JESUS, THE FAMILY'S SAVIOR!

If Jesus is truly Lord in your family, it will influence everything from the way you decorate your house to the way you spend your summer vacation. If Jesus is truly Lord in your family, it will influence everything from the way you decorate your house to the way you spend your summer vacation.

Note: The business of cultivating your family's relationship with Jesus has two parts to it, basically:
1. Consists of establishing "Divine Order" in the home.
This has to do with the relationship of order and authority between the various members in a family.

"Divine Order" is an order of authority and responsibility which is spelled out in the Bible:
"The head of every man is Christ, the head of a woman is her husband, and the head of Christ is God" (1 Corinthians 11:3). "Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord" (Colossians 3:20).
God has ordered the family according to the principle of 'headship.' Each member of the family lives under the authority of the 'head' whom God has appointed.

2. Consists of "Practicing the Presence of Jesus."
This is the adventure of sensitizing ourselves to the invisible presence of Jesus in the home…developing our capacity for spiritual perception… learning the practical ways in which we may intensify our awareness of His way and His will for our family.

WHEN WE ESTABLISH DIVINE ORDER IN OUR HOME, IT CREATES AN ATMOSPHERE IN WHICH JESUS FEELS AT HOME; THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THEN ABLE TO DO HIS WORK OF TEACHING AND LEADING US INTO THE KIND OF FAMILY LIFE FOR WHICH GOD CREATED US.

Now, let's practice the presence of Jesus... and start with you and me! How do you practice the presence of Jesus? If Jesus is truly Lord in your life, what do you expect Him to do for you and what do you think He expects of you?

First…Do you know Him? Does He know you?
Second…How do you communicate?
Third…Which one does most of the talking?
Fourth….Why do you enjoy the relationship with Jesus?
Fifth…What is different about Jesus and your best friend?
Sixth…What conclusion can you make as to the person of Jesus?

HE IS A SPIRIT PERSON.
YOU ARE A HUMAN PERSON…AND GOD IS A SPIRIT PERSON. John 4:24, "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth."

Jesus' becoming like us was a means to an end-that we might become like Him.
1 John 3:2, "Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is."

Jesus, the Family's Savior and Lord.
It has been said, "God Saves Families."
Are there biblical grounds for this claim?
Noah... constructing an arc for the saving of his household (Genesis 7:1; Hebrews 11:7).
The jailer in Philippi, who was saved, together with his household (Acts 16:31).
We should claim our families for God.
          Only eternity will reveal how many children have been brought home to the Father
          through the believing prayers of parents.
This is the beginning point for Christian family living.
Each member, at his own level of understanding needs to experience the forgiveness, love, and acceptance which God offers us in Christ.

The Bible leaves no doubt that even small children can enter into the experience of knowing Jesus as Savior.

Jesus spoke of a child as "one of these little ones who believe in me." (Matthew 18:6)….the parallel of this story is in Mark where it indicates that the child is small enough to be held in Jesus' arms (Mark 9:36).
The Apostle Paul addressed the saints in Ephesus and Colossae (Ephesians 1:1; Colossians 1:2) and clearly included children; directly addressing the children later on in the letter admonishing them to obey their parents in the Lord (Ephesians 6:1-3; Colossians 3:20)
To do anything… "in the Lord"…is only possible for a believer.
Psalm 22:9, "You are He who took me out of the womb; You made me hope and trust when I was on my mother's breasts."

Although it is true that the conscious, intellectual aspect of faith comes with maturing

understanding, the essential element of faith is the personal trust... resulting in spiritual life union. This depends upon the gracious condescension of God, not upon a person's mental grasp of the process.
          Faith is the gift of God, not the work of man.

The Bible leaves no doubt that God shows this grace not only to adults who can respond to it

at the level of intellectual understanding, but also to little ones who receive it at the level of feeling and intuitive response.

"As many as received Him gave them power to become the sons of God" (John 1:12).
"If you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9).

It is not the child's intellectual immaturity, but the adult's intellectual sophistication, which is the real barrier to faith. Read Luke 18:15-17.
An absolute fundamental to Christian family living is understanding that children have the capacity to place their faith and trust in Jesus when they can understand that Jesus is God's Son and that they understand that Jesus died and rose again to be with His Father.

Why teach that Jesus loves Him (Jesus loves me this I know) if, as a parent, that you don't believe he/she is old enough to believe it? Children might not have the experiences of life to question God's sovereignty... but why do you want him to have the experiences and not have the Spirit of God living in him to help him understand and turn back the temptations that the world has for him?
          Let the child come to Jesus….rest on God's unchanging love to
          keep that child from making unwise choices.

Jesus must be seen as a part of our every day life as parents before the children can learn to trust Him.
Every promise is true in God's Word. God speaks to us in His Word. His answers come from His Word.
We can't believe it…until we read and/or hear about it…and trust that the Word is true and can be trusted.

A Sunday School Hymn for Children

I think when I read that sweet story of old, When Jesus was here among men, How he called little children as lambs to his fold, I should like to have been with Him then.

I wish that His hands had been placed on my head, That His arm had been thrown around me, And that I might have seen His kind look when He said, "Let the little ones come unto me."

I long for the joy of that glorious time, The sweetest and brightest and best, When the dear little children of every clime Shall crowd to His arms and be blest.