Character Journal No.2
Obedience vs. Willfulness
Bible Verses Related to Obedience
Spend an evening (or several) looking at just one of these verses at a time. Don't forget to ask your children the questions: Who? What? Where? Why? When? and How? Discuss with your family what each verse or story teaches about the character quality.
* 1 Samuel 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD [as great] delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey [is] better than sacrifice, [and] to hearken than the fat of rams.
* Proverbs 30:17 The eye [that] mocketh at [his] father, and despiseth to obey [his] mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it. {the valley: or, the brook}
* Acts 5:29 Then Peter and the [other] apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
* Romans 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
* 2 Corinthians 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; {imaginations: or, reasonings}
* Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
* Colossians 3:20 Children, obey [your] parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.
* Colossians 3:22 Servants, obey in all things [your] masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:
* Titus 3:1 Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,
* Hebrews 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
* Hebrews 13:17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that [is] unprofitable for you. {have...: or, guide}
Bible Stories
* The story of David who's obedience to his father (1 Samuel 17) led to his victory over Goliath. Had David not obeyed the instructions of his father, he would have missed this significant opportunity to defeat the enemies of God.
* The story of Naaman in 2 Kings chapter 5
Character Definitions
* Submission to the restraint or commands of authority. (Dictionary Definition)
* Freedom to be creative under the protection of divinely-appointed authority. (Operational Definition)
* Learning the importance of limitations and the meaning of the word "no." Responding to the wishes of God, parents, and others in authority. Yielding the right to have the final decision. (Operational Definition)
Projects
* Can you report to your children that you fully obeyed your parents or that you have asked them to forgive you for not obeying?
* Does your family see you making sacrifices to obey God?
* Do you quickly obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit?
* Have your children seen you violate traffic laws?
Ten Ways To Test Your Obedience
FIRST TEST: Do you ask for reasons when your request is turned down?
OBEDIENCE IS ACCEPTING "NO" AS A FINAL ANSWER. (No questions, no appeals, no discussions, no nothing!!!)
When you make a request, and are told "no,' it would be an act of disobedience to discuss the matter any further. Simply thank your authority for considering the request, and drop the subject. Trust God to work out any change of heart. If you ask for reasons, you are assuming that your authority can clearly and fully explain himself. Often he will have cautions that he cannot immediately explain based on past experiences, conflicting circumstances, the concerns of others, or direction from the Lord. Any reasons he gives you are usually incomplete; thus, when you answer his objections, he still will not be convinced, and an argument will usually result.
SECOND TEST: Do you stop what you are doing when given instructions?
OBEDIENCE IS ACTING ON COMMANDS IMMEDIATELY. (No delays, no objections, no reasons like, "Let me finish this first.")
Delayed obedience is disobedience. When your authority asks you to do something, stop what you are doing immediately, and carry out what you were told to do. If you are working on a project that will be damaged if not finished, make your authority aware of this, and let him decide which is the greater priority.
THIRD TEST: Do you smile when you are told to do something?
OBEDIENCE IS CHEERFULLY RESPONDING TO REQUESTS. (No frowns, no murmurs, no groans, no rolling of your eyes.)
A smile communicates that you are pleased to carry out the wishes of your authorities. The lack of a smile implies that you do not want to do a job. A frown or any murmuring indicates that you are inwardly rebelling against your authorities, and that you are complying only because you have no alternative.
FOURTH TEST: Do you ever give reasons why you cannot do a job?
OBEDIENCE IS FINDING WAYS TO OVERCOME OBSTACLES. (No negative thinking, no failure to be creative, no "I can't." )
When told to do a job, it is normal to think of obstacles that are in your way, but do not voice them. Ask yourself, "How can I overcome these obstacles?" Ask God for wisdom. A desire to obey motivates creativity. Where there is a will, there is a way.
FIFTH TEST: Have you ever had to be reminded to do little tasks?
OBEDIENCE IS DOING LITTLE COMMANDS AS WELL AS BIG ONES. (No excuses, no frustrations, no reactions, no justifications.)
Do you need to be reminded to wipe your feet, pick up your clothes, make your bed, brush your teeth, wash the dishes, or carry out garbage? A person who neglects little commands will usually overlook important details which make the difference between success and failure in a project or in life. He will also tend to be careless in his thinking, personal disciplines, neatness, speech, or actions. The principle that Jesus gave is very true: "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much." (Luke 16:10) On the other hand, he that is unfaithful in little, will be unfaithful in much.
SIXTH TEST: Do you ever have to re-do a job you did the wrong way?
OBEDIENCE IS FOLLOWING ALL THE ORDERS THE FIRST TIME. (No assuming, no guessing, no forgetting, no self-will.)
Before carrying out a task, an obedient person will make sure that he has all the information on how to do it. He will know what questions to ask in order to clarify instructions, and he will know at what points. to check back with his authority to make sure he is doing the job the right way. Disobedience is adding your own will or ideas to a job when you are not sure they are in harmony with the precise instructions of your authority.
SEVENTH TEST: Do you ever think that a job is "stupid?"
OBEDIENCE IS DOING JOBS AND UNDERSTANDING THEM LATER. (No mocking, no whining, no questioning, no evaluating.)
A former Marine recalled the days when he went through boot camp. He was ordered to dig a hole six-feet-square. After completing the task, he was told to fill it back up, and then start another one. Later he learned that the purpose of those jobs was to teach him to obey even without explanation. His life would depend on it. In battle, he would not always be given the reasons behind a command, but if he failed to obey, his life would be jeopardised, as well as the lives of those around him.
EIGHTH TEST: Do you ever ask one parent after the other said, "No?"
OBEDIENCE IS NOT PUTTING ONE AUTHORITY AGAINST ANOTHER. (No scheming, no withholding important facts, no repeat requests.)
When one parent tells you, "No," and you ask the other parent the same question, you may get your way, but it is sure to damage the relationship between your parents and demonstrate the fact that you are disobedient. God instructs us that in a multitude of counsellors there is safety. (See Proverbs 11:14) By rejecting the counsel of one authority, you expose yourself to the destruction that comes with rebellion.
NINTH TEST: Do you ever plan in recreation after finishing chores?
OBEDIENCE IS PUTTING ALL YOUR ENERGIES INTO A TASK. (No half-hearted effort, no holding back energy, no day-dreaming.)
God instructs us to put our whole heart and soul into whatever we are doing. (See Colossians 3:23) This means that we will have little energy left after the job is finished. Instead of being distracted by thoughts of recreation, there would be the anticipation of rest. If the same energy that an athlete gives to his training would be expended in fulfilling a job, the one who assigned the job would be amazed with the spirit of obedience.
TENTH TEST: Do you obey whatever you are told to do?
OBEDIENCE IS BASED ON WHAT GOD SAYS IS TRUE AND RIGHT. (No blind obedience, no surrender of personal responsibilities.)
Even if an authority would tell you to do something that the Bible clearly prohibits, you are not to do it. Disobedience is violating any of God's laws; regardless of what others may tell you. If an authority should ask you to do something that you know is against God's Word, you must respectfully explain that you are ultimately under God's authority, and therefore you must obey God rather than man.
Bible Verses to Memorise as a Family
* 1 Samuel 15:22
* Ephesians 6:1
* 1 Peter 2:13-14
Other Helpful Material
Romans 13:1-2 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
GOD HAS ORDAINED 4 BASIC STRUCTURES OF AUTHORITY
1. The Family
The family was the very first authority structure that God ever established, and it is foundational to all other structures of authority. Strong families will produce strong churches and nations. Weak families will produce weak churches and weak nations. Scripture makes it very clear that the husband is under the direct authority of God...The wife is under the authority of the husband...And the children are under the authority of their parents. This is the chain-of-command which God has established within the family. If this chain is broken or perverted in any way, if the husband resigns the spiritual leadership of the family to his wife, if the children are undisciplined and allowed to do whatever they want, then there will be serious consequences in the lives of that family.
2. The Government
Submission to the entire structure of government from the leader of our country, all the way down to the local police officers is commanded in Scripture. 1 Peter 2:13-14 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.
3. The Church
God has provided the leadership within a properly functioning local church to be responsible for the spiritual care and welfare of each member. Hebrews 13:17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.
4. Our Employers
Paul, in Ephesians 6:5, writes, "Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ."
Is there ever a situation when we should disobey those in authority over us? Acts 4:19-20 infers that if we are confronted with a situation and are asked by our authorities to violate a Biblical command or principle, then we must obey God rather than man.
WHY WE SHOULD OBEY OUR GOD ORDAINED AUTHORITIES
1. For our protection
God has designed authority to function like an umbrella of protection. As long as we remain under God-given authority, nothing can happen to us that God does not design for our ultimate good and His ultimate glory. But the moment we challenge and disobey our authority, we move out from underneath that umbrella of protection and expose ourselves to the destructive forces of satan. That's why Scripture says that "rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft" (1 Samuel 15:23). A person who is involved in witchcraft has given himself over to Satan and his power. Exactly the same thing happens the moment you step outside that umbrella of protection - you expose yourself to the destructive forces of Satan. Satan's strategy is to get us outside that umbrella of protection because he knows he can't harm us as long as we remain under our God-given authority.
2. For direction
The most essential means of finding God's will (second only to the Word of God) is checking with our authorities, because God directs through your authority. Now that's radical teaching for our society! Parents are often the last on the list that our young people come to for advice, and that's tragic. This explains why so many Christian young people today are constantly making wrong decisions and are just drifting through life with no vital spiritual purpose for living. It's only as we submit to the authority of those God has placed over us - parents, government, employer, leadership in the local church - that we can benefit from God's protection and direction.
3. For character development
Every single one of us has a multitude of character deficiencies that need to be perfected. Authorities are the tools in God's hands that He uses to chip away at the rough edges of our character and to transform us into the image of Jesus Christ (Proverbs 22:15 Foolishness [is] bound in the heart of a child; [but] the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.). If we react and resist and get out from under the reproofs and authority of our parents, God only has to raise up new "tools" to continue the job. While Bill Gothard was working with inner-city gangs, many teen-agers would say in disgust, "I'm sick and tired of taking orders from my parents!" He would ask what they're planning to do about it, and they would reply, "I'm going to join the service!" They usually chose the marines!
OBEDIENCE-DISOBEDIENCE
(A) OBEDIENCE
(1) To God, the duty of
Whole-hearted Required # De 26:16 32:46
The Price of Success # Jos 1:8
Better than Sacrifice # 1Sa 15:22 Jer 7:23
Secures Entrance into God's Kingdom # Mt 7:21 Lu 8:21
The Imperative Duty of Life # Ac 5:29
(2) Examples of
Noah # Ge 6:22
Abraham # Ge 12:4 22:2,3
Bezaleel # Ex 36:1 Nu 9:23
Joshua # Jos 11:15
Hezekiah # 2Ki 18:6 Ezr 7:23 Ps 27:8
Joseph and Mary # Lu 2:39 Ac 16:10
Paul # Ac 26:19 Ro 16:19
Christ # Heb 5:8
(3) Blessings Promised for # Ex 19:5 De 4:30 5:29 7:12 28:1 1Ki 3:14 Job 36:11 Zec 3:7 # Jas 1:25 1Jo 3:22 Re 22:14
(4) Christ's Example of # Joh 14:31 15:10 Ro 5:19 Heb 5:8 10:9
(B) CHRIST'S WORDS CONCERNING OBEDIENCE
The Basal Rock of Character # Mt 7:24
Essential to Membership in God's Family # Mt 12:50
The Key to Spiritual Knowledge # Joh 7:17
Secures the Blessing of Divine Fellowship # Joh 14:23 1Jo 2:17
(C) OBEDIENCE TO CHRIST, examples of # Mt 4:20 7:24 9:9 21:6 26:19 Lu 5:5 6:47 # Joh 2:7 11:29 14:21 21:6
(D) DISOBEDIENCE
(1) Penalty for # De 11:28 28:15 1Sa 12:15 28:18 1Ki 13:21 Jer 12:17 # Eph 5:6 2Th 1:8 1Ti 1:9 Heb 2:2,3
(2) Examples of # Ge 3:11 19:26 Le 10:1 Nu 20:11 Jos 7:1 1Sa 13:13 # Jon 1:3 Zep 3:2
OBEDIENCE to God
1) Commanded # De 13:4
2) Without faith, is impossible # Heb 11:6
3) INCLUDES
3a) Obeying his voice # Ex 19:5 Jer 7:23
3b) Obeying his law # De 11:27 Isa 42:24
3c) Obeying Christ # Ex 23:21 2Co 10:5
3d) Obeying the gospel # Ro 1:5 6:17 10:16,17
3e) Keeping his commandments # Ec 12:13
3f) Submission to higher powers # Ro 13:1
4) Better than sacrifice # 1Sa 15:22
5) Justification obtained by that of Christ # Ro 5:19
6) Christ, an example of # Mt 3:15 Joh 15:20 Php 2:5-8 Heb 5:8
7) Angels engaged in # Ps 103:20
8) A characteristic of saints # 1Pe 1:14
9) Saints elected to # 1Pe 1:2
10) Obligations to # Ac 4:19,20 5:29
11) Exhortations to # Jer 26:13 38:20
12) SHOULD BE
12a) From the heart # De 11:13 Ro 6:17
12b) With willingness # Ps 18:44 Isa 1:19
12c) Unreserved # Jos 22:2,3
12d) Undeviating # De 28:14
12e) Constant # Php 2:12
13) Resolve upon # Ex 24:7 Jos 24:24
14) Confess your failure in # Da 9:10
15) Prepare the heart for # 1Sa 7:3 Ezr 7:10
16) Pray to be taught # Ps 119:35 143:10
17) Promises to # Ex 23:22 1Sa 12:14 Isa 1:19 Jer 7:23
18) To be universal in the latter days # Da 7:27
19) Blessedness of # De 11:27 28:1-13 Lu 11:28 Jas 1:25
20) The wicked refuse # Ex 5:2 Ne 9:17
21) Punishment of refusing # De 11:28 28:15-68 Jos 5:6 Isa 1:20
22) Exemplified
22a) Noah # Ge 6:22
22b) Abram # Ge 12:1-4 Heb 11:8 Ge 22:3,12
22c) Israelites # Ex 12:28 24:7
22d) Caleb &c # Nu 32:12
22e) Asa # 1Ki 15:11
22f) Elijah # 1Ki 17:5
22g) Hezekiah # 2Ki 18:6
22h) Josiah # 2Ki 22:2
22i) David # Ps 119:106
22j) Zerubbabel # Hag 1:12
22k) Joseph # Mt 1:24
22l) Wise men # Mt 2:12
22m) Zacharias &c # Lu 1:6
22n) Paul # Ac 26:19
22o) Saints of Rome # Ro 16:19
A Word to the Dads
How to Pray a Hedge of Protection around Your Family
Christian families are under increasing attack. Our children especially are prime targets for the enemy. For this reason, it is absolutely essential that the husband assumes his God-given role as spiritual leader in the home in order to provide spiritual protection for his wife and family. This principle is graphically illustrated in Mat 12:29 - [How else] can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.
What the Lord is saying is this: if you want to take and plunder the possessions of a strong man, then the first thing you need to do is to bind him so that he is powerless to interfere. If he is bound, you are then at liberty to plunder all that is under his jurisdiction. Now I want to apply this to the Christian home. If Satan wants to destroy a Christian marriage or family, where does he begin? He first has to bind the strong man - the husband and father. Because the husband and father provides a spiritual umbrella of protection for his family. That umbrella protects his family from the destructive forces of Satan. But if there are areas of weakness in the life of that husband and father, this provides Satan with the opportunity to attack those that are under his authority. The word "goods" is a translation of the Greek word skeuos and is defined in Strong's Concordance as "a vessel [specially a wife as contributing to the usefulness of her husband]."
Do you realise that the majority of husbands and fathers in our churches today are in bondage to materialism, pornography, and other destructive habits? If a husband and father fails to fulfil his role of spiritual leader...If he is more interested in temporal things than eternal things...If he is not diligent in his walk with the Lord, then to the same extent that he is in bondage, Satan has the liberty to attack the members of his family.
One of the most effective ways to protect your family is for the husband to pray a daily hedge of protection. One wise father realised the need of Godly protection for his family. Because of this Godly father, the whole family was safe from Satan’s attacks against them. That father’s name was Job and in Job 1:1, Scripture reveals four basic qualifications which resulted in a special divine protection for his family. Satan called it a "hedge."
Job 1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name [was] Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.
Let’s look at each of these four qualifications which resulted in a special divine protection for Job and his family.
First, it says that Job was PERFECT
The word actually means moral purity. It means to be complete, undefiled, or morally clean. For example, whenever a husband lacks discipline in moral areas by looking at other women, he gives Satan opportunity to attack his family, and he greatly damages the spirit of his marriage. One wife I heard testify said that every time her husband looked at another woman, it was as though emotionally someone had plunged a dagger into her heart and twisted it around. It's that devastating. That's why Jesus said that even looking after a woman is the same as committing the act of adultery with her. Our wives feel the same emotions when they know we are looking after other women as we would if we discovered that they had been unfaithful.
For the sake of our own personal purity and for the sake of our marriage, it is essential that we as husbands make a covenant with our eyes. In Job 31:1, Job said, "I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?" Job knew that sin begins in the heart. He knew that he was just as guilty of God's punishment for looking at a woman lustfully as for committing adultery with her. And so he purposed to guard himself by making a pact with his eyes not to gaze at a woman who might tempt him.
David was a man after God's own heart, but he dropped his guard and opened a leak in his umbrella of protection, and in a moment of compromise he was involved in immorality, and from that moment onward his life took a downward spiral. If you're familiar with the story you'll know that that one single act led to a host of further sins - including murder - and to a multitude of consequences that not only affected his own life but also the lives of his children and his children's children. Make no mistake about it, sin always has its consequences. David repented of his sin - he truly was sorry, and he received forgiveness, but the consequences of that one act haunted him for the rest of his life. Nathan the prophet confronted David and told him because of his sin of murder his own children would die by the sword; because of his sin of adultery his wives would be taken by other men; and because he caused God’s name to be blasphemed among the gentiles, the child Bathsheba conceived would die. Men, if we continue to flirt with our passions, we may end up, like David, paying a very high price.
Secondly, it says that Job was UPRIGHT
The Hebrew word means to be straight or just. It refers to a person’s integrity.
A man who was teaching a children’s Sunday school class asked his students, "Why do people say that I’m a Christian?" One little boy responded, "Because they don’t know you!"
Most Christian today have no testimony because little integrity. Many Christians compromise in business and think nothing about it. Many Christian today would copy a musical CD or tape or computer program that has been copyrighted and excuse it by saying, "Everyone else is doing it." We need to understand that right is always right even if no one else is doing it and wrong is always wrong even if everyone else is doing it. Many Christian ignore the speed limits on the highways as though it's something that doesn't matter. It does matter, if you're concerned about your integrity.
The goal for every Christian husband and father should be to develop - and to teach our children to develop and maintain - a clear conscience before God and man.
In 1 Tim 1:9, Paul compares a clear conscience for a Christian to a weapon for a soldier. What a weapon is to a soldier, a clear conscience is to the Christian. If a soldier looses his weapon he is ineffective, unprepared for battle, and will most likely be defeated in conflict. The Christian who doesn't have a clear conscience will be ineffective in his witness for Christ, unprepared for spiritual conflict, and will most likely live a defeated Christian life. A good conscience is one that allows me to look every person in the eye knowing that not one of them can point a finger at me and say, "You wronged me and you never tried to make it right."
Satan will flood your mind with all sorts of reasons why you shouldn't clear your conscience. He'll help you rationalise every situation away. But remember, a failure to clear our conscience will give ground in our life to Satan giving him opportunity to attack our family, and will produce conflicts, bitterness and guilt. It will affect our decisions, and our relationships with others, but most importantly it will affect our relationship with God. Psalm 66:18 says, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." Prv 28:13: "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper, but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy."
Thirdly, it says that Job FEARED GOD
Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy [is] understanding.
Wisdom starts with the awareness that I am in the presence of a holy, just, and almighty God, and that every thought, word, action, and deed is open before Him and is being judged by Him. That is going to have a profound impact upon how you live!
The greatest influence for Jesus Christ upon my own life was my Godly father. Everyday I was confronted with the reality of his commitment to Jesus Christ in our home. You see the home is where you discover the reality of a person’s spirituality. If you want to see how an animal really behaves, you don't go to the zoo or circus where they are on display or perform, you go to it's natural habitat - it's day by day environment.If you want to find out what a Christian is really like, where do you go? You don't go to the Church! No, you must go to the home. If you want to find out the sincerity of a man's commitment to Jesus Christ and to following Biblical principles, you don't ask his Pastor or Church leaders, you need to ask his wife and children. I am convinced that the reality of a person's spirituality is not found in the church, but in the home.And I am becoming increasingly disturbed at what I see happening in the homes of Christians. If our Christianity is going to be effective in reaching a lost world for Jesus Christ, then it must first prove itself in the Christian home.Do your children or grandchildren, see the reality of your spirituality in the home? Do they see you behave one way in the church and another way in the home? Your children - more than any others - will resent your hypocrisy and inconsistencies and most likely reject the God you claim to be serving!
Finally, it says that Job ESCHEWED EVIL
The word actually means to "hate" evil, to decline or avoid at all costs.
Whenever our goal as believers is to serve God and to live lives of wholeness and purity before Christ, there comes a day in our walk with the Lord when we need to do an inventory check and get rid of things in our homes and lives that are not God-honouring and do not belong.
"Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction" (Deuteronomy 7:26).
There are many things that we as Christian's unsuspectingly bring into our homes that are causing destruction in our families. A number of years ago, after realising implications of Deut 7:26, Audrey and I did some housecleaning. We purposed to rid our home of anything and everything that was not God-honouring and did not belong.
We went around our home from room to room and collected records, tapes, magazines and books. The hardest thing for me to get rid of was the TV. But like a trojan horse it had come into our home and was constantly bombarding us with humanistic ideas, blasphemy and immorality. Now I'm not suggesting everyone needs to get rid of their TV, but I am suggesting that everyone needs to learn to control it because of the consequences it will have not only in your life but in lives of your children.....
I wonder Christian husband/father, could God say of you as He was able to say of Job that you are perfect, that you are morally pure. And if there is any moral impurity in your life, would you ask God to forgive you and would you ask Him to take back the ground that you have given to Satan.
I wonder, could God say of you as He was able to say of Job that you are upright, that you have a clear conscience. And if there is anyone whom you know you have offended, would you ask God to forgive you, would you purpose to ask their forgiveness and would you ask Him to take back the ground that you have given to Satan.
I wonder, could God say of you as He was able to say of Job that you are a man that fears God. Do your children or grandchildren, see the reality of your spirituality in the home? Do they see you behave one way in the church and another way in the home? If there have been inconsistencies or double standards, would you ask God to forgive you and would you ask Him to take back the ground that you have given to Satan.
I wonder, could God say of you as He was able to say of Job that you hate evil. If there are things in your home that should not be there, would you ask God to forgive you, would you purpose to get rid of them, and would you ask Him to take back the ground that you have given to Satan.
Sources used for compiling this mailing:
* The Online Bible
* The Basic Seminar Textbook