Devotion 3: Everyday Moments, Eternal Conversations

Pastor Keaton Washburn 

“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord" Ephesians 6:4 

One of my favorite memories growing up was family picnics. You probably think of a picnic blanket outside, in the sun, maybe at a park. In my family, we had a tradition of setting up the picnic blanket in the living room of our home, eating a meal we can eat with our hands, and watching “America's Funniest Videos.” I loved that time with my parents and siblings. 

How does your family spend time together? Family walks? Watching a certain TV show?  When you are together as a family, what do you talk about most often? 

One of the commands for families in the scriptures is found in Deuteronomy 6:4-9 which says, "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and your gates." 

Moses took conversation seriously. He knew that what a family talks about has the power to affect each person's heart and attitude, which then leads to their actions. He highlighted four times and places that a family can talk about God's Word: when you sit in your house, when you walk, when you lie down, and when you rise. That's multiple times a day! 

There's a dad that I know who has made it a habit with each of his kids to get them to school a couple of minutes earlier than their arrival time. When they get to school, they turn the car off, read scripture together, and pray. He took this command seriously to talk about God's Word with his kids and he says that it has been one of the best things for his family! So, what could this look like for your family? How can you carve out times to talk about the goodness of God and the promises of His Word? 

Read Deuteronomy 6:20-25.