A House of Peace

Several years ago when our now adult children were small, we welcomed a guest into our home for a short visit.

He was the friend of a friend and a quiet man who walked all throughout the house slowly—as though he was drinking it all in.

I would never have guessed that when he finally spoke, his words would echo in my head and in my heart for decades.

“This house is a House of Peace.”

It wasn’t some sort of prophetic word or declaration as he was neither a Christian nor even a religious man.

It was, as he went on to explain, simply an observation.

As the wife of a teacher who raised three children on a single income (teacher’s salary), we have never had a home filled with the finest of anything.

But on that particular day, it dawned on me that I lived in a home that was filled with the finest of everything for it was true that my house was a House of Peace.

It was not a house of perfection for each of its inhabitants were far from perfect and remain so to this day.

But it was a House of Peace because the Prince of Peace lived there.

And despite our imperfections, His Spirit reigned so supreme that even an otherwise stoic unbeliever could sense it.

We have lived in three different homes since then, but it holds true to this day that my house is a House of Peace.

Jesus goes with us everywhere we go.

It is rare that a day goes by that I am not called upon to encourage someone struggling or hurting or in need of answers that can only be found in the Word of God.

Chaos surrounds.

The world is on fire.

The earth has lost its curb appeal.

Everyone senses that something is very wrong.

And yet, my house is still a House of Peace.

Love and laughter and hope and friendship and ministry have taken up permanent residence here.

I am often confounded by how it happened.

It did not come by way of prosperity in human terms, rather by storms that included death, suffering, and sorrow too deep for human words.

It came by way of the Beautiful Ugly.

But from sorrows deep, we called.

Jesus answered.

Every time.

And with His presence came a prosperity of peace.

For many years, I have been something of a big picture thinker.

I often view the world on an international scale.

Even more often, I find myself thinking like an “American.”

But as of late, the world has become far more granular.

Mother Teresa is quoted as having once said, “If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.”

I love that.

But a still greater admonition…

If you want to change your family, go home and love Jesus.

Determine above all else that God should take up residence in your heart and in your home that your house might be called a House of Peace and that your legacy might be called a Legacy of Peace.

And so I ask…

Men, are you shepherding your wives and children in the Lord?

Are you loving your wife as Christ loved the church so much so that you have laid down your life for her?

Are you Priest, Prophet, Protector, Provider?

Are you discipling (disciplining) your children (and your grandchildren) in obedience to the Great Shema?

Are you teaching your household the law of God—morning when you rise, at noon as you walk, and in the evening before you sleep?

Are you daily prioritizing Family Bible Study, Family Prayer, Family Worship?

Are you modeling what it means to serve, or are you focusing on being served?

Are you a Family Shepherd?

Women, are you submitting to your husbands and committing yourselves fully to the work of your home and the discipleship (discipline) of your children?

Are you striving to model after the Proverbs 31 woman and the Titus 2 mother?

Is your house a House of Peace?

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Post Script:

We are living in a post-modern, post-truth nation.

The evangelical church has largely abandoned the Truth and the discipleship mandate.

Darkness has filled the vacuum.

We have made generations of (false) converts but very few disciples.

And “Rome” is burning…

If you have never taken the time to listen to Paul Washer’s “10 Indictments” sermon, I would implore you to do so.

It will wreck you.

If you are struggling to know where to begin to shepherd your family and create a House of Peace against the backdrop of raging storms, take comfort in knowing that God’s Word contains all that we need for instruction.

We need only to obey it.

If you are looking for practical application resources rooted in Biblical Truth, I highly recommend…

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Family Shepherds, Voddie Baucham (Men-Spiritual leadership)

What He Must Be, Voddie Baucham (Young men-Spiritual leadership)

Family Driven Faith, Voddie Baucham (Men and Women- The Christ Centered Home)

Thoughts on Family-Worship, James Alexander (Family Worship)

Let Me Be a Woman, Elisabeth Elliot (Women and the high calling of Titus 2)

Shepherding a Child’s Heart, Paul Tripp (Parenting and grandparenting from the cradle…)

Passion and Purity, Elisabeth Elliot (Young Women)

IndoctriNation (documentary): Colin Gunn (Education and The Exodus Mandate) ****EVERY CHURCH IN AMERICA SHOULD BE SHOWING THIS FILM…

Education: Does God Have an Opinion?, Israel Wayne (The myth of “secular” education…)