Day 16

Today's Quote

To stand before men on behalf of God is one thing. To stand before God on behalf of men is something entirely different.
- Leonard Ravenhill

INTERCEDE for another Christian family! Have Christian friends for dinner. End the evening with a "house-blessing" ceremony. Sanctify your house to the service of God.

Prayer Exercise: Prayer-walk your house. Pray in every room. Ask yourself, "How can our home itself more fully honor Christ?"

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PRAYING

. . . for Godly homes!

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength . . . these words . . . shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children . . . talk of them . . . bind them as a sign on your hand . . . write them on the doorposts of your house (Deut. 6:4-9).

God, our homes are so much like the homes around us. There is little that marks our homes as being different than our neighbors. When friends of our children stay over, we wonder if they sense that our home is different. Deep inside, we want to be different and make a difference. Give us the courage to dare to be different. Mark our homes with distinctive grace. More importantly, mark our lives. We refuse to be embarrassed by the blood on our doorposts, the symbols of faith we choose freely to wear, or the ceremonies of faith we conduct in our homes to ground us and our children to timeless values. We don't want to be superficially religious. We want to be profoundly Christ-like. We don't want our children to be barely saved. We want them to be radical world changers. We need boldness. We need an evidential faith. May our children catch us praying. May our neighbors see in us a Christian difference. May we never compromise standards for worldly acceptance. May we talk of You when we sit in the house or walk by the way. When we rise up, may we praise You. When we lie down, may it be with spoken gratitude for the way You kept us during the day. Amen.