Joshua 24:15, “But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”
Nehemiah 8:10 “…Don’t be sad because the joy you have in the Lord is your strength.”
You can have true joy in your home, but first you must realize what is necessary for a home full of joy. In order to have a joyful home, it must be a Christian home where the family is living to serve the Lord. If I should ask you to put into one sentence the one thing that is essential for a joyful home, what would you say? I think Joshua did just that in Joshua 24:15. He said, “Choose today whom you will serve. But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua was not only the leader of Israel, but the head of his family. God is looking for men today who will say with their actions, to their wives and children, “This family is going to serve the Lord. We are going to faithfully attend God’s house. We are going to pray and read God’s Word as a family. We are going to tithe and give offerings. We are going to live for Jesus in this house.” How tragic it is to see wives having to pamper and push their husbands, and the father of their children, into the house of God. Husbands should be leading by example and insisting that his family be in church.
Joshua said, “I’m going to serve the Lord”, but he said more than that—”My wife is going to serve the Lord. My children that sit at my table, eat my food, wear my clothes, and live under my roof are going to serve the Lord, too.” You know, Joshua had the formula for a joyful home, a home that is serving the Lord.
FAMILIES THAT PRAY TOGETHER STAY TOGETHER
There isn’t a more beautiful picture than that of a family sitting in church together. Joyful homes will be Christian homes where the family is living to serve Jesus. What about your home? What are you living for in your home? The Christian home is where the husband and wife share their lives in spiritual unity. In 2 Corinthians 6:14, God says, “Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness?”
I know there are many times that someone says, “Well I’ll marry this person that isn’t a believer, and after I marry them, I’ll lead them to the Lord.” There have been many who have done this, but there have been far more who haven’t been able to win their spouse and they both have been miserable. A home where the family is not striving to serve the Lord is a family that is not experiencing true joy.
Only Jesus Christ filling people’s hearts can bring them true joy. A Christian home, living to serve the Lord like Joshua said, is going to be a joyful home.
Here’s something more: there are many families who go to church every Sunday and yet they still have homes that lack joy; they may even tithe and pray, but still have no joy. A joyful home will be a harmonious home, where the family is loving and sharing with one another, living to serve the Lord. A home can be a heaven or a hell on earth—whatever the members make it!
Sharing with one another is so important! Sharing in the pocketbook: The love of money will bring much unhappiness and trouble in many homes because the husband doesn’t consider the financial needs of his wife.
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MAKE GOD YOUR PARTNER
You must make God a partner in your money. The Bible says the love of money is the root of all evil. The love of money will cause more trouble in the home than immorality or an unfaithful spouse. I am of the school that believes that you and your spouse’s money should be in a joint account so the husband and wife are partners—not only with one another, but partners with God.
I read of a man who when he was baptized in water his wife told him, “Honey, be sure to take your billfold out of your pocket,” and he said, “Oh no, I want my billfold to be baptized too.” Has your billfold been baptized spiritually? Unless your billfold is baptized, by surrendering your finances to the Lord, you can’t have a Christian home. Check books, credit cards, billfolds, purses, etc., all must be consecrated to Christ.
We must be partners with God and partners with one another. The husband, wife and children doing things together. God in His Word says, “Honor the Lord with thy substance and with the first fruits of thy increase.” You know, Christ must be a partner in the home. He must be the head of every house, the silent listener in every conversation, the unseen guest at every meal, if you are going to have a joyful home.
WHAT IF JESUS CAME TO YOUR HOUSE?
Would you want Jesus to be in your home today and see the internet sites you look at, the books and magazines you read, the television programs and movies that you watch, or, to hear the music you listen to? Would you want Jesus to sit down at your table and listen to your conversations? Would you like for Him to go with you wherever you go? If you say, “Oh, no!” Then you wonder why your home is not joyful. The way you talk and the emphasis you place upon the things of this life may account for much of your lack of joy in your home.
YOU NEED CHRIST IN YOUR HOME
Sickness, tears, sorrow and even death comes creeping into every home. There will come a time when you will find your load is so heavy you can’t carry it alone. You will want someone to turn to; you can lay your burdens at the feet of Jesus.
What about you? Is your home a joyful home? Are you partners with God and one another? —praying together and playing together? Are you living for God, serving Jesus, sharing with one another? I hope so.
A mother was in the last days of her life. Her many children knelt by her bedside as she told them farewell. She said, “Good night, John. Good night, Jim. Good night, I’ll see you in the morning up there.” When she came to one of her sons who wasn’t a Christian, she looked at him and sorrowfully said, “Goodbye, George, goodbye.” George looked at his mother and said, “Mother, why did you tell me goodbye when you told all your other children, ‘good night’ “? And the mother, with tears streaming from her eyes said, “George, you never made Jesus your Savior, and I’m not going to see you anymore. You are going to a different place than I am. If you would become a Christian, it would be different.” I’m told that George promised his mother he would accept Christ and become a Christian, and he did; and his mother said to him, “Good night, George, good night here and good morning up there.”
Make Christ the center of your home and your heart and you’ll have a preview of heaven on earth, you’ll have true joy!
PRAYERFULLY CONSIDER BECOMING A MONTHLY FLAME PARTNER
Revival Fires has provided more than 300,000 Bibles for our U.S. Troops. As our brave U.S. military is in harm’s way defending Israel in the war against Hamas, let us remember and appreciate the freedoms we enjoy as a direct result of the many sacrifices that our men and women in the armed forces are making. Please continue to pray as we continue to provide Bibles for our U.S. Military. To help us provide Bibles for our U.S. soldiers that are stationed in the Middle East you may click the button below.
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TRUTH FOR YOUTH BIBLES FOR AMERICA’S YOUTH
We continue to give thousands of Truth for Youth (TFY) Bibles to Christian young people in America that commit to give them to friends in school that don’t have a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Without question, Jesus Christ is the only hope for all of the hopelessness among so many young people in America! If we want to bring America back to God, we need to reach a generation of youth!
To date, we have given away more than 3 MILLION TFY Bibles to teenagers and have received more than 25,000 decision cards from young people that have given their life to Jesus Christ! We are believing God for this year’s TFY distribution to be most fruitful TFY distribution for the Kingdom of God. Your prayers for the salvation and spiritual well-being of the young people of America, are greatly appreciated! To help us provide Truth for Youth Bibles for America’s youth you may click the button below.
Saturday, March 23 through Tuesday, March 26 we were able to give more than 16,000 Truth for Youth Bibles to young men and young ladies in eight facilities at the South Texas border! The majority of these precious young people, ages 12-18, gave their life to Jesus Christ as personal savior! What an exciting opportunity to witness thousands of youth from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Ecuador, Venezuela, Cuba and Mexico, wholeheartedly surrendering their lives to Jesus Christ for the very first time!
It is not good for America for these people coming into our nation illegally. But as long as they are coming, I will do everything I can to introduce them to Jesus and give them a Bible. They all need Jesus and they all need Bibles! To help us provide Bibles for unaccompanied minors at the border you may click the button below. Wrap your gift with love and thank you for helping us provide the Word of God for youth at the South Texas border that don’t have a Bible, and introduce them to Jesus Christ.
BIBLES FOR THE PRECIOUS PEOPLE OF CUBA
Please pray with us as Revival Fires continues to provide full Bibles and Truth for Youth Bibles for the precious children, young people and adults that have never had a Bible in the communist country of Cuba. In most of our homes we have several Bibles. In most homes in Cuba, there are NO Bibles. We are running through this open door to give Bibles to the people of Cuba, while this door is still open for the Gospel! Thank you for your prayers for the people of Cuba and this great evangelism opportunity! To help us provide Bibles for the precious people of Cuba that have never had a Bible you may click the button below.
TRUTH FOR YOUTH BIBLES FOR YOUTH INCARCERATED IN AMERICA’S PRISONS AND JAILS
Youth incarcerated in America’s prisons and jails many times feel overlooked. Revival Fires has made it a priority to be sure that each one of them are given a Truth for Youth Bible and recognize their value in Christ. With the distribution of Bibles to these incarcerated youth the Lord becomes a steady voice in their lives.
Most of these teenagers are facing adverse situations such as racial divisions, gang violence, relational trauma, and a lack of family stability. It is during these moments of crisis; the Truth for Youth Bible is able to minister to these youth in a very personal way. The Truth for Youth offers true hope, the only hope, in their lives. That Hope is a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ! To help us provide Truth for Youth Bibles for young people incarcerated in America’s prisons and jails you may click the button below.
REVIVAL FIRES REVIVAL SERVICES
As we continue to travel across America preaching revival services and evangelistic crusades, please continue to pray for us! We are witnessing more people come to the Lord, filled with the Spirit, healed, delivered and set on fire for God, than ever before! Pray for the Kingdom success of these services, spiritual strength and a harvest of souls in each church body.
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