Biblical Guidance
Life's full of choices. For better or worse choices determine the direction of our lives. Plotting the right course is clearly a challenge these days. Learning to keep our families safe by navigating around obstacles and avoiding threats to our spiritual well being can make all the difference in this life and eternity.
Short List of Scriptures
The following few scriptures are offered as examples of Biblical Guidance for families. We hope you'll take the time to consider the wisdom and help they offer:
Families are meant to serve the Lord
"So fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever idols... as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:14-15
The Bible place great emphasis on families serving the Lord and experiencing his presence, provision and protection. Hundreds of passages provide precedent for our prayers along these lines.
Immerse children in the knowledge of God
"Write these commandments that I've given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates. Deuteronomy 6:6-8
God desires our homes to filled with Him in various ways. Expecting parents and children to learn about and live obedient lives, He offers divine power to help families overcome temptation and deception.
Prosperity and success come from honoring God's laws
"This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." Joshua 1:8
The prosperity of the wicked is fleeting. True success in this life and eternity is dependent on our knowing and obeying God's directives.
God's covenant is guaranteed with those who Fear Him
"He has paid a full ransom for his people. He has guaranteed his covenant with them forever. What a holy, awe-inspiring name he has! Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom. All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom. Praise him forever!" Psalms 111:9-10
Used over 100 times in just the New Testament alone, most often as a command to Christians, the virtue of fear is widely misunderstood today. Jesus' teachings of fear explain what we should and should not fear.
God desires godly children
"'As for Me,' says the LORD, 'this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,' says the LORD, 'from this time and forevermore.'" Isaiah 59:21
This and other passages throughout the Bible reinforce the Lord's great desire for children to to enjoy His blessings by being raised to serve and worship Him.
The Holy Spirit wants to guide us into truth
"When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth." John 16:13
This wonderful promise of guidance should be a matter of regular diligent prayer, all the more when we find ourselves or loved ones in the midst of temptation and sin.
God's Word is wonderful
"The revelation of God is whole and pulls our lives together. The signposts of God are clear and point out the right road. The life-maps of God are right, showing the way to joy. The directions of God are plain and easy on the eyes. God's reputation is twenty-four-carat gold, with a lifetime guarantee. The decisions of God are accurate down to the nth degree. God's Word is better than a diamond, better than a diamond set between emeralds. You'll like it better than strawberries in spring, better than red, ripe strawberries. There's more: God's Word warns us of danger and directs us to hidden treasure. Otherwise how will we find our way?Or know when we play the fool?" Psalm 19:7-11
God's instructions are perfect, converting the soul, reviving the heart and making wise the simple. Clearly we should work hard and pray that our loved ones realize the value of knowing and following the Lord's commands.
Don't ignore God's Word
"Ignore the Word and suffer; honor God's commands and grow rich. The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, so, no more drinking from death-tainted wells! Sound thinking makes for gracious living, but liars walk a rough road." Proverbs 13:13-15
The path of righteousness may be narrow but the way of sinners is hard. Let's pray that our loved ones will "honor God's command and grow rich" as together we drink from wisdom's "fountain of life."
God helps us pray as we should
"And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will." Romans 8:26-27
We can depend on the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth including how best to pray and like Christ to even pray for through and for us.
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