July 9 Daily Devotional

Questions and Answers in the Home

Charles and Norma Ellis

Bible Reading

Deuteronomy 6:20-25

²⁰And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you?
²¹Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand:
²²And the LORD shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes:
²³And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers.
²⁴And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.
²⁵And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.

Devotional

Did you ever realize that God spoke to Moses about the importance of communication in inter-personal relationships? 'When thy son asketh thee ... thou shalt say ...' (6:20,21).

God is pleased to have us respect each other in the home. He is pleased to have us recognize that we are able to help one another. So we are to communicate to one another our questions, our fears, our anxieties, our problems, as well as our joys! And He is pleased to have us listen to those around us, really listen, and then in utter seriousness and concern answer in truth and love.

When our son asks us why we are zealous to keep God's day holy, we should be happy to remind him that God, in His grace, has brought us out of a life of sin by His Son and that we want to please Him by our obedience. He has given us rules for living 'for our good always, that he might preserve us alive' (6:24). When we keep His law it shall be 'our righteousness.' We cannot hope to achieve salvation by keeping it perfectly. Only Christ could do this for us. But we love God and we want to be righteous and obedient!

When we become parents we are driven more and more to God's Word so that we may be thoroughly equipped to answer the questions of our children in accordance with God's truth. We need daily to search the Scriptures and become workmen who need not to be ashamed. But a parent endears himself to his child when he is willing to admit that he does not know all the answers or that his own faith sometimes needs bolstering, too!

Lord, help us to be honest and respectful in our communications in the home; help us not to shut off questions our children ask; help us to treat our children gently! Lord, give us answers that honor You. And give us humility when we do not know the answers.

We are happy to have obtained permission to post as our current daily devotional Heirs Together of Life: Daily Bible Reading for Husbands and Wives, published by The Banner of Truth Trust. Don't be misled by the subtitle. As the book's "Preface" indicates (see below), although Heirs Together of Life is "especially prepared for couples,"the authors declare, "Since the basis for this guide is God's Word, we believe it would have value for any reader."

Charles and Norma Ellis are husband and wife and the authors not only of Heirs Together of Life (which was first published in 1980 and continues in print today), but also of Wells of Salvation (first published in 1985, and likewise still in print today). The latter contains a series of short studies covering the entire book of Isaiah, while the former contains a series of almost 200 short studies covering the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. Both books by the Ellises can be ordered from the publisher, The Banner of Truth Trust. We trust that these daily Bible readings, posted daily on our site, will be helpful to you in your Christian walk before God. Whether married or not, all of us are members of families and members of the family of God.

Charles Ellis was educated at Wheaton College and Westminster Theological Seminary. Upon graduation from Westminster (where he earned not only a Th.B. but also a Th.M.), he was ordained to the ministry in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and pastored a number of OPC churches, including Immanuel OPC in West Collingswood, New Jersey; First OPC in Cincinnati, Ohio; Covenant OPC in East Orange, New Jersey; Knox OPC in Silver Spring, Maryland; and Lakeview OPC in Rockport, Maine. Less biographical information is available about his wife, but it is known that they served as parents of seven children. After retiring from the ministry, Charles Ellis went to be with the Lord in 2003, but he and his wife left us with a beautiful legacy in the two books they have given to the world, and we are proud to share the daily Bible readings from Heirs Together of Life here with you.