this) we are now recording our family devotionals, unedited and completely uncut! First, my hope is that you will use these as a stepping stone to having your own family devotionals.  Second, that you will experience all the raw, dysfunction of our own family and not feel so bad about your own (this was sarcasm for those of you who do not know me). Read the full story

More than anything, Jesus wanted his disciples to be one – united.  He has this same dream for the rest of us as well.  The cool thing is…when we are one we reflect Jesus through our relationships so the world will know that we follow Him.

The greatest example a family can be for those around them is one.  When a family loves each other, serves each other, cares for each other’s needs the rest of the world will take notice.  

John 17:20-24 (NLT)

20 “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. 21 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.

 22 “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. 23 I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. 24 Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!

If you want to know how to be one as a family, look no further than Jesus’ 8 Beatitudes:

Matthew 5:3-10 (NLT)

3 “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. 4 God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 God blesses those who are humble,  for they will inherit the whole earth. 6 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice,  for they will be satisfied.  7 God blesses those who are merciful,  for they will be shown mercy.  8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. 9 God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God. 10 God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

When you take on the kind of personality described in Matthew 5 it makes it easier for you to become one as a family.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Why do we want to be one as a family?
2. What is a ‘beatitude’?
3. How can we apply this as a family to our neighbors?

Who do we turn to in times of trouble? I know for me I used to turn to the person I experienced on a physical level, whether that be my parents, brother, sister, or friend. When we are stressed out it is easy to turn to people or things of this world for comfort and guidance. But Paul is pushing us to a much better, and in fact, much healthier response when we are stressed out.

Philippians 4:6-7 “Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.”

Paul is encouraging us to run to God, let God know what is going on with our lives. When we pray, we reach out our hands to the Almighty in trust and reverence. The best part of us reaching out is that God takes our hand and comforts us – and he does it far better than anyone on this earth could ever do.

When our eyes are fixed on God it just becomes easier, and fellowship with Him gives us the wisdom and certainty to know how to move forward in a way that is pleasing to God, others, and even ourselves.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. How do you pray?
2. What do I do if God doesn’t answer my prayer right away?

John 14:21 “The person who knows my commandments and keeps them, that’s who loves me. And the person who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and make myself plain to him.”

Who loves Jesus?  One of my family’s favorite, yet weird,  thing to do with each other is to scream out at the top of our lungs, “Who loves Mommy?”  Then everyone screams in unison, “I do!”  Then we go to the next member of the family, “Who loves Cole?” and everyone answers, “I do!”  This goes on till everyone in the family has been named and yelled for.

This fun display of love reminds me of John 14:21.  The important thing to know about this verse is that our love for Jesus is not just about saying how much we love him, it is also about showing our love through following his instructions.  It is not enough to say we love Jesus, we have to show it through obeying his commandments.  I like to simplify his commandments for my family by teaching that we are to love God, others, and ourselves.

When we know and keep God’s commandments, Jesus will be a very real and spiritual presence in our lives.

Possible questions for discussion:

1. What are God’s commandments?
2. Would Jesus ever leave me for not obeying?