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There Are No Perfect Families

by Marci Ferrell
Christian Living Encouragement Motherhood

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I’d love to help you simplify your meal planning. Check out my new menu planning course here.

 
Do you ever look around at the families in your church and assume they have it all together?  That their lives must be carefree and they have these perfect obedient children, problem-free marriages and every day goes just as planned?  @mferrell

Do you ever look around at the families in your church and assume they have it all together?  That their lives must be carefree and they have these perfect obedient children, problem-free marriages and every day goes just as planned?  

Do you ever look around at the families in your church and assume they have it all together?  That their lives must be carefree and they have these perfect obedient children, problem-free marriages and every day goes just as planned?   Click to Tweet

We know deep down this isn't true because we live in a fallen world.  Overcoming sin in our lives is a battle we will be dealing with until the Lord calls us home.  Sin infects every home – sin infects every Christian home.  We all battle sinful attitudes, pride, selfishness, envy, discontentment, rudeness, disobedience, unloving actions and attitudes, rebellious hearts, comparison, and the list can go on.

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ~ 1 John 1:8


Let me turn the table a moment- do you think your family is the perfect family in your church?  Do you compare your family to others and think, “I'm thankful we don't have the issues that family has.” Hmmm – there's a statement with a familiar ring to it:

“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’  But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”Luke 18:10-14

 

The Reality

We live in a fallen world, and each family in your church has their own battles they are dealing with.  It is a battle (Ephesians 6:10-20) but one we are not left to ourselves if we are in Christ.  We have a heavenly Father who never leaves us or forsakes us.  He is with us always and has given us the truth of His Word and the Holy Spirit to overcome sin.  God has equipped us not to sin and to make choices that would honor and bring glory to His name.

We, as His children, don’t always make those choices and we sin.  The war against sin in our homes continues until the Lord calls us all home.  When you’re in a war, you have to fight and do battle against the enemy.  Sin is our enemy, and it has the power to tear apart families and churches if we let it.  

Related Post: Podcast EP 42 – Some Titus 2 Encouragement Along the Way

Fighting the Good Fight

Unfortunately, it is not as easy as offering a three-step plan for overcoming sin in your family.  What I can point you to are the truths of God’s Word:

Walk in the Spirit – Galatians 5:16-25

Be Filled with the Spirit – Ephesians 5:18-21

Be Equipped – 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Pray – Ephesians 6:18

Fellowship with Other Believers – Hebrews 10:24-25

Forgive Others – Matthew 6:15

Be Real – Confess Your Sins to One Another – James 5:16

Offering Grace To Others

Whether in our immediate families or our church families, we need to be continually offering grace to one another.  I am not saying here to overlook sin, but not every sin needs to be pointed out.  Love covers a multitude of sins, and we need to have merciful and forgiving spirits to those that sin against us.  Many times we are quick to judge someone, and isn’t it wonderfully convicting when we find ourselves with the same sinful attitude or action that we just judged someone else for.  That is a moment to give thanks in – we all need to be brought low because we tend to think too highly of ourselves. (Romans 12:3, 1 Peter 4:8)

Get to know the families in your church and see how you can be praying for them.  Be honest with struggles in your own family as there are probably others who are dealing with similar situations, and you can be an encouragement to each other.  We are too concerned with what others may think, instead of seeing other believers as soldiers who are fighting the good fight of the faith alongside us.  Dear Christians – we are on the same team.

Our Responsibility

The Lord Jesus Christ has called me to fight the good fight. I need to be in the Word and on my knees to overcome the sinful battles I face on a day to day basis within my home, and among those, I am in contact with outside the walls of my home.

My prayer is that we would be mindful of our attitudes, actions, and responses to others.  As  Christians, we are called to be steadfast and immovable, abounding in the work of the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:58). As wives, we are called to love our husbands and children, be keepers at home, self-controlled and submissive to our husbands (Titus 2:4-5).  As parents, we are called to disciple and instruct our children in the ways of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4).

We can’t control the attitudes and actions of others towards us, but we are responsible for the way we treat and respond to others.

“The most important truth to remember is we can’t do any of this on our own.  We need the Holy Spirit to open up the truths of the gospel within our hearts.  This is true for every moment of our lives.  Continue to ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes and make the gospel alive to you again.”  ~ The Importance of the Gospel in the Life of A Believer

Our families are a beautiful way the Lord continues to sanctify us and mold us more and more into the image of His Son.

“Only those who are truly aware of their sin can truly cherish grace.” ~C. J. Mahaney

Related Links:

Accidental Pharisees

The Importance of the Gospel in the Life of a Believer

 
 
 
 

Related posts:

  1. EP 32: Preparing Our Families for Sunday Morning Worship
  2. Preparing Our Families for Sunday Morning Worship
  3. EP 60: Gently Correcting Our Children
  4. She Opens Her Mouth With Wisdom


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Comments

  1. Brenda says

    at

    Amen! Thank you for such a encouraging, convicting post! Great Truths to start my Monday off with. Have a blessed day!

    • Marci Ferrell says

      at

      Thank you for stopping by Brenda and for your kind words xo

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Marci Ferrell
By affliction, Christ . . .⁣ shows us our empti By affliction, Christ . . .⁣
 shows us our emptiness and weakness,⁣
 draws us to the throne of grace,⁣
 purifies our affections,⁣
 weans us from the world,⁣
 and makes us long for Heaven.⁣
~ J.C Ryle
This simple free eight-page guide is meant to help This simple free eight-page guide is meant to help you think through your summertime schedule for your family. As you walk through it you'll determine what your family loves to do, leave room for spontaneity, and put together a simple daily routine to help your days run a bit smoother. ⁣
⁣
There are some summertime meal planning tips and a printable with ideas to put on your family's bucket list for summer and maybe spark new ones of your own! ⁣
⁣
Come download your free 8-page summertime guide here and get access to our whole library of printables when you do.
Such a good conversation with Dale Partridge from Such a good conversation with Dale Partridge from @relearnhq about his new Gospel Project called MailtheGospel.org. You can get the gospel to anyone anywhere.
So appreciate @reagantrose (I do recommend you fol So appreciate @reagantrose (I do recommend you follow friends if you don’t yet!)- link to the podcast episode we talked about Homemaking to the Glory of God in my profile @thankfulhomemaker 

Repost from @reagantrose 
Godliness > Your Plans⁠
The Church is not a gallery for the exhibition of The Church is not a gallery for the exhibition of eminent Christians, but a school for the education of imperfect ones.⁣
~ Henry Ward Beecher⁣
⁣
Come listen to EP 32: Preparing Our Families for Sunday Morning Worship at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
How many times does Sunday morning roll around and How many times does Sunday morning roll around and you find your heart in a state of chaos instead of calm to worship the Lord?  How many Sundays do you arrive at church and realize you haven’t taken the time all week to pray for your pastor or your church family? ⁣
⁣
I want to share with you some simple steps we can take to prepare our hearts and the hearts of our families for Sunday morning worship to the Lord. ⁣
⁣
The hope today is to get you to understand the purpose and the mission of the local church and then to move on toward how we can proceed with some simple steps to prepare our hearts and the hearts of our families for Sunday morning worship to the Lord.⁣
⁣
Come listen to EP 32: Preparing Our Families for Sunday Morning Worship at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
"Home is the true wife's kingdom. ⁣ ⁣ Very lar "Home is the true wife's kingdom. ⁣
⁣
Very largely does the wife hold in her ⁣
hands, as a sacred trust, the happiness ⁣
and the highest good of the hearts that ⁣
nestle there. In the last analysis, home ⁣
happiness depends on the wife. ⁣
⁣
Her spirit gives the home its atmosphere. ⁣
⁣
Her hands fashion its beauty. ⁣
⁣
Her heart makes its love. ⁣
⁣
And the end is so worthy, so noble, so divine, ⁣
that no woman who has been called to be a wife, ⁣
and has listened to the call, should consider any⁣
price too great to pay, to be . . .⁣
 the light,⁣
 the joy,⁣
 the blessing,⁣
 the inspiration, ⁣
of a home. ⁣
⁣
The woman who makes a sweet, beautiful home, ⁣
filling it with love and prayer and purity, is doing ⁣
something better than anything else her hands ⁣
could find to do beneath the skies.⁣
⁣
A true mother is one of the holiest secrets of ⁣
home happiness. God sends many beautiful things ⁣
to this world, many noble gifts; but no blessing is ⁣
richer than that which He bestows in a mother who ⁣
has learned love's lessons well, and has realized ⁣
something of the meaning of her sacred calling."⁣
⁣
~ J. R. Miller, "Secrets of Happy Home Life"
Friends 😊 - I'm so excited to share a conversat Friends 😊 - I'm so excited to share a conversation all about the Gospel with Dale Partridge from @relearnhq⁣
⁣
Please join us on IG live tomorrow (June 21st) at 5:30 PM CST/ 3:30 PST and learn about Dale's new project to help equip us to share the Gospel with anyone, anywhere!⁣
⁣
Please join us!
Summer is a natural time for me to get off my rout Summer is a natural time for me to get off my routine of menu planning. In the winter, we're more apt to stick to a schedule, but summer brings about a more flexible and changing calendar. ⁣
⁣
I'm sharing some simple tips that have been a help to me and hopefully, they'll help you in planning your summertime meals. Menu planning is a time and money saver, and I don't know about you, but I would sure like to have more time to enjoy my summer months.⁣
⁣
Come listen to EP 77: Simple Summertime Meal Planning Tips at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
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