household – Dobra Family Ministry

Household Prayer: house building

“The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish tears it down with her own hands.” Proverbs 14:1 NASB2020 https://bible.com/bible/2692/pro.14.1.NASB2020

Brothers, meditating on Prov. 14:1, what can we do to love, disciple, equip and encourage our wives to help them build up our households? I can’t remember the last time I asked my wife if she needed anything. I pray we take time to take an inventory of how we are doing in this regard, ask our wives, and put our faith into practice. As head of our households (Eph. 5:23), I pray for the wisdom to build our households (Prov.24:3).

“By wisdom a house is built, And by understanding it is established; And by knowledge the rooms are filled With all precious and pleasant riches.” Proverbs 24:3-4 NASB2020 https://bible.com/bible/2692/pro.24.3-4.NASB2020

“For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. So husbands also ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, because we are parts of His body. For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. Nevertheless, as for you individually, each husband is to love his own wife the same as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband.” Ephesians 5:23-33 NASB2020 https://bible.com/bible/2692/eph.5.23-33.NASB2020

THE GOOD NEWS

There is a God that created the heavens and the earth. We humans are created in His image.

We are sinners, we have rebelled against Him, our Creator. Our rebellion has brought “all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice… envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness” to the world. Romans 1:29-31 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.1.29-31.ESV

Therefore we justly deserve our due punishment of death and damnation, “as it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.’” Romans 3:10-12 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.3.10-12.ESV

But good news! God is merciful and loving. Jesus is God the only begotten Son and He took our punishment upon Himself in our place. Jesus rose from the dead, defeating death and securing the hope of our salvation.

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.” 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1co.15.3-8.ESV

““Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”” Acts 2:36-38 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/act.2.36-38.ESV

We need only repent and believe it. Repent: turn away from our sins, proclaim Jesus is lord and savior, and we will be forgiven our sins and have life ever after! “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”” Romans 10:9-11 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.10.9-11.ESV

There is hope. Believe in Jesus! ““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.3.16.ESV

It doesn’t matter who you’ve been or what you’ve done, God stands with arms wide open, ready to forgive you. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/1jn.1.9.ESV

Household Prayer: Saint Valentine defiance of tyrants and obedience to God still relevant today

“First of all, then, I urge that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made in behalf of all people, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.” 1 Timothy 2:1-2 NASB2020 https://bible.com/bible/2692/1ti.2.1-2.NASB2020

Brothers, thinking about Saint Valentine. A pastor martyred for his faith because he obeyed God and defied the state when Emperor Claudius II tried to encroach outside of the God ordained role for civil authority and tried to become authoritarian over the sphere of marriage and family. The battle is still raging today with IL HB2827 – Homeschool Authoritarianism bill. Sounds like our voices are being heard, but keep praying (1 Tim. 2:1-2) and keep respectfully and peacefully calling and writing your representatives. IFI, ICHE, and HSLDA are great organizations to join and follow. I pray, like Pastor Valentine, that we trust in God and in His plan and not in “a king to judge us like all the nations.” (1 Sam. 8)

Illinois Family Institute https://illinoisfamily.org/education/illinois-homeschooling-freedoms-at-risk/

ICHE https://iche.org/node/7541

HSLDA https://hslda.org/legal/illinois/news

Saint Valentine, or Valentinus, has an important story to share with us today! https://ministry.family.blog/2023/02/11/saint-valentine/

Household Prayer: Marriage, Households, and the battle of the cosmos https://ministry.family.blog/2022/02/09/household-prayer-marriage-households-and-the-battle-of-the-cosmos/

Household Prayer: the mission of marriage is greater than the Roman Empire https://ministry.family.blog/2024/02/28/household-prayer-the-mission-of-marriage-is-greater-than-the-roman-empire/

“When governments extend themselves beyond this very narrow calling to which God has tasked them [Rom. 13:3-4]… then the church with its prophetic voice must call its own magistrate back from its desire to ever expand its influence. A good example would be the role of a ‘department of education.’ Is it the state’s responsibility to educate children and young adults? According to Romans 13, that does not seem to be included. Therefore, Christians should not be silent on such matters.” A Revolutionary Reading of Romans 13: A Biblical Case for Lawful Subjection to the Civil Magistrate and Dutiful Resistance to Tyrants” Timothy L. Decker, Founders Press 2023. https://press.founders.org/shop/a-revolutionary-reading-of-romans-13/ emphasis added

“and they said to him, “Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint us a king to judge us like all the nations.”” 1 Samuel 8:5 NASB2020 https://bible.com/bible/2692/1sa.8.5.NASB2020

“And the Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people regarding all that they say to you, because they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being King over them… And he said, “This will be the practice of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and put them in his chariots for himself and among his horsemen, and they will run before his chariots. He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to do his plowing and to gather in his harvest, and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will also take your daughters and use them as perfumers, cooks, and bakers. He will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. And he will take a tenth of your seed and your vineyards and give it to his high officials and his servants. He will also take your male servants and your female servants, and your best young men, and your donkeys, and use them for his work. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his servants. Then you will cry out on that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you on that day.”” 1 Samuel 8:7, 11-18 NASB2020 https://bible.com/bible/2692/1sa.8.7-18.NASB2020

Household Prayer: Trust in God not the Customs of the Nations

“Now this came about because the sons of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God… and they had feared other gods. They also followed the customs of the nations whom the Lord had driven out from the sons of Israel, and in the customs of the kings of Israel which they had introduced… They feared the Lord, yet they were serving their own gods in accordance with the custom of the nations from among whom they had been taken into exile.” 2 Kings 17:7-8, 33 NASB2020 https://bible.com/bible/2692/2ki.17.7-33.NASB2020

Brothers, meditating on 2 Kings 17:7,8,33. There is a real danger of looking for practical solutions (or placing our trust in false gods) and walking in the customs or statutes of the culture around us. We should be trusting in God alone for our daily bread. In our culture of “sprawling government bureaucracies” trying to be gods by providing for all our needs, I/we can be tempted to partake and “walk in the customs of the nations.” Beware when government want’s what is God’s (Matt. 22:21). I pray we trust in the one true God of our salvation and walk in His ways!

Tyrannical overreach can be described as “the governmental [or other] sphere either reaching beyond its [God defined] limitations of influence to rule in an arena in which it has no authority or otherwise restricting another sphere from fulfilling its own self-government and self-correction.” “A Revolutionary Reading of Romans 13: A Biblical Case for Lawful Subjection to the Civil Magistrate and Dutiful Resistance to Tyrants” Timothy L. Decker, Founders Press 2023. https://press.founders.org/shop/a-revolutionary-reading-of-romans-13/

Household

“from a Christian perspective, the household is not just a private sphere—it is the primary economic unit through which God intends His people to exercise dominion over creation… In Genesis 1:28, God commands Adam and Eve to “be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it.” This dominion mandate is given not to isolated individuals but to a covenant family—a household… Unlike modern economic paradigms that prioritize the state or the individual, the Bible places the household at the center of productivity and stewardship. In Proverbs 31, for example, the virtuous woman manages her household’s resources with wisdom and initiative, engaging in trade, real estate, and agriculture—ensuring her family thrives.” https://www.dominionwealthstrategists.com/post/household-economics-how-families-take-dominion

Education

A custom of the nations to beware of, School Choice and vouchers. “It all sounded so great… But then, in an instant, all genuine choice was abolished with one “education reform” law… Suddenly, private schools taking public money were ordered to teach the radical government curriculum… Just think of the “free” government money as the cheese in the mousetrap.” https://illinoisfamily.org/uncategorized/vouchers-school-choice-trap/

“HSLDA opposes any kind of government funding for homeschooling—these funds are most commonly referred to as ESAs, but they may also be packaged as vouchers or school choice funds… ESAs and other tax-funded accounts will provide government officials with a reason to further regulate and oversee homeschooling… The argument for enacting new restrictions could go (and has gone) something like this: Now that homeschooling families are receiving government money, the government needs to ensure they are spending that money responsibly… We’re already seeing this happen in a very public way… We’re already seeing movement across states with new ESA measures to further regulate homeschooling.” https://hslda.org/post/how-esa-funding-could-undermine-homeschool-freedom

Reminder, your children belong to God. Money, in Matthew 22 a denarius (Matt. 22:21), has the states “likeness.” Therefore, we pay our taxes to the state. Our money is political (not to be confused with labor!). But our children and we ourselves have God’s “likeness” (Gen. 1:26), therefore we belong to God. We are pre-political. https://ministry.family.blog/2021/08/01/tyranny-politics-and-the-pre-political/

“And this occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods and walked in the customs of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel, and in the customs that the kings of Israel had practiced… So they feared the Lord but also served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away.” 2 Kings 17:7-8, 33 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/2ki.17.7-33.ESV

Household Prayer: A Culture Building Strategy

““You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/mat.5.14-16.LSB

Brothers, today I’m thinking about strategy. Are we being pushed and pulled by life, or do we have a strategy to lead our families through life. As the worldly culture around us becomes wicked and hostile, I pray we rely on God’s word to develop a strategy. I pray we are actively building a Godly culture. I pray it starts in our homes and extends into our churches and communities. I pray that we leave an inheritance of Godly culture for our children’s children (Jeremiah 29:5-7, Matthew 5:14-16).

A Puritan Strategy: “A Model of Christian Charity”

Let’s learn from Puritan John Winthrop in their covenant “A Model of Christian Charity” that was the foundation of one of the American Colonies that would become the United States of America.

“In 1630, the Puritans [came to America], with their leader John Winthrop setting forth the terms of their covenant in “A Model of Christian Charity,” which he wrote while sailing across the Atlantic on the ship Arabella. It explained:

Herein are four things to be propounded: first, the persons; secondly, the work; thirdly, the end; fourthly, the means…’” The Founders’ Bible, NASB 1995, Copyright 2012, Shiloh Road Publishers https://thefoundersbible.com/

First: The Persons

First, for the persons. We are a company professing ourselves fellow members of Christ…

We are each heads of households, church members, and community members and are called to lead, serve, and influence each of those spheres God has placed us in.

Second: The Work

Secondly, for the work… [It is] to seek out a place of cohabitation and consortship [fellowship] under a due form of government, both civil and ecclesiastical…

What is important when the church (we believers) is a despised minority, when the culture around us is increasingly wicked and hostile?

A culture in which we can cultivate Christian households, churches, and communities that are flourishing, faith centered, and independent communities shining a light to the world!

Unwavering worship and affection to Yahweh, community and hospitality among believers, independence from the hostile systems, and holding firm, confident, hopeful, and joyful to the convictions of the faith.

It may be tempting to feel defeated and retreat, but even in exile God’s people are called to be hopeful and joyful as they seek fruitfulness, expansion, and dominion by building houses, planting gardens, getting married, and having children (Jer. 29:5-7).

If we find ourselves longing for the ideal culture of yesterday, then we need to be building the culture we long for among ourselves.

Third: The End

Thirdly, the end is to improve our lives to do more service to the Lord, the comfort and increase of the body of Christ (whereof we are members), that ourselves and posterity may be the better preserved from the common corruptions of this evil world to serve the Lord, and work out our salvation under the power and purity of His holy ordinances.

The type of culture and community worth loving and fighting for! A culture and community like a city on a hill whose light shines before men, pointing to Jesus! (Matt. 5:14-16, John 8:12)

The Spartan’s were far from God, but there is “nothing new under the sun” (Eccl. 1:9-10), so when an unbelieving people have a good idea or philosophy it can often be found to originate, knowingly or unknowingly, from the wisdom of God. Such as, “[The Spartans] loved what they were fighting for… They weren’t fueled by hatred for what they were fighting, but rather fueled by love of what they were fighting for–their culture, their family, their homeland [Neh. 4:13-23]. This is why some would say that the opposite of fear is love.” Warrior Poet Profile | The Spartan Warriors https://warriorpoetsupplyco.com/blog/warrior-poet-profile-the-spartan-warriors/

“that I had men stand in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, the exposed places, and I had the people stand by families with their swords, spears, and bows. Then I saw their fear. And I arose and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people: “Do not fear them; remember the Lord who is great and fearsome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”” Nehemiah 4:13-14 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/neh.4.13-14.LSB

Fourth: The Means

Fourthly, for the means… We must love brotherly without dissimulation [Rom 12:9], we must love one another with a pure heart fervently [1 Pet 1:22]. We must bear one another’s burdens [Gal 6:2]. We must not look only on our own things but also on the things of our brethren [Phil 2:4]… We are entered into covenant with Him for this work-we have taken out a commission. The Lord hath given us leave to draw our own articles… but if we shall neglect the observation of these articles… the Lord will surely break out in wrath against us, be revenged of such a [sinful] people, and make us know the price of the breach of such a covenant. Now the only way to avoid this shipwreck and to provide for our posterity is to follow the counsel of Micah to do justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with our God [Mic 6:8]… For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill [Matt 5:14]. The eyes of all people are upon us so that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a byword through the world [Deut 28:37]…’

“arise and build the sanctuary of the Lord God.”

There is a spiritual and physical aspect. Like King David’s message to Solomon in 1 Chronicles 22:19, “David urges Solomon, ‘set your heart and your mind to seek the Lord your God’ and to ‘arise and build the sanctuary of the Lord God.’ David’s message still hits home today, urging us to dedicate ourselves to seeking God and advancing His kingdom.” John G. “Jay” Johnston, D.Min, National Prayer Director and Chaplain, Family Research Council Prayer Post, June 25, 2024

Leading ourselves in seeking God. (Mark 12:29-30, Matt. 6:33)

Leading our households as an independent governing sphere under God (Mark 10:6-9, Jeremiah 29:5-7, Eph. 5:1-6:9, 1 Timothy 3:4-5).

Leading our families into the household of households, the local church, to worship Yahweh (Acts 10:2, Heb. 10:25, Acts 2:42).

Leading our households in intentional community fellowship and hospitality (1 Peter 2:9-10,4:9, Romans 12:10,13).

Leading with firm confidence and joy in the convictions of the faith (Matt. 5:14-16, Eph. 5:1-21, 1 Peter 1:13-16).

By faith (Heb. 11:1-3,4,5…), get to work subduing and ruling, working and keeping, being fruitful and multiplying (Gen. 1:26-28; 2:15), and making disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:18-20) for “we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10) Rule yourself well, rule your household well, and bring God’s truth and grace into every sphere of life that you enter into until every nation proclaims “Jesus is Lord!” – Amen

“Our Forefathers forged a covenant; our Founders laid the foundation. Christ has ever been the True Cornerstone, for it is from Him that our freedom flows. Those who have followed have built upon those values, many wisely, some foolishly, but thankfully a glorious nation emerged. Its people have climbed that mountain and lit a beacon of freedom that has shone brightly for lo these many generations. For ourselves, and for posterity, with all the eyes of the world upon us, let us not stumble now. We cannot, must not, and will not let that light go out.” The Founders’ Bible, NASB 1995, Copyright 2012, Shiloh Road Publishers https://thefoundersbible.com/

Household Prayer: Household Enterprise

”Then he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then he gave him a tenth of all.“ Genesis 14:19-20 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/gen.14.19-20.LSB

Brothers, I read an article about running a business (and household) as a prophet, priest, and king drawn from Gen. 14. Read that chapter and meditate on the household enterprise Abraham led. I pray we can lead our households well (1 Tim. 3:2-12). I pray we walk by faith in obedience and that God would establish the work of our hands (Psalm 90:17) in our household enterprises to raise Godly offspring (Malachi 2:15) and to proclaim God’s glory to the ends of the earth! (Mark 16:15)

”So Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, and he led out his trained men, born in his house, 318 in number, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. And he divided his men against them by night, he and his servants, and struck them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. And he brought back all the possessions, and he also brought back his relative Lot with his possessions and also the women and the people.“ Genesis 14:14-16 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/gen.14.14-16.LSB

”An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sensible, respectable, hospitable, able to teach… leading his own household well, having his children in submission with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to lead his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?)… Deacons must be husbands of only one wife, leading their children and their own households well.“ 1 Timothy 3:2, 4-5, 12 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/1ti.3.2-12.LSB

”Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; And establish for us the work of our hands; Establish the work of our hands.“ Psalm 90:17 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/psa.90.17.LSB

”Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth.“ Malachi 2:15 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/mal.2.15.ESV

”And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.“ Mark 16:15 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/mrk.16.15.LSB

Household

In Latin domus, Greek oikos; oikos, the root of “economic,” refers to the household.

“For Aristotle, the household is a family understood as a community of daily life. The family, the Church, and civil society are true societies. They have a real metaphysical standing because they are intrinsic to the human condition… a community woven together by common actions toward common ends… husbands and fathers face a dramatic and pressing need to develop habits that reinvigorate the life of the household. Men need to think about how to orient their families around common projects and enterprises.” https://www.firstthings.com/article/2018/11/reclaiming-the-household

Household Prayer: the mission of marriage is greater than the Roman Empire

”Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she would be holy and blameless. So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, because we are members of His body. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is great, but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband.“ Ephesians 5:25-33 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/eph.5.25-33.LSB

Brothers, it’s the end of February and I’m praying for our marriages. We learn from Valentinus that the mission of marriage is greater than the Roman Empire. I pray we would be encouraged in the mission, that we would love our wive’s as Christ loved the church, that we would be students of the Scripture, and that we would not fall for the trap of Balaam (Number 22-23, Rev 2:14,16). I pray our marriages would be a reflection of the Gospel.

Marriage is greater than the Roman Empire (Valentinus 269 A.D). Creation starts with a marriage. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number” (Adam and Eve, Genesis 1:28) and ends with a marriage. ”Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.”“ (Revelation 19:7 LSB).

Men Be Encouraged in the Mission

Your marriage is a reflection of the Gospel! (Eph 5:22-6:18). Love your wife as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her (5.25, 5:33a) and let each one of you love his wife as himself. Christ loved 100% in obedience to the Father!

You must be a student of the Scriptures! Lead your wife and children in the instruction of the Scriptures. Protect your families from the lies and falsehoods of the world. To lead in the instruction of the Scriptures and protect your families from worldly ideas and falsehoods, you must be a student of the Scriptures!

Men, don’t fall for the traps! Keep sexual purity with your wife. The same trap of Balaam to curse God’s people in Numbers 22-23 is set today. Temptation to sexual immorality destroys God’s people. To the church at Pergamum – ”But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality… Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.“ Revelation 2:14, 16

“A husband’s love for his wife should be efficacious… Notice that when Christ efficaciously loved His bride, His love transformed her. His love was also incarnational: Christ’s love for the Church was embodied in His willingness to die for her… as Paul says, “He that loveth his wife loveth himself” (Eph. 5:28)… when a husband really loves his wife, he will discover that as he gives these blessings to his wife, his wife consistently gives a bigger return. He shovels blessings on her, and then discovers that she has a much bigger shovel. He who loves his wife loves himself. She is always able to return more in blessing to him than he has given to her. Godly wives are multipliers. Husbands who love their wives in an incarnational way will consequently have the authority to speak at the dinner table, and they will find that people want to listen. If a husband is not doing this, everyone around him will check out, right after they roll their eyes. If you are not loving your wife efficaciously, any instruction or teaching you offer your family is going to bounce off their foreheads. And if you want to transform your family, then you must be willing to die—and you cannot do this on your own. You have to look to the Christ who died, in order to imitate Him, daily taking up your cross and following Him.” The Covenant Household by Douglas Wilson https://a.co/3Sz5qNn

Household Prayer: Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God https://ministry.family.blog/2024/02/15/household-prayer-resistance-to-tyrants-is-obedience-to-god/

The cosmic battle started early in creation and has continued since (Gen. 3:15). So I pray we understand the profound nature and purpose of our marriages and the armor needed to protect them (Eph. 5-6). https://ministry.family.blog/2024/02/03/household-prayer-marriage-and-the-cosmic-battle/

More about Saint Valentine: https://ministry.family.blog/2023/02/11/saint-valentine/

Household Prayer: February Devotional Topics

”And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”“ Matthew 19:4-6 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/mat.19.4-6.LSB

Brothers, I’ve been thinking about and praying for all of the opportunities for instructing and discipling our families in February. From Saint Valentine’s example: Pray for our marriages and households and their part of the war for the cosmos (Eph. 5:22-6:17). Pray that we have wisdom to discern when to resist tyrants in obedience to God (Exodus 1:15-22, Acts 4:18-20). And I pray we love our wive’s as Christ loves the church (Eph. 5:25). These three things I will focus family devotional time on in February. I pray God grants faith, knowledge, and wisdom to our children.

More about Saint Valentine: https://ministry.family.blog/2023/02/11/saint-valentine/

”But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt had spoken to them, but let the boys live… So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied and became very mighty. Now it happened that because the midwives feared God, He made households for them.“ Exodus 1:17, 20-21 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/exo.1.17-21.LSB

Household Prayer: Priorities, Goals, and Resolutions

”I have no greater joy than this, to hear that my children are walking in the truth.“ 3 John 1:4 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/3jn.1.4.LSB

Brothers, meditating on 3 John 1:4 today. Praying that the number 1 priority in our households, churches, neighborhoods, and workplaces is that every member will know “the doctrines of the gospel, the life of Christ, and the great precepts of Scripture.” Praying for the wisdom and energy to bring God’s truth into every conversation possible (Deut. 6:7). Praying that every goal and resolution is founded on God, His truth, and His purpose for us!

Priority

“I hope no parent will allow their children to grow up and leave their roof without knowing the doctrines of the gospel, the life of Christ, and the great precepts of Scripture—without having as clear an understanding as possible of the great principles and plan of salvation. It should be the holy ambition of every parent that his entire family should be renewed by the Holy Spirit. Happy as a marriage day is that day when a parent sees his child surrendered to the people of God, having first given his heart to Christ. The joy of the text is that the children “walk in the truth”—the actual demonstration of the power of the gospel in their lives. This proves that the teaching was well received, the feeling was not mere excitement, and the profession was not a falsehood but was done in truth.” The Spurgeon Study Bible

Goals

This year, 3 years, 5 years, 10 years…

Roles

Family/household sphere, the ministry of health, education, and welfare.
Church sphere, the ministry of grace and peace.
Civil sphere, the ministry of justice.
Self-Government, by God’s grace, born again, the ministry that makes the other three possible.

“Duty is ours, results are God’s.” – John Quincy Adams

”“Hear, O Israel! Yahweh is our God, Yahweh is one! You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.“ Deuteronomy 6:4-7 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/deu.6.4-7.LSB

Warnings for getting our priorities wrong

”“If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?” …“ Psalm 11:3-4 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/psa.11.3-4.LSB

”My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from ministering as My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I Myself also will forget your children.“ Hosea 4:6 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/hos.4.6.LSB

Homeschool: an exhorting and encouraging message

I found this to be an exhorting and encouraging message from Pastor Sumpter and wanted to share.

Two big points that stuck out to me:

1 Men must lead. “Christian education is to be ultimately overseen by men/fathers.”
2 We need community. “many responsible households knit tightly together in covenant communities – little platoons, as Edmund Burke called them… Christians need to think of the project of Christian education as something that needs to be done in community. We need community because we need encouragement. We are tempted to get tired, discouraged, and lose perspective. We need community because we need accountability… We need community because it is not good for man to be alone, because two are better than one, because we are a body in Christ, because there is something particularly fruitful and potent about wise divisions of labor… the more Christian education is done in community (strong coops and classical Christian schools) the more it is like a military force, training brigades of soldiers, full of highly competent individual soldiers who have also been prepared to work together, concentrating forces, building institutions, businesses, and cities.” I would add, as Pastor Toby probably assumes is obvious, for the glory of God and the advancement of His gospel kingdom.

If your local church has the explicit or implicit attitude that your Christian education or homeschool/coop is not a ministry of the church, I pray God gives you wisdom.

A Pastoral Word About Homeschooling by Toby Sumpter

In this episode of Having Two Legs, Pastor Toby addresses Fathers, Mothers, and the Pros and Cons of Homeschooling.

Video: https://youtu.be/OGfIis-XDno?si=kbbCNuvdSXjev4os

Blog post here:https://tobyjsumpter.com/a-pastoral-word-about-homeschooling/

Household Prayer: Surely the kingdom of God has come upon us!

“But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.” Matthew 12:28-30 NKJV https://bible.com/bible/114/mat.12.28-30.NKJV

Brothers, today I am praying that by faith and the light of our lives lived for King Jesus many would be drawn to Him. Lord, I pray that we would be swift to proclaim the good news and I pray we would have eyes to see Your Spirit plunder captive souls from the devil. Surely the kingdom of God has come upon us! (Matt. 12:28) Christ has bound the strong man. (Matt. 12:29) Jesus has all authority; the victory is won (Matt. 28:18). Plunder the devil’s house! (Matt. 12:30)

“Christ has reigned from His throne in heaven since He sat down, and the obvious evidence is that the gospel has spread throughout the world in ways that the earliest Church never would have believed… when Christ commanded the Great Commission to His disciples, I believe He was giving His strategy for His Church… Jesus proves that His coming is plundering Satan’s kingdom [Matt. 12:28-30] … Satan is bound, in that, no power and no principality has authority over Jesus Christ. We know this because Christ said so: “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” [Matt. 28:18] … There’s nothing Satan can do to stop the advancing of the gospel [Hebrews 10:13] … the gospel is the truth that binds Satan.” Jarrin Jackson, “Christian Nationalism is inevitable… and that’s good news!” https://livelocal.store/product/christian_nationalism_is_inevitable/

“But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.” Hebrews 10:12-13 NKJV https://bible.com/bible/114/heb.10.12-13.NKJV

“There are two great interests in the world; and when unclean spirits are cast out by the Holy Spirit, in the conversion of sinners to a life of faith and obedience, the kingdom of God is come unto us. All who do not aid or rejoice in such a change are against Christ.” Matthew Henry Concise Commentary

“The enemies of the gospel are wanting to undermine the world of obedient Christians by dissuading their work through calling them names that demean them and socially isolate them. And like the first “Christians” being called Christian in Acts, “Christian nationalism” is a term that is weaponized against Christians living their faith in public. If Christians are quiet, they won’t be called Christian nationalists. If Christians tolerate fornication and homosexuality and the transgender abomination, then they won’t be called Christian nationalists. If Christians don’t argue the Constitution or stand firm in their worldview in conflict with globalism or hedonism or secularism, then they won’t be called Christian nationalists. If Christians just keep their God in a box and only worship Him in the steepled buildings on Sunday – when they’re not shut down for public health emergencies – and the sermons don’t preach on the need to evangelize the lost with the exclusive salvation message of Jesus Christ, then they won’t be called Christian nationalists. The enemy doesn’t really care about Christian nationalism. The enemy hates Christ’s followers obeying Christ.” Jarrin Jackson, “Christian Nationalism is inevitable… and that’s good news!” https://livelocal.store/product/christian_nationalism_is_inevitable/