AS FOR ME & MY FAMILY

How to minister to our families and in our own home.

Ps Marlene Smith | Citipointe Church Redcliffe

It’s a few days past Youth Camp now, which means that this is probably when reality just

smacks us in the face. Who knew that there is an outside world where not everyone is

focused on the Lord and worshipping Him? Well, that is the reality we face (for now).

I don’t know what reality you walked back into after going home from camp - maybe you

have an amazing Christian family who celebrates everything that God did over the week you

were at camp, OR maybe you have the opposite - where your family wants to hear nothing

about it and are totally against any Christian practices. OR perhaps they’re somewhere in between. Either way, we just came back from a week of standing firm and declaring that AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE WE WILL SERVE THE LORD.

Going back to our house now, how do we outwork this?

1. We continue to live unashamed of the Gospel.

When our families ask about camp, or faith, or Jesus, we need to unashamedly tell them the

Good News, cause it is GOOD NEWS (Romans 1:16)! Jesus said in Matthew 10: “Everyone

who acknowledges Me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in

heaven. But everyone who denies Me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in

Heaven.” Living unashamed of our faith is easy when we are surrounded by like-minded, Spirit-filled believers who get it! But living the same way when we are surrounded by our younger sibling, or a parent who is away from the faith, may be harder - but that’s the mission. Your life, you living unashamed as a child of God, could be a pathway to your whole family coming to God and/or going deeper in their faith. We are called to be different to the world, so be unashamed of your difference, don’t fall back into your previous patterns, continue to be different, be a light in this dark world. And it starts with you carrying that into your home!

2. We continue to press into spiritual practices

Spiritual practices are important for our intimacy with God. We need to be people who

practice being in the Word of God daily, praying daily, and worshipping daily. You may be the only

person in your house to do this, but we see when Daniel faced opposition, to not pray to the

Lord, he stood on his spiritual practices and continued to pray three times a day, every day

(Daniel 6:10). And the end result for Daniel was that the King made a statement that God

Daniel served is the living God (Daniel 6:26). Continue pressing into spiritual practices. Continue reading your Bible, pressing into hearing from God for yourself, and letting the Holy Spirit guide you every single day, so that your house will serve the Lord. Push back the distractions, push back thoughts of what your siblings or parents may think, push back the busyness of life, and press into the Lord.

3. We continue to pray

Finally, we need to intercede for our house! We need to continue to pray! Pray for your

siblings, pray for your parents, pray for your distant family members… PRAY!

Pray always. Never stop praying. Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5, “Always be joyful. Never

stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to

Christ Jesus.” I pray that as you stand firm and unashamed in your faith and pray for your home that you will see the Lord move in your family members just as you saw Him move at Youth Camp! He is with you now just as He was with you at camp. Let’s keep standing and proclaiming that AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE WE WILL SERVE THE LORD.

Application:

What spiritual practices can you make part of your daily routine? Invite a friend or a leader to help keep you accountable.