When men are in proper relationship to Jesus, they will rise up to be the spiritual leaders in their homes. They will have the spiritual strength they need, and they will have the Word of God to guide them.
Whether the family goes to church or not shouldn't be the wife's decision. It should be the man who says, "We're going to attend church." Men are responsible to set the example of what's important in the family.
Men should set the example in Bible reading in the home. It shouldn't be only at Christmas time that they read the Bible to their family. Thank God that it is done then, but it needs to happen more than once a year. Reading the Word will bring light into the home.
I would like to challenge men to spend as much time reading the Bible in the family as they do reading the newspaper. People often say, "We don't have time." How much time is spent watching television? How much time is spent reading periodicals? How much time is spent reading the newspaper? There's time to read the Bible, but it's a matter of priority.
It's not only the family who prays together who stays together, but it's the family who receives the light of God's Word. Men are responsible, not only for getting the family in church and being the example in the home, but also for prayer in the family.
It's very humbling for men to say, "Let's pray together." It's good for the ego! It's good for men to call the family together and say, "Let's have our devotions together." We have four children and I'll admit, it's an event to get everyone together. Men are responsible for setting the example of what's priority in life.
Most of the problems we're facing in America go back to a default by Christian parents in raising their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. When parents don't train their children in the way they should go, in the next generation there's even more secularism and godlessness. We're called to raise a new standard of the Word of God and prayer in our homes.
Men should be the ones to see that goals are established for the family. Businessmen can chart what they're targeting for in the future. Likewise, we should chart that we're targeting to see our children serving God 25 years from now.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Billy Joe Daugherty was founder and pastor of Victory Christian Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was also the founder of Victory Christian School, Victory Bible Institute and Victory World Missions Training Center.
