It happened in a season when kings would go off to war. Perhaps the trophies and treasures of past victories had spoiled David’s desire to lead his army into yet another battle. Instead, David remained in Jerusalem while his faithful men journeyed to confront the enemy.
A series of missteps and broken roadblocks led this passionate king to move outside of his God-appointment. David wandered aimlessly atop his palace where temptation took the lead. The tragedy of his undisciplined life resulted in adultery, murder, the death of a son, a fractured kingdom, and a pointing prophet. Like the falling of dominoes, we do not know where the boundary-less life might lead. The disciplines of a godly life have not changed since that day. It has always featured limitations that even kings must obey.
I present these godly disciplines which entail the elements of routine, conversation, order, and adherence to a law higher than the individual. A godly home and a disciplined life can be achieved, but as we have discovered, a purging must occur.
The infiltration of worldliness has been an infection in many Apostolic homes. It has turned comfort into chaos. The unstructured home has a difficult time instituting Biblical principles because the Scripture has little room to take root and grow.
Daily duties, howbeit mundane, lead us to a peaceful environment. When home-life is erratic or unstructured, temptation takes the lead. We become bound by the limitless life which in turn leads us away from contentment in the Holy Ghost.
2 Timothy 1:7 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
Perhaps a predictable life that features daily Bible time; daily prayer; and a host of other orderly customs is the way to develop a strong family and a clear conscious. I am calling for us to return to the Simple Life. I submit that God time, Corporate worship, and Family structure are the necessary elements found in the Disciplines of a Godly Home.
Pastor Jeffrey Harpole