For dad only, a devotional on family ministry:
Leave a Legacy
Jesus included the disciples in ministry. Children need to grow up involved in the church to become truly discipled. Mission trips and ministry do far more than just sitting around doing devotions. Active learning means more than book learning. Christianity is not a school where you just learn good values and religious history. It is a lifestyle you adopt and repeat.
A legacy of evil
Various stories float around about the events leading up to the death of Al Capone’s lawyer Fast Eddy. Although he had protected the mobster for many years, he finally testified against him and his operation. Within a year, he was gunned down. In his pocket was a poem:
“The clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power to tell just when the hands will stop, at late or early hour. Now is the only time you own. Live, love, toil with a will. Place no faith in time. For the clock may soon be still.”
Fast Eddy O’Hare had a son he cared about greatly. The notorious mobster lawyer’s son made a good reputation for the family name.
Memorable character
Butch O’Hare flew as a Lieutenant Commander during World War II. On one occasion, his plane accidentally encountered a squadron of enemy aircraft heading toward the American fleet to bomb them. He fired at them and did as much damage as he could. When he ran out of ammo, he tried tail clipping them. Finally, the battered squadron gave up their mission and left the area.
He went down as a hero later in battle, and lives on in his hometown of Chicago with an airport named after him.
Mission as lifestyle
You want to raise kids with a sense of purpose, not just an endless pursuit of fun. Pleasure and entertainment are fine, but if they become the reason for living, you are a hollow shell. Involve your children in something bigger than themselves. Let them experience the joy of serving God: music, singing, outreach, skits, prayer, and much more. Help your kids grow in devotion to the Lord by going on missions trips and being a part of ministry to those who need physical and spiritual help.
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Read this to the kids:
Lugging Luggage and Sagging Springs
Misty woke up as the minivan came to a halt, making her lean forward against her seatbelt. “Where are we?” she asked.
“We’re at the border of Mexico,” Dad said.
They inched forward in a line of vehicles driving by some little buildings where workers talked to the drivers.
“Wow, I must have fallen asleep,” she said.
“You did,” Rusty answered with a smile. “We have been driving for hours!”
“What do we have to do here?” she asked.
Dad cleared his throat. “The Mexican government wants to be sure we are not bringing bad stuff into their country. They might look through our luggage and ask us a few questions.”
After waiting in line a few minutes, their van finally pulled up to the little building where Mexican workers wore hats that made them look like policemen. A border guard walked up and asked to see Dad’s paperwork. He looked over their passports, stuck his head in the window to look at all four of them and be sure their faces matched the photos on the documents.
The man muttered something to Dad who pulled the van off to the side and parked it.
“What’s going on, honey?” Mom asked.
“He wants to see our luggage.”
Dad opened up the back of the minivan and Rusty hopped out to help him. They pulled out one big suitcase with all of Mom and Dad’s stuff. Then they pulled out the garment bag with all the hanging clothes. Rusty grabbed his suitcase and set it next to the curb while Dad pulled out Misty’s suitcase.
“Whew!” Rusty said, “this is like packing all over again.”
The border guard walked up and without saying anything opened the big suitcase. He looked through their clothes, moving a couple things, and then went to the next suitcase. He did not open the garment bag, but left Misty’s clothes a mess in her suitcase.
“My stuff will be wrinkled,” she said to Mom.
“Don’t worry about it,” Mom whispered back, “it is humid enough down here the wrinkles will not last long.”
Misty watched Rusty cram her stuff back in and zip it up. The border guard walked to the back of the van.
“What is zis?” he asked, pointing at the wooden crate.
“Those are my tools,” Dad said, “y’know for building things.”
“You are a carpenter?” the man asked.
“Kind of,” Dad said, “but I am not working for money here—we are coming to help build a church.”
“A church? Let me see.”
Dad opened the big tool box. The man leaned in to look at his hammers, saws, squares, and other construction equipment.
“Very nice,” he said smiling. “You build nice church,” he laughed, “okay?”
Dad smiled back. “Okay.”
“Okay,” the man said and headed back to his booth.
Dad and Rusty threw the luggage into the van again.
Rusty stepped back and looked at the minivan, saying, “I think we have overloaded it. See how the back springs are scrunched down?”
“Sagging springs or not,” Dad said, “let’s get out of here.”
They drove into the little town near the border. Dad slowed down and took a side street.
“Wow,” Misty said, “do you think we could stop and get some souveniers?”
They drove by a little shop where a man came to the doorway and hollered something at them. Dad cranked down his window to catch what the man was saying.
“Hey, American, come buy my junk,” the man said with a laugh.
Dad smiled and nodded and slid his window back up.
“What did he say?” Misty asked.
“See these shops up along the street?” Dad pointed ahead of them, “they all sell souvenir junk in hopes that we will come and buy it from them.”
Rusty and Misty saw a little boy on the side of the road. He was sitting on what looked like a little wooden tool box, holding up a brown brush, shouting something at them.
“What is he doing?” Rusty asked.
“It looks like he shines shoes,” Dad said. “He will try to find some man with nice shoes he can shine to make a dollar or so.”
When they got to the end of the road, Dad turned down a side street.
“Aren’t we heading away from the town?” Mom asked.
“I can find my way back,” Dad replied, “I just wanted to see where people live.”
“Why do all the houses have metal rods sticking up?” Misty asked.
“Because they get taxed once the house is complete,” Dad said, looking at her in the rearview mirror. “Many people simply do not finish their homes so they will not get taxed. Since the walls are made out of concrete, they leave rebar sticking up to make it look like they intend to put on another level later.”
He turned down a dirt road and the houses looked very old and poorly built.
“Rusty,” Misty said, “our playhouse in the backyard is built better than some of these places. I can’t believe people live here.”
Rusty nodded, not saying anything as he stared at the poor living conditions. A skinny chicken walked out in front of the van, staring and stretching its neck to see them.
“Honey,” Mom said, “I do not think cars come this way often. I haven’t seen one in a while and kids are coming out to stare at us.”
Dad sighed. “This is so sad.”
“Why do people live like this?” Misty demanded.
“They have no other choice,” Mom said. “They have no money and very little work so they try to survive the best they can. That’s why they send their kid into town to beg or shine shoes.”
Dad found a place to turn around and head back toward the main road.
“Is this like the town we are going to?” Misty asked.
“Probably,” Dad said, “but the area we are going has a lot of farmers. They have more animals and fields than these folks here. A lot of these people came here hoping to move to the States but never got enough money together to go across. This town has too many people and not enough work or food for them all.”
“Changes in the economy have not helped, either,” Mom added.
They all watched silently as they drove by the city dump. They saw children playing in the trash and adults rummaging through the piles of junk.
“They let them play in all of that?” Misty asked.
Dad sighed. “Those people are looking for things of value they can use or sell. They may even be looking for food.”
Misty felt like she would get sick. “Food? They can’t eat out of that!”
Soon, they pulled out of the poor section of town and rejoined the main road. No one said much as they headed south paste roadside stands, more shops, and many fields.
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Now discuss this devotional on family ministry and missions!
Why was Rusty and Misty’s family going to Mexico?
Why do people leave the comfort of their homes in the USA to go to countries where people do not have much food or money?
When have you seen someone who did not have much food or money?
What have you done for people in need? What else would you like to do for them?
More than food or money, what do people need the most?
When you grow up, how will you share the gospel to others?
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Read God’s Word together:
Missions Trip to Macedonia
Next Paul and Silas traveled through the area of Phrygia and Galatia, because the Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching the word in the province of Asia at that time. Then coming to the borders of Mysia, they headed north for the province of Bithynia, but again the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go there. So instead, they went on through Mysia to the seaport of Troas.
That night Paul had a vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there, pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!”
So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the Good News there. We boarded a boat at Troas and sailed straight across to the island of Samothrace, and the next day we landed at Neapolis. From there we reached Philippi, a major city of that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. And we stayed there several days.
On the Sabbath we went a little way outside the city to a riverbank, where we thought people would be meeting for prayer, and we sat down to speak with some women who had gathered there. One of them was Lydia from Thyatira, a merchant of expensive purple cloth, who worshiped God. As she listened to us, the Lord opened her heart, and she accepted what Paul was saying. She was baptized along with other members of her household, and she asked us to be her guests. “If you agree that I am a true believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my home.” And she urged us until we agreed.
One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a demon-possessed slave girl. She was a fortune-teller who earned a lot of money for her masters. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved.”
This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And instantly it left her.
Her masters’ hopes of wealth were now shattered, so they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities at the marketplace. “The whole city is in an uproar because of these Jews!” they shouted to the city officials. “They are teaching customs that are illegal for us Romans to practice.”
A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.
Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself.
But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here!”
The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household. Even at that hour of the night, the jailer cared for them and washed their wounds. Then he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized. He brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God.
The next morning the city officials sent the police to tell the jailer, “Let those men go!”
So the jailer told Paul, “The city officials have said you and Silas are free to leave. Go in peace.”
But Paul replied, “They have publicly beaten us without a trial and put us in prison—and we are Roman citizens. So now they want us to leave secretly? Certainly not! Let them come themselves to release us!”
When the police reported this, the city officials were alarmed to learn that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. So they came to the jail and apologized to them. Then they brought them out and begged them to leave the city. When Paul and Silas left the prison, they returned to the home of Lydia. There they met with the believers and encouraged them once more. Then they left town.
(Acts 16:6-40, NLT)
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Let’s talk about missions!
How did God let Paul know he was supposed to travel to Philippi in Macedonia?
Who was the first woman that came to the Lord in Philippi?
In Acts 16:14, why did she listen to the gospel and obey it?
Because God opened her heart.
What was wrong with the slave girl who kept following them?
She had a demon.
In Paul’s dream, he saw a man asking for help. Who was the man he encountered that was in desperate need of help, in Acts 16:27-30?
Role play: God gives you a dream of going to another country. You are not old enough to leave home yet and go there. What will you do?
God puts a desire in your heart to talk to a friend or neighbor about Him. What will you do?
Your church needs someone to help with cleaning, a work day, or decorations. What will you do?
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Memorize it!