Faithful Devotion

Proverbs 4:10-11

Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, And the years of your life will be many. I have taught you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in right paths.

There is a thread that runs through Scripture of fathers investing deliberately and intentionally in the spiritual lives of those under their care. Their actions were not accidental. They were not occasional. They were scheduled, repeated, and purposeful investments into the instruction of their families.

We live in a moment when the culture around us is more than happy to disciple your children for you. It has a curriculum, a schedule, and a screen ready at all times. The question is not whether your household will be shaped by something. The question is: By what will it be shaped? Will it be shaped by the Word of God, led by someone who loves them and has stood before the Lord on their behalf? That is the vision Scripture sets before us today. Let us look at three fathers who understood this — and let them instruct us.

Job: The Interceding Priest
The author of the book of Job, after describing the festivities of Job's sons and daughters, tells us this:

And when the feast days had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, 'It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.' Thus Job did continually.

We do well to notice two things in this text. First, Job rose early. This was not a leftover moment at the end of an exhausted day. He carved out time — first-fruits time — for this purpose. Second, he interceded. He stood before God on behalf of his children, offering sacrifice for sins they may have committed even in the secrecy of their own hearts. Job functioned as a priest for his household.

I will be honest with you — this text has been personally convicting for me as I have studied it for this devotion. The image of a father rising early to pray for his children, to intercede before the Lord for sins he cannot even see, is both humbling and convicting. This is where family devotion begins — not with a catechism answer, not with a hymn, but on your knees before a holy God, naming your family before Him.

Joshua: The Resolute Leader
Now consider Joshua — Israel’s faithful leader that led them into the promised land. Standing before all Israel at the end of his life, Joshua issues one of the most famous declarations in all of Scripture in Joshua 24:15: "But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

In all its Hallmark familiarity, we can easily miss that this verse is the steadfast determination of a father and husband. Joshua is not voicing a vague spiritual sentiment, but declaring a deliberate, public, and binding resolve on behalf of his entire household. He’s taking responsibility for the direction of his family and committing himself to the ongoing, regular work of leading his family in the ways of the Lord.

Leadership in the home does not happen by default. Passivity is its own kind of decision, and it is rarely a good one. Joshua's declaration calls every head of household — and every individual standing before the Lord on their own — to make a choice. Who will direct the spiritual rhythm of your home? If not you, someone or something else already has the job and has not asked your permission. The resolve to gather your household — or yourself — before the Lord is an act of leadership. I implore you to take it.

David and Solomon: The Living Legacy
Our third father is David, and the evidence of his investment appears not in Samuel or Kings, but in Proverbs. Listen to Proverbs 4:10-11: "Hear, my son, and accept my words, that the years of your life may be many. I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness."

Solomon is writing, but the voice behind him is his father's. In Proverbs 4:3-4, Solomon makes this explicit: "When I was a son with my father, tender, the only one in the sight of my mother, he taught me and said to me, 'Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live.'" David's words did not die when David did. They lived on in the mouth and pen of his son passing to the third generation. And thankfully they live still in the Word of God, read by you and me today.

This is the long view of family devotion. You may not see the fruit tomorrow or even in a year. But the parent who faithfully opens the Word before their household, who prays over their children by name, who sings the great hymns of the faith in their living room — that parent is living in Proverbs 4. They are investing in a legacy that outlasts their days. That is worthy of rising early or even going to bed late.

Schedule It or Skip It
Here is a humbling observation that rings true of any good habit: an unscheduled event is a skipped event. Good intentions without a calendar appointment are simply feelings. Job “would rise” early — that records a routine. Joshua declared — that records a decision point. David taught — that records the result of regular instruction.

The Elders at Christ Community Church (of Vina) want to partner with you in this. Each week, I will be sending out an email with the upcoming scripture readings, the hymns we will sing together, the sermon text, and our Heidelberg Catechism reading. Think of the Catechism as a letter from our fathers in the faith — men who loved the church enough to sit down and wrestle through the hardest questions of Christian doctrine and give us clear, Scripture-grounded answers. It is not Holy Scripture — and they would be the first to insist on that — which is precisely why every question comes with its supporting Scripture references. The catechism points beyond itself to the Word that is living and active.

These resources are not homework. They are a table we plan to set for your family each week. We simply implore you to sit down and consume the resources together.

A Structure for Every Household
Whether you live with a full household, share a home with just one other person, or steward a quiet space on your own, this structure is for you. Anyone who, like Joshua, has decided that their home will serve the Lord can take this framework and live it out.

Here is a simple, repeatable rhythm:

1. Begin with prayer. Open your time by interceding — for your family, for those under your care, for the sins you cannot see but God can. Follow Job's example. Lay them before the Lord.
2. Then take up a hymn. Sing it or read it aloud, let its theology do its slow and beautiful work.
3. Finally, open the Scripture. You can use the readings we send you for the coming Sunday or read through a book of the Bible on your own. And when you have the catechism question before you, let the fathers of the faith ask it, answer it, and point you back to the Word.

It doesn’t need to be lengthy, only faithful. Job rose early; Joshua declared; David taught. The question before us is not whether this is a good idea. The question is simply: have you begun, or when will you? I beseech you — before this day is finished — to answer that question.

With Love in Christ,

Pastor Chris