Author-Robert Bailes
DETERMINE TO HAVE A STRONG HOME
When it comes to relationships, they're all different in some way or another, but there are certain principles in a relationship that apply to every person alive today. These principles were established by our creator, our God. It is so important to pay attention to them and adhere to what God has laid down for us in order to avoid the consequences that follow when we rebel and choose our own ways, rather than the way our Lord God Almighty planned for us.
When we say that God is love; we must also realize that He is the Master of love and therefore, His divine Word is not going to tell us something that would guide us into a relationship full of hatred, conflicts and abuse. So I tell you once more as we begin to discover and explore the ingredients that make a Strong Home, AWAKE! Pay close attention and get ready to start filling up those half full love tanks! Could it be that your ship has been tossed around in the storms of life and that your love tank is so empty that the engine isn't even running and you are just drifting through life with no direction or purpose? If so, don't abandon ship yet! Hold on tight and let's find out, as we explore God's Word, how you can begin to refuel your relation"ship" and get your engines running full throttle again!
A house is a place, but a home is made of people. A Godly home is a home where people are living their Christian faith each day.
I spent about twelve years of my life, following my college days, building homes of all types. There were houses with only a couple of bedrooms made of average building materials and there were homes that were large enough to house several families made of a nicer grade material. Then there were what we call mansions. These homes took almost a year to build and the materials were ordered special from all over the globe. One couple even went overseas to find a house with the type of chimney they wanted for their home. They then took the mason and showed him their choice so he could build it over here in the United States. Regardless of how much each home owner spent on materials, whether it be thousands or millions of dollars, the cheapest was just as much a house as the most expensive was a house. The more expensive house was a better house because of the quality of the products used, but it did cost allot more than the houses built with the lower quality products. It costs more to have a better house because the quality of the products are better. Many people appear to be working hard on their home life, but they are using the wrong materials.
In Colossians, chapter three,verses fifteen through twenty-one, the Bible says, " And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them. Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged."
THREE HOMES WE ALL NEED
Everyone should have three homes. We need to know that we have a heavenly home. If we have asked the Lord to forgive our sin and received Him by faith, we have a heavenly home.
We all need to have a good church home. Please, don't underestimate the power and influence of a good, Bible believing, Bible preaching church. We know that Paul taught us that Jesus is the foundation and the head of the church, but we can't have strong churches without having strong families. Interestingly enough, we can't have strong homes either, without a good church home. They work together hand in hand.
Not only do we need a heavenly home and a good church home, but we need a Godly Christian home. I have seen Satan's hand at work in homes everywhere and it is so important to build our homes of the things that will withstand his attacks. Let's look at how to build a strong home and what it takes to do this!
WHAT DEFINES A CHRISTIAN HOME?
There are many who claim to be Christian and even have a testimony of salvation, but don't have a Christian home. You may be thinking, how can that be? Well, let's look at what makes a Christian home.
Some of you may say,"My husband is a Christian. Doesn't that make my home a Christian home?". Or you may be saying the same about the wife or mother of the home. You might even attend church faithfully, but these things do not make a Christian home.
Let's look at the text in verses twelve through thirteen of chapter three in Colossians and we will discover the vital ingredients of a Christian home. In this passage, seven things are listed for us to have in our homes. Let's consider them carefully: "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long suffering; forbearing one another and forgiving one another..."
After giving us these seven ingredients to apply, the Lord covers them all up with something like a glue that holds all the other ingredients together. This is the bond of Christian love that is the most important ingredient to apply to our homes. We find this in verse fourteen,"And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness."
Have you ever come across a home that was built with average materials and during construction of the home something went wrong and the house was never quite finished. You could see that the house was left there through the winter and summer without the final coatings applied. As those average materials that were used to build that home were exposed to the elements of nature, without the proper protection they began to curl and swell and fall apart. It wasn't too long before the walls began to crack inside and the ceilings began to stain from the leaks of an unprotected roof as well.
It is like that house that was built and then left unprotected without the final materials that may have seemed to be insignificant at the time; we also can find the value of protecting our homes. We must protect our home with the ingredient valued above all other ingredients if we want to build a Godly Christian home. What God has valued above all else is LOVE! We must ask ourselves; each and every one of us, "Do I have the love that God has placed so much value on? Is my home strong?". Are the materials (mercy, kindness, humbleness, meekness, long suffering, forgiveness) that my house is made of, going to be bond together when the difficult seasons of life arrive? Could it be that my house going to begin to curl and fall apart or show stains of leaking because of the lack of the one ingredient that God valued above all the others? We must ask ourselves, "Is my home protected by the covering of Love, which is the bond of perfectness?"
