Category: Devotionals

The Good Shepherd: Teaching us how to shepherd our family

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals1 Comment

Just last year, God blessed my brother and sister-n-law with a new addition to their family. Taylor came into the world weighing in at  7.1 lbs. This new addition to their family of three has been a joyous time, yet it comes with great responsibility. Not only are they to care for their children’s physical needs, but they are also to attend to their families spiritual development.

Specifically, the husband is to shepherd his family. Whether the family consists of the husband and wife, or a family of four, men are called to be the pastor’s of their household. Our local pastor is not the only one called to shepherd the flock. We are called to this task as well.

Jesus is our example and as Christians we are to walk as He walked (1 John 2:6), imitating Him (Eph. 5:1, 1 Cor. 11:1) in all things. Since He is our example, it is only right that we should look to Him for the “how to” of shepherding.

Here are a few guiding principles to get you started:

(1) We must know those we shepherd.

John 10:14 tells us Jesus is the Good Shepherd and He knows His own and His own know Him. In order to shepherd our families well, we must spend time getting to know them. This means turning off the t.v. during dinner and engaging your family in conversation.

(2) We must lead by example.

Jesus taught His disciples to pray by example (Matt 6:5-15). He showed them how to serve one another by example (John 13:3-5), and He also taught His disciples how to minister to others by example (Luke 8:1-9:6). As leaders of our household, we must do the same, which necessitates that we know how to pray, how to serve others, and how to minister to friends and family.

(3) We must protect our families from both physical and spiritual danger.

Jesus tells us that the Good Shepherd is willing to lay down His life for His sheep (John 10:11-13). He lays down His life because He cares for them. And in caring for them, He protects them from both physical and spiritual harm. In order to protect our families from spiritual danger, we must know what they are watching, reading, and who they are friends with. We must understand the culture in which we live, knowing how to combat cultural teachings with Scripture. This means we must not only have a deep understanding of our culture, but also of the Word of God.

(4) We must instruct our families.

Jesus intimately instructed His disciples during His earthly ministry, teaching them how to both read and understand the Word of God (Acts 1:3). We also must instruct our family in God’s Word, teaching them how to read it and understand it. This can be accomplished through a nightly family devotion, a weekly Bible study, or by talking about the sermon over lunch.

Conclusion

These four suggestions for better shepherding are not all that a shepherd does, but it is a good start. If we are committed to knowing our families better, leading by example, protecting them from both physical and spiritual danger, and instructing our families in the Word of God, we are on the right path to shepherding our families well.

Resource

The Exemplary Husband by Stuart Scott (117-130).

Everybody’s Somebody

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

This last week, while I was on spring break, my wife and I went to Fredericksburg, TX. While we were there, we took a trip over to Luckenbauch. My wife had visited in college and she always wears a shirt from there, so I wanted to go. The town slogan, which appears on her t-shirt  is “Everybody’s Somebody in Luckenbach.” And in Luckenbach that is true. The population is around 3. There are a few houses that dot a small country road, a dance hall, which is what they are famous for, post office, which is actually a store with a bar in the back, and a food stand. Here, truly, everybody is somebody.

But jump to where we live, Dallas-Fort Worth, population over 5 million. Movies stars, models, Fortune 500 CEO’s, millionaires, and even billionaires live in the DFW Metroplex. In the world’s eyes, everybody in Dallas Fort Worth is not somebody.

However, in God’s eyes, everybody in DFW and the world is somebody because we all are created in God’s image (Gen. 1:27). We all are valuable, even if the world says otherwise.

What does this mean for us?

It means that we must see everyone as important. Everyone deserves our attention and our time, even the person everyone can’t stand.

How do we accomplish this?

Lets face it. We don’t naturally see everyone as important. We don’t naturally think everyone deserves our attention and time, especially those who are hard to get along with. So what do we do? How do we get past this?

We must preach the Gospel to ourselves. God thought we were important. So important that He sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins. We were not clean when Jesus came to die for us. We were smelly, rotten, sinners, who wanted nothing more than to exalt ourselves over God.

When we think about the magnitude of what Jesus Christ did for us, it should give us reason to treat others as equals because we all equally need Christ to cleanse us of our sins.

But we also must remember that only as Christians, are we able to actually treat others as equals because our heart has been changed by the power of the Gospel. No amount of personal will power or external forces will change our attitudes toward others, only a changed heart will do. A changed heart that only comes through faith in the Gospel.

Wait on the Lord Always

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

 

“Wait on the Lord.”

— Psalm 27:14

It may seem an easy thing to wait, but it is one of the postures which a Christian soldier learns not without years of teaching. Marching and quick-marching are much easier to God’s warriors than standing still. There are hours of perplexity when the most willing spirit, anxiously desirous to serve the Lord, knows not what part to take. Then what shall it do? Vex itself by despair? Fly back in cowardice, turn to the right hand in fear, or rush forward in presumption? No, but simply wait.

Wait in prayer, however. Call upon God, and spread the case before him; tell him your difficulty, and plead his promise of aid. In dilemmas between one duty and another, it is sweet to be humble as a child, and wait with simplicity of soul upon the Lord. It is sure to be well with us when we feel and know our own folly, and are heartily willing to be guided by the will of God.

But wait in faith. Express your unstaggering confidence in him; for unfaithful, untrusting waiting, is but an insult to the Lord. Believe that if he keep you tarrying even till midnight, yet he will come at the right time; the vision shall come and shall not tarry.

Wait in quiet patience, not rebelling because you are under the affliction, but blessing your God for it. Never murmur against the second cause, as the children of Israel did against Moses; never wish you could go back to the world again, but accept the case as it is, and put it as it stands, simply and with your whole heart, without any self-will, into the hand of your covenant God, saying,

“Now, Lord, not my will, but thine be done. I know not what to do; I am brought to extremities, but I will wait until thou shalt cleave the floods, or drive back my foes. I will wait, if thou keep me many a day, for my heart is fixed upon thee alone, O God, and my spirit waiteth for thee in the full conviction that thou wilt yet be my joy and my salvation, my refuge and my strong tower.”

Charles H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening : Daily Readings, Complete and unabridged; New modern edition. (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2006), Morning, August 30.

Marriage Needs a Vacation

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

This last week was spring break for me.  My wife and I took a trip to Fredericksburg, TX, in order to rest, relax, play, and shop.  Ok, the shopping part was not me, it was her, but hey, she deserved it.

Anyways, as we accomplished our week of relaxation, I learned that time away from home with our wives is important.  With all the stresses of seminary and ministry work, we need a time to recharge our marriages.  Spending time away from the computer, telephone, and books is a must, and I decided to put all those aside during our retreat.

The outcome was no less than the development of a closer relationship with my wife, as we took time to just talk without the distractions of school, work, or our busy schedules. As we walked through the quaint shops of Fredericksburg, we simply enjoyed each others company, something we all to often put aside at home in favor of the computer, television, or our favorite blog.

So men, my charge is to take your wife on vacation, just the two of you, lock away the computer, turn off the television, and talk to your wife.  Your marriage will be all the better for it.