my story, my life: as a child my parents performed the family altar. There was the first love. As an adolescent, my father persevered, and although it was not in a well prepared form, it positively affected my life. Each morning there was a time to praise God and read His Word.
We live in times where there are many opportunities to do things: Study, travel, eat, play, watch television, attend church, seminars, camps, share with friends. Much of this we do as a family, but of all this and more, there is something that should be the priority of the family: "Family Devotional Time" which results in great satisfaction to do everything else.
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Are you having that daily time with your family?
God in his Word left the recommendations about it:
Deuteronomy 6: 1-10.
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.
And these words that I command you today, will be on your heart; and you shall teach them to your children, and you shall speak of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up.
And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes; and you will write them on the posts of your house, and on your doors.
The desire of God is for each family to enjoy harmony and family happiness, and this is only achieved by putting into practice and obeying the commands of the Lord.
BIBLICAL BASES FOR THE FAMILY ALTAR.
First altar mentioned in the Bible:
Gen.4: 3,4. And it happened in the course of time, that Cain brought an offering to God from the fruit of the earth. And Abel brought also from the firstborn of his flock, and from his fatness. And God looked with favor upon Abel and upon his offering;
Heb. 11: 4 By faith Abel offered to God a greater sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained testimony that he was righteous, God giving testimony to his presents; and deceased, he still speaks for her.
This is my family, and we make a family altar at home.
PURPOSE OF THE FAMILY ALTAR.
Together we adore our Creator and Heavenly Father.
Have a special time of communion with God.
Strengthen family ties.
Request God's help in daily life.
Intercede for each other.
Form the habit of having time with God daily.
CONSEQUENCES OF NOT TAKING THE TIME TO PERFORM THE FAMILY ALTAR:
We will dishonor God by disobeying his order and therefore the consequences come. Deut. 28: l5 "But it will happen if you do not hear the voice of the LORD your God to seek to fulfill all his commandments and his statutes that I intimate you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you. Continue reading verses 16 through 68.
We will waste the best time as a family.
We will lose the opportunity to transmit the divine truths.
We will not form in our children the habit of having their first place for God and Love for His word.
There will be no attraction to spiritual things in children.
Together with my wife, we always try to bring the word of God to our little daughter Victoria.
BLESSINGS AND RESULTS OF PUT IT IN PRACTICE:
The blessing of God will be on the family.
(Deut 7: 12-26) And having heard these decrees and having kept them and put them to work, the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy that he swore to your fathers, and he will love you and bless you, and multiply you and bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain, your must, your oil ...
The habit of worshiping God will be created. Psalm 111 or 103
The best role model for children and others will be formed.
It will stimulate in the children a love for the spiritual. Colossians 3: 1-4
and. They will facilitate greater communication between family members.
They will allow the possibility of having Christian experiences within the family: Practice of forgiveness, grace, power, faith and love that comes from God.
SOME IDEAS ON HOW TO PERFORM A FAMILY ALTAR:
With young children the time should be short. You can have songs with gestures, illustrated stories, teaching verses, praying for them and their parents. You need to use creativity to not monotone this time. On special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, births, deaths, holidays, Christmas and New Year, you can have appropriate readings with an exchange of ideas and prayer that makes any of these moments unforgettable.
One way to make Bible studies more interesting with children is through objects. Ex. Mt 5:13 Put some salt in each person's hand and discuss the uses of salt. Reinforce the biblical lesson with common experiences.
When going to pray for Christian workers, missionaries and other servants, look for a map and guide the children to find the country or city where they work.
You can have a musical night where they sing or play an instrument, and you can tell the story of a hymn, etc.
The altars do not always have to be done in the house, you can go out on a field day and in the open air, celebrate the family altar.
With older and younger children, several topics can be analyzed, for example: The Bible, Prayer, conversations, money, friends, entertainment, interpersonal relationships, music, beauty, responsibility, evangelization, sex and marriage. You can take one topic per month.
Thanks to @steemchurch we have been able to have daily issues to make our altar family. and so they are in our prayers.
