A By-Product of Family Worship

Family WorshipIf you are anything like me, then you experience seasons where you either are not able to read your Bible for personal edification or you seem to just run out of time each day. What makes it real bad is that I am a seminary student. Even worse than that, I am serving as a minister!

I realize I may be sharing too much with my personal devotional life, but I do so knowing that I am not the only one who struggles with this. Therefore, I would like to share with you something I have learned “by accident.” Through my failures, I have learned that the accountability of doing family worship with my wife and children has helped me to remain focused on the Cross.

One evening while reading The Child’s Story Bible by Catherine Vos with my family, I realized that I had not cracked my personal Bible in over a week. However, during that same time I had read through the book of Judges with my children each night. What is more, because it was a children’s Bible and I was explaining stuff to my children, I was actually meditating throughout the day so that I would be better prepared to answer my sons’ questions.

The lesson I have learned is that family worship not only helps my family to come together over the Word of God, but it also helps me to remain in the Word even when I am not. Obviously, this does not excuse me (or you) from your daily Scripture reading, but it certainly helps to keep me centered.

If you don’t struggle with reading your Bible every day, my hat is off to you and I praise God for your faithfulness. However, if you do struggle with this, and you are not doing family worship with your spouse and/or children, then, please, begin tonight. I pray that the Lord is able use my failures to be an encouragement to you.

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Terry Delaney
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5 comments
  • Wow, thanks for your honesty and transparency; I am the same “open” way on my blog too; all or nothing for Jesus; b/c we all struggle. I have had a low season with God this summer. It’s been hard to focus, even though I know I should. I just have to force myself sometimes, and pray in the midsts of it all for God to draw near and help me want Him more. I know that I need to do more devotional time with my daughter, who is 3. She amazes me with her little heart for God. We say our prayers before bed and meals now, and I really need to doing more Bible stories with her at bedtime and even durring the day. Thanks for the nudge 🙂 God Bless, Robin

  • @Robin–I have a 3 year old as well (a 5 and a 1 year old, too!). Let me recommend to you the Jesus Story Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones or the The Big Promise Bible by Crossway. My children loved both though now we are reading through the one I mentioned above. You and your daughter will blessed for having done so.

    • Hey terry, if you click the “reply” button it will put your reply inline to the person’s comment you’re replying to. It is a cool new feature since the redesign. Just FYI.

Written by Terry Delaney
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