Posts Tagged ‘fear of the Lord’

“If your faith isn’t working at home, don’t export it.”

The Preacher quoted was speaking to the importance of our faithfulness to God’s Word in our homes as well as in public and on the missions field.  Christians are quick to talk about “water cooler” talks and “elevator speeches” but we have no catchy phrases for the importance of the Word of the Lord being spoken, taught, and lived out in the presence of those closest to us.

I recently heard a faithful man tell of his father’s example of doing whatever the Bible teaches “regardless of the consequences.” He told how his father had his salary cut in half at one time because of his biblical convictions (I don’t know the details).

It would appear that, as Christians, we are going to face some more difficult trials. We are despised and challenged when we stand on God’s Word regarding LGBTQ issues, traditional marriage, abortion and pornography.

When we talk among ourselves we stand firmly on the Truth of God’s Word.

But, we get into the workplace or in social situations and we fear man more than God. We will not stand firmly on His Word because we are not willing to lose the job or compromise a friendship with the world.

As a speaker and Bible teacher I am more than happy to go where I am invited and speak the Truth. Sometimes there are unbelievers there but generally speaking I am “preaching to the choir.” I am less bold when I don’t know my audience. That needs to change.

What about at home? You may know that my husband and I live intergenerationally. Someone once said something to me about how my grandchildren must have loved the story of my salvation. I have never told them. It just didn’t come up!

More important than our stories are our actions. Do we stand so firmly on the Word of God that we are willing to lose money over it? Do we speak the truth in love to the people we love? Is our faith evident to our spouses? To our children? To our in-laws?

The next generation needs to be secure in its understanding of God’s Word in order to live through a time when God is testing or judging our nation. They need to hear the Word of God. They need to learn the Word of God. And, they need a living, breathing, walking, talking example of how to live it out.

So, before we export our faith (which I pray we would all do boldly), how is it going at home?