Two Tips #10
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. –Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Leading our families in worship can be intimidating. But the reward is worth the effort. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 connects the way we teach our children to our own love for God. It also instructs us to weave our teaching into our lives, so that it infuses whatever we’re doing, whether we’re sitting, walking, or lying down. The instruction to write God’s instructions on doorposts and gates is an encouragement to be intentional about reminding ourselves and our families of God’s instructions. Each month, we provide you with two tips for developing your personal and family discipleship from dads who, like you, are taking on the challenge of investing spiritually in their families.
Tip #1 for Personal Devotion
Read Psalms of Thanksgiving
The Psalms are the Bible’s devotional. Dane Ortlund’s book, In the Lord I Take Refuge: 150 Daily Devotions through the Psalms, offers five-minute readings to illuminate these powerful resources for all of life, from joy to grief. As Thanksgiving approaches, prepare your heart to lead your family in gratitude by reflecting on thanksgiving Psalms, such as Psalms 18, 30, 32, 34, 40, 66, 92, 100, 111, 116 118, or 138.
Tip #2 for Family Discipleship
Serve others
Be intentional in serving others, specifically in the presence of your children. It opens up dialogue on inequities and God's calling for us. It can be as simple as keeping granola bars in the car to hand out to those in need or volunteering in some capacity. Thanksgiving is an ideal time to express your gratitude for all you have and reinforce that gratitude by serving those less fortunate. Sign your family up to serve a Thanksgiving meal to those less fortunate and this could be the most meaningful Thanksgiving your family has ever had. As James 2:15–17 says, “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
