Daily Encounter: A Week-day Devotional by a staff of ACTS International.

Monday, May 20, 2013

A Gallop poll several years ago showed that the number one personal need expressed by 82 percent of the American adult population was having a "good family life."

In another study, Edward A. Rauff, director of the Research and Information Center of the Lutheran Council in the U.S.A., found that the dominant reason a high percentage of the respondents gave for establishing a relationship with a church was "to keep the family together and to strengthen family life."

That the church helps strengthen family life is supported by a study conducted by sociologist Steven Nock of the University of Virginia. His conclusions showed that couples who attend church regularly are 42 percent more likely to be married for the first time [that is, in their first marriage], and those in the church who were committed to its beliefs had a 23 percent better chance of having a "very happy" marriage than those who don't go to church.

In another study reported in Homemade, Warren Mueller reports that "in families where the father and mother both attend church regularly, 72 percent of their children remain faithful. If only dad goes, 55 percent remain faithful. If mom goes alone, fifteen percent of their children remain faithful.

"Conclusion? The example of parents is extremely important ... and children look to dad as leader."

The Bible says, "Let us not neglect our church meetings, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his [Christ's] coming back again is drawing near."¹

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, as a father, please help me model for my children and/or grandchildren the man/woman of God you want me to be, and help me always to be 'as Jesus' to them. And grant that they, seeing Jesus in me, will want Jesus to be in their life as well. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

1. Hebrews 10:25 (TLB)(NLT).

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