“Home is among the holiest of words. A true home is one of the most sacred of places. It is a sanctuary
into which men flee from the world's perils and alarms. It is a resting place to which, at the close of the day, the
weary retire to gather new strength for the battle and toils of tomorrow. It is the place where love learns its
lessons, where life is schooled into discipline and strength, and where character is molded. Out of the homes of
a community comes the life of the community, as a river from the thousand springs that gush out on the
hillsides.” (J.R. Miller)
The homes of Canada and America, including church homes, are under terrific pressure today. Millions
of our homes are ending up in the divorce courts. Other millions of homes are holding together in misery and
unhappiness. Instability and insecurity secretly plague many of our best homes. Children are the helpless
victims of this sorry picture.
The devil seeks to destroy the home, even though the home is Christian―perhaps even because the
home is a Christian home.
The real enduring strength of a nation is largely determined by the stability of the family life of its
citizens. No nation can long be secure if the texture of its family life remains inferior. The breakdown of the
home was supposed to have been one of the causes of the fall of the Roman Empire. The instability of its
homes can well be designated as a national emergency by any nation which hopes to remain great.
The spiritual state of the church is largely determined by the spiritual state of the families of its
members. An unhappy family member cannot be an effective servant in the church. Spiritual lethargy in the
home results in spiritual lethargy in the church. Unhappy homes foster weakness in the church; broken homes
in the church produce broken power in the church. Therefore, the church concerns itself diligently with the
happiness and stability of the homes of the people who compose the church.
Such circumstances in the homes of the North American people have offered one of the greatest
challenges of world history to their pastor and his church. Get the home right, and the church will be right;
get the home right, and the nation will be right. If we can save the family, we can save its members. Because
no other force has been able effectively to minister to the needs of troubled homes, the church has a tremendous
opportunity to save the homes of people who have no other place to turn to for effective help.
“How we love our children today will be how they love their children tomorrow. How we live out
Christ in our lives will leave its imprint and echo into the future. Every deed, every response, every act of
kindness―it all matters.” (June Fuentes)
“Oh, God of all mercy and grace. I pray today for each home represented by the one who reads this
simple devotion. I ask that you pay a visit there. Let the peace of your gentle presence permeate the
atmosphere of their dwelling place. Help those who live there to realize that your love and kindness showed
one to another is what makes any house the home they long for. Be their healer, their protector, their provider,
their counselor, and their friend. Oh, God, be all that they have need of today. I humbly ask in the name above
all names . . . Jesus. Amen.”
Francis Mason
Pastor Mason
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