Rekindling the Flame: Discipleship, Hospitality, and the Urgent Call to Revival in Family Life

But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
(1 John 1:7, NLT)

A Critical Moment for Christian Families

               Our current world culture, and specifically, American culture, has wandered far from its Christian ideologies of the past. We are living in an era that is sometimes hostile to our faith. But we know that we were created by God for such a time as this. We are not here by mistake. God has put us here to be light in the ever-increasing darkness.

               I always tell my children, just because something is hard does not mean we don’t do it. I believe God is saying the same thing to his children today.

               We must acknowledge and embrace revival. It is not a luxury, but it is a necessity. Revival is not optional! Revival begins with us, in our hearts and minds. We absolutely must take our faith seriously. We cannot afford to play games or get caught up in pet sins or pet issues. We must focus on cultivating a sincere, deep, genuine faith that seeks God’s heart daily. We must know our Bibles and stand firm in the Truth.

And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority…You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins.  (Colossians 2:6-10, 13 NLT)

The Foundation of Discipleship: More Than Just Belief

               If you’ve followed my blog and podcasts for more than a few seconds, you know that at the heart of all I produce is discipleship. If we are Christ followers, we are his disciples. This means we are serious about growing closer to him and becoming more Christlike in our attitudes and actions. Following indicates action. We aren’t simply believing in Christ for our salvation so that we can go to heaven someday. We are following Christ because it is who we are, not just what we do.

               As disciples we live in a way that reflects the love of Christ, the truth of his word, the strength of his presence, and the guidance of his spirit in our daily activities. There is consistency between what we say we believe and how we live. We find ourselves thinking and behaving the same whether we are in church, with friends, or at home alone. Inconsistencies are red flags that we are compromising our faith or are playing church instead of being the Church.

               Our hearts’ desires include seeing our children also follow Christ with genuine fervor and sincerity. First, they need to be able to see how to live the Christian life through our example and learn about it through the scriptures. Second, we need to be intentional in nurturing our children spiritually within our families. It’s so much more than reading the Bible together, which is important, of course. But the conversations we have afterward or in the middle of a difficult day – those are what help truly disciple our children at a deeper level. It takes time and a willingness to capture those teachable moments and a plan to create those moments through discipleship lessons (if you are not aware, I have written a handbook for parents to help with this – you can check it out on my website: terriehellardbrown.com/books).

               Sometimes, we treat discipleship and revival as though they are things reversed for church or special times. Discipleship has often been deflated into a weekly Bible study at church, and revival has morphed into a desire for miraculous healings and sensationalism in church. I believe both of these are distortions from the true meaning of both words. Discipleship is a daily walk with God. It is a relationship that is vital and growing. Can you imagine waking up tomorrow and deciding to live the day as a lizard instead of a human? Sadly, today some people do decide to do something like this, and we see it as the insanity that it is. However, many of us do this as Christians. We choose to play with sin, hide our faith in front of certain friends, or simply live how we choose or think is right in spite of what we know the Bible teaches, and we’ll put on our “Sunday best” for church. This is spiritual insanity. We are Christians – we are disciples of Christ. We cannot be anything else if we are truly his. We must be daily growing in our understanding and practice of faith.

Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. (Philippians 2:12, NLT)

And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7, NLT)

You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others. (2 Timothy 2:2, NLT)

Hospitality as a Spiritual Discipline

               We’ve been talking a lot about hospitality for several weeks now. We know it is a powerful tool for creating connection and for true ministry. Real ministry is not listening to a preacher on Sunday. That is training and hopefully inspiration to do ministry, but the real ministry happens around kitchen tables, in coffee shops, on front porches, in living rooms, by hospital beds, and on basketball courts. Real ministry happens when there is connection and honest fellowship. Real discipleship grows from that. Every person needs to know they are seen, heard, and understood. Every heart has needs that Christ can meet, but he chooses to work through us most of the time. We are his hands and feet. That means we go and touch lives and reach out to people in pain – we connect in meaningful, eternally significant ways with those Christ has brought into our lives.

               Hebrews has the “Hall of Faith,” but let’s look at the “Hall of Hospitality” for a minute.

               Abraham and Sarah welcomed strangers sent from God by preparing food.

               Abraham’s chief servant found Rebekah to be Isaac’s wife because she offered water to him and brought him to her father’s home.

               Ruth showed care and true connection with her mother-in-law Naomi.

               Esther used hospitality by providing two banquets for the king and Haman to allow God to work and save his people.

The widow met the needs for housing and food for Elijah.

               Throughout the New Testament we see churches meeting in homes, sharing food, and spending time together.

               Mary, Martha, and Lazurus often opened their home to Jesus and the Disciples.

               Priscilla and Aquilla connected with Paul through their common vocation.

               From the way we think today, you would think the Bible would be all about churches, but really, the home is the center of activity in the Bible. Churches met in homes. Families, often several generations, taught about God in their homes. The home is the center of Christian life in the Bible and should be the center of Christian life today. Even with our churches and all they offer us, which is amazing and a blessing, the home should still be the center of our spiritual education and ministry connections. When we are hospitable, doors are opened for ministry and sharing Christ’s love with others.  

The Urgency of Christian Revival

               As I said at the beginning, revival is not optional. True revival is a deep excitement to know Christ with a strong determination to crucify self and humbly follow Christ in faithful obedience. But how can we experience daily revival, discipleship, and connection?

1. Share. We sometimes are silent about the things God is doing in our lives or what he has taught us. We must begin to be more open about what God is doing as well as what our needs and struggles are. We need to be transparent but with wisdom. We certainly don’t want to drive others away by sharing too much, but we cannot be silent. Pray together, Share together. Talk. Share food and time. Share struggles and challenges.
2. Create. Create visual reminders. In the Jewish tradition, the word of God is on the doorposts. We can have scripture hanging on our walls, posted on our fridge and bathroom mirrors, and in our phones. We can also create memorials of sorts that remind us of what God has done in our lives. For instance, I have birdcages in my office to remind me that Christ set me free, not only from my sin, but my fear and shyness. We may have a painting of a vineyard to remind of that Christ is the vine and we are the branches. Apart from him we can do nothing (John 15). Create spaces conducive to Bible study and prayer. Where would a family member go in your home to pray alone? Where would they go to pray with another family member? Where do you each read your Bible each day?
3. Schedule. Plan times for family prayer and Bible study. We may want to plan to read scripture together every morning at the breakfast table. We may have bedtime prayers, but maybe we also need a time to share and write down prayer requests and answered prayers. If we don’t plan for it in our schedule, other things will crowd it out.
4. Check. Check our attitudes. We can squelch revival with our anger and impatience. When we act out of childish selfishness or pride, we quench what the Holy Spirit is trying to do. So, we need to check our attitudes and actions. We need to honestly repent when we mess up. That doesn’t mean we don’t discipline or deal with the hard parts of parenting. If we handle those without the temper tantrums (I mean our temper tantrums, not our children’s), we build a sense of holiness and revival even in the times of confrontation and correction. We need to pray for grace and wisdom so we can parent well.
5. Worship. Shabbat is the Jewish practice of a day of rest which begins with preparing the evening meal on Friday to worship and share together. We may not have a Friday night tradition. Maybe we have a Sunday lunch tradition, but whenever we choose to do it, we should plan a weekly time of focus on God and family, a time of family worship in our home. It doesn’t need to be elaborate. We simply slow down enough to reflect on the week, connect with each other, and connect with God together through a meal, prayer, and possibly some kind of worship – reading the Bible, singing, or sharing testimonies.   

The key to being practical with revival, discipleship, and hospitality is planning for it. We plan for revival by following the admonitions of 2 Chronicles. We plan for discipleship by following the commands of Luke. And we plan for hospitality by obeying Romans and Hebrews.

Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14, NLT)

Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. (Luke 9:23, NLT)

When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. (Romans 12:13, NLT)

Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies. (Hebrews 13:2-3, NLT)

An Invitation and a Calling

               God is giving us an invitation today to live a life on connection, discipleship, and revival. Revival starts in our hearts and in our homes. Discipleship is the same. It’s not too late for either, but we must start now. We must seek the Lord with all our hearts and commit our ways to him.

               We must ask God to show us where we are holding back in our commitment to him. He will reveal where we need to repent and surrender.

               We must commit to read our Bibles daily and sincerely, deeply pray daily. We need God’s strength and wisdom in everything.

               God has us here at this time for a purpose. We can help change the world, but that usually means we start with humbling ourselves, and then we touch the lives around us – our children, our family, and our friends. Then, God may widen our reach to others, but he is orchestrating it, and we are obeying him.

               The people around us need to see Jesus, and God has each of us where we are, at this time to do just that. We can be his hands and feet to this generation. Then, we can wait and see what all God will do as we embrace a deeper faith and sense of community, accepting it as our God-given calling.

But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:15b, NLT)

All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. (Acts 2:42, NLT)

Won’t you revive us again, so your people can rejoice in you? (Psalm 85:6, NLT)