Family Time…Jesus forgives you
Hopefully you are taking some-time this month to share with your family the incredible blessing of Jesus’ birth! Even though it is very busy, it is great timing to have your family devotional’s focus on Jesus. The topic changes this week to focus on another reason that Jesus was sent to earth...to forgive and heal you! However, this will bring to mind the question...why does Jesus need to forgive me? What did I do? This month’s family time topic from the “Sky Ranch Family Devotional: Follow the Leader” is on “Jesus forgives and heals you“and the weekly discussion is on “Jesus forgives so confess sin.“ Your family can have the opportunity to talk about sin in the devotion time. Sin is anytime that you have done something your own way and it is against God’s way. It is anytime that you have treated someone else poorly and knew that you did not want to be treated like that, but did it anyway. It can be really hard not to sin against others or God. You sin against God every time that you break His law. Even though sin is not a popular topic, it is important to recognize your own sin. Does your family ever fight? Typically if there is a fight, sin is probably involved somewhere. At the Christmas break, there is a lot of family togetherness...maybe even a little too much. Discussing sin can give your family a reason to calmly address “family fights” and ways to resolve them before they happen.
As a Mom, I knew my kids didn’t really see their own sin against God easily. But they sure did understand sibling fights. I found that most family fights happened because someone felt they were being treated wrong. The golden rule of treating others the way that you want to be treated often was talked about in our house. Ignoring it was often the cause of the sin and the fight. A simple resolve was to ask the one who committed the crime to confess...I would ask if that was the way they wanted to be treated? And if the answer was “no” (which it always was), then I had clear reason to move ahead with a punishment that fit the crime. It made it clear for everyone. We often discussed how the entire situation could have been handled differently too. Then, I would parallel the event of sinning against a person as similar to sinning against God and talk about the topic of sin against God and His forgiveness.
This week in your family time, I would encourage you to prepare by praying for your family and asking God to help you explain “sin” to your family. Ask God to help you talk about how sin affects your relationship with God and each other. Pray for God to reveal if there are any past family fights that really have not been resolved...pray that He will help you find a solution and bring forgiveness and healing to your family.
Do you have questions or need prayer for your family? Email me at SkyMoms@skyranch.org.
I will be praying for you!
Stacy
Stacy A. Davis
Sky Ranch Family Devotionals and
Teach Intentionally Author
This week we are in the 4th Topic and 16th Family Time (or page 37) of the Sky Ranch Family Devotional “Follow the Leader”…
Family Time 16:
Topic 4: Jesus forgives and heals you…Jesus forgives so confess sin
Talk with God: Read… Scriptures and questions below.
Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God , And your sins have hidden [His] face from you, so that He does not hear.
- In Isaiah 59:2, what separates you from God?
Ephesians 2:1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins
- In Eph. 2:1, what were you dead in?
Romans 5:12 (about Adam) Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned --
- In Rom. 5:12, what spread to all men because of sin?
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
- In Rom. 3:23, what have all people done?
Walk with God: Discuss…Scripture teaches that you and I sin. In Rom. 5:12, sin entered the world through one man, Adam; then sin and death was passed to all mankind. Parents do not have to teach their young children to sin. You were cute, I am sure…but even at a young age you knew how to sin and did. Upsetting, isn’t it? What is sin according to God? What type of sin do you need to be forgiven for and healed from?
Prayer suggestion… Ask God to help you see your own sin.
Family Time 16:
Leader Answers:
- Iniquity, sin
- Trespasses, sins
- Death
- All have sinned
- Discussion ideas: Sin is anytime that you have gone your own way against God. Sin is breaking the 10 Commandments in Exodus 20. Sin is not treating another person the way that you want to be treated. In scripture death means physically leaving the earth and death means spiritually being separated from God. It means both. Your sin causes spiritual and physical separation from God. Your sin causes your death. All have thought or said words or done deeds that are wrong and against God and others. Help each other recognize sin and name it…is there any sin that you need to confess against each other or God?
© 2012 Stacy A. Davis, Inc. All rights reserved.
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