PSALM 127

1 Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.
2 In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for he grants sleep to [a] those he loves.
3 Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him.
4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one's youth.
5 Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court.

Today I begin my blogging series on the above mentioned Psalm. What this Psalm has to say is what I am most passionate about. If you asked most people that know me what I am most passionate about the answer would be sports. Well, I do love sports, especially football and baseball, but there is nothing in this world more important to me than home and family. My next several blog posts will be concerning Home and family. Yes, "Home and Family according to the Single Guy".

First, a little background. The family that I grew up with was in no way shape or form stable. Also, that is the case still to this today. I am going to post more on this later and discuss the erroneous thought that if you did not grow up with a strong family, then you yourself will not grow a strong family.

Today, I want to focus on the 1st part of the Psalm that says,
"Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain"

I think it seems fairly obvious that this is not talking about a physical house. It is clear if you read the remainder of the Psalm that the Psalmist is referring to a family. The question that needs to be answered is how would a house that the Lord built look? I would contend that if we were to evaluate the vast majority of American homes who claim to be Christian, they would not look like a house that the Lord built. That sounds bad, but stay with me to the end.

According to some statistics, over 95% of families that attend Southern Baptist Churches (I attend a Southern Baptist Church) there is no family devotional time at home. This is one of the most heart breaking things I have ever heard. Here is the problem, if you are going to have a Godly home that is built by the Lord, you most know his word and be in close relationship with Jesus. This is not something that can be accomplished by attending church and being under the word(That is a big part of growing, but does not replace it). This is something that you must make a priority in your home. Actually, it should be the number one priority. If you would do a little study of the scripture, you would find that the role of husband and pastor are very similar. There is no way you would accept a pastor that does not know the Word and making every effort to know the Word more. For guys, if you desire to be married and find a wife (which according to the Proverbs is a good thing), you better be in the Word. Ladies, if you are looking to be married, the 1st thing you need to know, is this Man a student of the Word of the Living God. Here is my free advice: If he is not, do not consider him future marriage potential. The First thing that a house the Lord builds has is time in the word of the Living God.

The 1st characteristic of a house that is built by the Lord is study of God's Word. The 2nd characteristic is that it is a house of prayer. In my own upbringing, I have only seen one of my parents pray one time, and the other I have never seen pray. This is very important, because if we are not seeking the counsel of the Lord, we are wasting our time and all of our work will be in vain. A house that prays together shows the proper respect for the authority of things. I can read, discuss and hope for everything to work out, but if I do not seek God, it will not work out. Also, it can help you get through some tough times. How many marriages would have been saved if instead of arguing about things, the couple and or kids got on their face before the Holy God and sought his wisdom. We all have our opinions, but what if a home set that aside each day and had each day influenced by prayer? If you are married and not praying with your family begin today. If you are single, begin praying for your future family today......You may not know them by name yet, but you can begin lifting them up now.

The final point for today is as follows: A house that the Lord builds is a house of service. This is a place where I as a single guy see a lot of marriages could really be built up. If you are married, think what an opportunity you have. Jesus said he came not to be served, but to serve. Therefore, what if each person in a house put the others in front of themselves. What if the husband and wife were always serving each other and the kids. Instead of worrying about what you can do for me, think what can I do for you. (Aside, this also works for the local church. If you attend a church, please attend as a servant and not a consumer). This is the height of spirituality, to be able to lay your life down for someone else (There is a good example of this in recorded history (His name is Jesus)). This is really a lot of idealism from me in this post. I am working to come up with some practical ways to put this into practice. I will post some ways I think married folks can do this, and some ways the we single folks can practice this.

Marriage and family are one of the greatest gifts that God gives us. If marriage is done right, it is supposed to be the greatest illustration that we have of Heaven. The opposite of that might be marriage gone wrong is Hell on Earth, but it should not be. The main reason that there is no marriage in Heaven is because you don't need the illustration when you have the real thing. Hopefully, a lot of Christian married people are experiencing Heaven on Earth.

If a home is not studying the Scripture, praying together and serving each other, it is not being built by the Lord. If this is not going on, that home will crumble.