Paul "would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord." The great missionary loved living in his body, working for Jesus and helping others. But Paul knew that when death destroyed his body, Jesus would be waiting to welcome his soul home, and that thought thrilled him.

After Paul died, his spirit would exist without a body ("this tent") until he got a glorified body on resurrection day ("a building from God"). The thought of not having a body for awhile didn't appeal to Paul ("we do not wish to be unclothed"). But his misgivings about leaving his body behind were overwhelmed by his eagerness to be at home with his dear Lord.

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A man who lives by God's Word "is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers" (Psalm 1:3). As the river of God's Spirit nourishes the man of the house, his wife and children also flourish and grow. Their home is full of the fruit of the Holy Spirit: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23).

Family life in our society is as dry and withered as a desert. But that makes every oasis stand out all the more. Flourishing families, watered by the Spirit of Christ, are hard not to notice. Some may think these families are weird because they're not like the desert around them, but others will want to know their secret. They will long to have the living water of eternal life for themselves. What a thrilling opportunity for the godly! As we walk with God, he blesses our marriages, he blesses our children, and he uses our families to attract others to the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Recreational romance is dating for the sake of fun feelings and physical pleasure, with no thought of marriage. Even among Christians, such dating patterns are common--and devastating. When young people are told that it's okay to play games with romantic and physical passion but that intercourse is a no-no, they are being set up for failure. Most become sexually impure. If they do eventually marry someone, the one-flesh union is harmed by past sexual relationships. Also, if they date and then drop one person after another, they tend to treat marriage the same way. They quit when the going gets tough and go after someone else who seems more appealing. Recreational romance provides practice for divorce.

Christian courtship rejects the dating game. The aim of courtship is to get a godly spouse "in holiness and honor." If you're too young for marriage, you're too young for romance. Wait until you have the maturity and work skills to support a new household. When you meet someone special, don't just seek short-term fun. Your main goal in starting a relationship must be to find out if the two of you are meant for marriage. Seek God's guidance. Get the input of parents and family. Avoid backseats and bedrooms until marriage. Develop a spiritual and personal bond first. When you get married, the physical union will be all the better. If you treat romance as a game, you lose. If you seek a spouse in holiness and honor, you win.

PRAYER--Father, make us holy and wholesome. Forgive our sins, and change us. Guide families in Christian courtship, and bless new marriages with your grace. Amen.

If some strangers walked into your house and started cursing and hitting each other, would you sit back and enjoy it? No, you'd kick them out. If sleazy people sneaked into your home and started undressing in front of your kids, would you welcome them and let the whole family watch? Absolutely not! But when such people try to enter your house through television or computer, do you stop them?

Most parents complain that there's too much bad entertainment that harms kids--and most parents do nothing about it. Isn't that being lazy and hypocritical? If your kids watch TV unsupervised in their own room or have their own computer without an internet filter, you as a parent are inviting wicked strangers to sneak in and pollute your children's minds. You are disobeying God and cannot claim God's promises for those who command their children in the right way.

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Money-love can destroy family-love. Couples fight over finances. Kids resent and rebel against money-hungry parents who have little time for their children. "A greedy man brings trouble to his family" (15:27). Expensive houses, cars, clothes, and other stuff can't replace love of God and each other.

Without God even a high income can bring trouble, but if you belong to God, you can flourish on just a modest income. "The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it" (Proverbs 10:22). Better a small house and hand-me-down clothes with godly love than a mansion and the finest fashions with bickering. Harmony is worth more than luxury.

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God-fearing parents have a God-given vision for their family. They don't just want to raise a star athlete, a concert performer, a brilliant brain, or the most popular kid in the class. If such things happen, fine--but godly parents envision much more. They see their children becoming God-loving, Bible-believing, Spirit-filled, world-changing dynamos. They see future generations of their family  making a mighty impact for God on their land and their world.

Before John the Baptist was born, his father was told, "[John] will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord" (Luke 1:14-15). I trust, pray, and work for this to be true of my own children. Is it too much to aim for my kids to be great like John, the mighty prophet who prepared the way for Jesus? No, now that Jesus has come, God's kingdom is advancing with greater power than ever. Jesus says that even those who are least in the kingdom are greater than John (Matthew 11:11-12).

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Fewer kids attend major league baseball games than in the past. Why? Perhaps it's because fewer play baseball themselves. Those who don't play in their own life are less likely to show up at the stadiums. Likewise, when fewer people walk with God in their own daily life, eventually fewer show up at church. Attendance doesn't plunge right away. One generation starts ignoring God in daily life but keeps going to church from habit. A generation or two later, the children and grandchildren no longer bother with church at all.

Don't wait till attendance drops to realize there's a problem. Don't count on a Sunday service to satisfy your soul if your daily life is spiritually hollow. Don't expect kids to learn from youth leaders and teachers what they're not learning from parents. Don't expect a few handshakes in "a friendly church" to provide real fellowship if you seldom invite others to share a meal in your home.

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The church is God's family. To qualify for leadership in the church family, a man must have a model family. Don't expect him to make good things happen in church unless good things are happening in his family. A leader must be faithful to one wife, and his wife must be "worthy of respect." He must be "a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient" (Titus 1:6). If a man's marriage is failing or his children walk away from God, he should not be a church leader.

In our society--even in many churches--families are in bad shape. We need mentors and models of Spirit-filled family life. We need pastors, elders, and deacons with integrity and credibility. The church needs leaders who are respected most by those who know them best--their families. Nothing less will do.

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A young mother baked some cookies and put them on the kitchen table to cool. She had to play in a softball game, so she grabbed her bat and glove and went out the door, leaving her husband in charge of their two-year-old son. When she got home, she discovered a disaster. The little boy had been in the cookies. He hadn't eaten just one or two. No, the little rascal had taken exactly one bite out of every cookie on the table. The whole batch was ruined and could not be served to guests. Meanwhile, where was her husband? Asleep on a couch. As the woman looked at the bat in her hand, she may have wondered where to use it first, on her useless husband or on the little cookie monster. But rather than explode in a rage, she just shook her head and burst out laughing.

Healthy families know how to laugh. Not everything in life is a laughing matter, but life has plenty of funny moments. You just need to see the humor. Don't react to every little problem like it's a tragedy. Instead, see it as a comedy. If you run into a situation where you're absolutely furious and can't find anything to laugh at, go look in a mirror. The red face, the swollen veins, and the bulging eyes you see in that mirror ought to be good for a laugh.

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"If you can't hear it through the ear, you'll feel it through the rear." I heard (and felt) that proverb when I got spankings as a boy. Did my parents hate me and want me to end up miserable? No, they loved me and wanted me to end up happy. Sinful folly leads to sadness and death; holy wisdom leads to gladness and life. Godly discipline drives that message home.

A happy family is not where parents draw no boundaries and impose no punishments. Out-of-control homes are miserable. A happy home is where parents are firm, fair, and loving, like our heavenly Father. "The Lord disciplines those he loves... The Father of our spirits ... disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness" (Hebrews 12:6-10).

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