Of John the Baptist it is written: “And it is he who will go as a forerunner before Him (Christ) in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers back to their children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:17).
Testimony
In 1999, on a cold winter night in Michigan, I heard Elijah’s call to turn my heart back to my children. I did not hear this call through the preaching of a sermon from the pulpit or from a chapter in a book. I heard Elijah’s call through the cries of my children.
I was gathering my papers and briefcase so that I could run out the door to an important meeting to plan the building of a larger church. I was in a rush. My children, Jason and Julie, were 6 and 3 years old. They heard me getting ready to leave. They ran up to me, questioning, “Where are you going, Daddy?”
“I am going to a meeting,” I replied factually.
“Daddy, stay home tonight!” they pleaded. “You are always gone! Daddy, you never play with us anymore!”
I leaned over to give my son and
daughter quick hugs and kisses.
Their little arms wrapped around me tightly.
When I tried to stand up, they would not let
me go! They clung to me with desperation. They were trying
to keep their over-committed daddy home.
I had to gently pry their arms off my neck so I could go. They started crying. “Daddy, just tonight! Please stay home!”
I backed out of the house and closed the door. As I walked out into the snow, the picture of my children crying and reaching out to me lingered heavily on my heart. As I trudged through the snow to my church meeting, God spoke to my heart. He called me by name. I stopped in my tracks. On that night, as the snow silently fell around me, God called me back to my children. He had first spoken through the cries and the love of my children: “Daddy, stay home!”
That was a very difficult call for me. I was often out seven nights a week, helping others while neglecting my own children. It was a painful call yet a call of mercy that led to healing between me, Jason, and Julie.
From that day forward, I began to say no to many requests so I could say yes to my family. It was not easy! God helped me to begin safeguarding time with each child, just as my wife, April, and I had prioritized our time together.
At first, my kids were not interested in spending time with me. I had said no to their requests to play too many times. Often, I felt like a failure. But the call of Elijah comes with the healing power of the Lord. The Lord helped my children to forgive me. He literally turned my heart to them and their little hearts back to me. Praise God!
John, with the same Holy Spirit
power of Elijah, prepared the people
for the coming of the Messiah. Like
Elijah, John called for revival. He preached,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 3:2).
John, like Elijah, called the hearts of the fathers back to their children. Today, we are commissioned to do likewise.
John prepared the people of the first century to receive Jesus as the Messiah. Today, we are called to prepare people to receive Jesus as the King of kings who will come in the clouds!
The healing of the family is a pivotal part of revival, and it is a pivotal part of coming back to the altar. Revival must be the daily heartbeat of our homes. Worship at the altar as a family must be the heartbeat of our homes. As our families experience a daily revival with Jesus through worship, time in His written Word, and prayer, the Spirit of God is preparing us to meet Jesus soon! Now is the time to live the message of Elijah for these last days!
Before continuing, let's pray. "Dear Father God, thank You for our families. We find both the greatest love and the greatest hate within families. Thank You for being the Healer of every hurt. Open our hearts to receive what the Holy Spirit teaches us through Your Word. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
How to Love Your Family Sacrificially
Read: Romans 13:8
- Ask Yourself: What kind of debt does God ask you to keep? (Owe nothing except to love each other.)
Read: Ephesians 4:29–32
- Ask Yourself: What filter should we use for all our conversations? (Speak only what builds up.) What should we do with resentment and bitterness? (Put away all bitterness.) To what level should we forgive each other? (Forgive each other as Christ forgave you.)
Read: Matthew 5:23, 24
- Ask Yourself: How should we apply this passage to our time of personal or family worship? (Seek reconciliation before you worship, if at all possible. If you’ve spoken harshly to your spouse or your children or if you’ve done something that has wounded, the hearts of your family members won’t be with you in worship. However, if you have apologized and sought to right any wrongs, before starting worship, they will likely be much more receptive to your leading.)
Read: Ephesians 6:12
- Ask Yourself: Who are we really fighting against when we have conflict in our home and family? (We are warring against spiritual powers and wickedness in high places. If we recognize who our true enemy is—not each other—and remember that we and our family members are both on the winning side, what a difference it will make in helping us forgive and work through conflict.) What do you do when you feel like you cannot forgive someone in your family?
Read: Ezekiel 36:26, 27
- Ask Yourself: Who performs this heart surgery—you or someone else? How many promises does God give you in this passage? (God does this surgery. He is the only one who can do it! He makes 6–9 promises in this passage, depending what translation of the Bible you are reading.) Ask God to do heart surgery on you to remove your bitterness toward that specific person. Ask God to completely free you from resentment. Ask God to give you a new heart of love and forgiveness and to flood your heart with the Holy Spirit.
Read: Ephesians 5:21–33
- Ask Yourself: How is verse 21 the key to a Christlike marriage? (Submit to each other out of reverence for Christ. This counsel gives context for the rest of the counsel. If followed, all desire for supremacy over one another would be surrendered to Christ!) What counsel does God give to wives in verses 22–24? How does verse 33 provide the summary? (Love your husband with respect.) What counsel does God give husbands in verses 25–29? How does verse 25 summarize the role of the husband? (Love your wife sacrificially, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her.)
Read: Malachi 4:5, 6
- Ask Yourself: What two promises does God give parents and children in the last days? (God will turn the hearts of fathers [parents] back to their children and the hearts of children back to their fathers [parents]. Part of God’s plan for the last days is for family relationships to be restored.)
Humbling ourselves before God so that He can restore our hearts with our children and parents needs to happen before we can be a part of the Deuteronomy model of discipling new generations for Christ.
Teach and Talk About God’s Word!
Read: Deuteronomy 6:4–6
- Ask Yourself: How do verses 4–6 call us to a revival with God? (God calls us to love the Lord our God with all our hearts.)
When God does this revival in our hearts, we are ready for His counsel in verse 7.
Read: Deuteronomy 6:7–9
- Ask Yourself: Who is to teach our children? (Parents, teach God’s Word to “your sons”—your children.) In what way are parents to teach/disciple their children? (“When you sit in your house”.) When do parents and children sit together? (Commuting to school, at church, eating a meal, watching a video, playing a game, working on a craft or project, etc.; “When you walk by the way”.) When do parents and children walk together? (Getting groceries, walking from the car or to the bus stop, going on a hike, working in the garden or yard, cleaning the house; “When you lie down.") What conversations for Christ could you have with your children before they sleep? (Maybe ask them about their day. What was their favorite part of the day? What was the worst part of the day? Ask them how you can pray for them. “When you rise up.”) What conversations for Christ could you have when your children start their day? How could you make family worship more engaging and interactive?
Look for ways to model to your children how to:
- Come to Jesus as you are.
- Worship Him in adoration.
- Surrender to Jesus as Lord first thing in the morning.
- Find Jesus in God’s Word and in prayer.
- Apply God’s Word to your life.
- Ask for and receive a fresh baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Don’t forget to pray a blessing over your children each day.
Bind God’s Word to Your Actions and Thoughts.
Continuing with Deuteronomy 6:7–9:
“You shall bind them as a sign on your hand.”
- Ask Yourself: What do you think it means to bind God’s Word to our hands? (Our actions should be true to God’s Word. “And they shall be frontals on your forehead.”) What do you think it means to have God’s Word on your forehead? (Our thoughts and attitudes should be true to God’s Word.)
Make God’s Word the Welcome and Witness of Your Front Door.
“You shall write them on the door posts of your house.”
- Ask Yourself: How can you make God’s Word into a “welcome and witness” to all who come into your home? (Possible example: Place a Bible promise above an inside door. Prayerfully place Bible promises in different rooms of your home, matching texts with activities that might take place in those rooms— eating, sleeping, studying, etc. Using wet-erase markers, write a Bible verse on the mirror of a bathroom.)
Make God’s Word the Welcome and Witness of the Entry to Your Property.
“You shall write them...on your gates.”
- Ask Yourself: What can you do to make God’s Word the welcome and witness of your property? (Invite your guests to join you on a Bible prayer walk on your property. If you don’t have much property or don’t live where you can do Bible prayer walks in nature, walk your neighborhood and pray for your neighbors—and let them know you are praying for them. Ask, when possible, how you can pray for them.)
Is loving family difficult sometimes? God always has enough love to pour out through us to family members who are challenging to love or forgive. God is our forgiveness to the unforgivable people in our lives. God is our healing to restore in our marriages and family relationships what man alone could never have the power to restore!
Questions to Ask God
- Pray and ask God:
- What specific thing does each person in my immediate family need from me to know that I love them?
- Who in my family needs to be forgiven or needs my apology?
- What is my next step?
- Hear and believe what God promises you: “Ah Lord God! Behold, You Yourself have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You” (Jeremiah 32:17).
“And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19, emphasis added).
Consider this…
"One well-ordered, well-disciplined family tells more in behalf of Christianity than all the sermons that can be preached. Such a family gives evidence that the parents have been successful in following God’s directions, and that their children will serve Him in the church. Their influence grows; for as they impart, they receive to impart again. The father and mother find helpers in their children, who give to others the instruction received in the home. The neighborhood in which they live is helped, for in it they have become enriched for time and for eternity. The whole family is engaged in the service of the Master; and by their godly example, others are inspired to be faithful and true to God in dealing with His flock, His beautiful flock.
The greatest evidence of the power of Christianity that can be presented to the world is a well-ordered, well-disciplined family. This will recommend the truth as nothing else can, for it is a living witness of its practical power upon the heart."1
Pray: “Dear Father God, when you think of our families, You remind us that nothing is too difficult for You! You tell us in Your Word that You will supply all our needs according to Your riches, not ours. We surrender our fears and worries as well as our deepest wounds to you—trusting ourselves and our families to Your healing love. Give us Your love so that we may love each member of our family as You love them.
Thank You for hearing this prayer. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Call to Action & Challenge
Take your next step this week, trusting God to help you do what He has convicted you to do to love your family sacrificially.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman \ Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org
- Ellen G. White, Adventist Home (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1952), 32.
