In what ways can I establish a godly home despite my childhood background?

Joshua 24:15“Choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”

Proverbs 14:1A wise woman builds her home, but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands.

Proverbs 31:27She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness.

Regardless of our childhood backgrounds, establishing a godly home requires effort and commitment.

Psalm 127:1Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good.

Proverbs 24:3-4A house is built by wisdom and becomes strong through good sense. Through knowledge its rooms are filled with all sorts of precious riches and valuables.

Godly homes are built on God’s wisdom and obedience to his Word. We can only know the secrets of a godly home by regularly reading his instructions in the Bible.

Deuteronomy 11:19-20“Teach them 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. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates”

2 Timothy 3:14-15You must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus.

We build godly homes by sharing God’s Word with our children.

Judges 13:8Then Manoah prayed to the Lord, saying, “Lord, please let the man of God come back to us again and give us more instructions about this son who is to be born.”

James 5:16Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

We build godly homes through prayer about the concerns of our families.

Joshua 8:35Every word of every command that Moses had ever given was read to the entire assembly of Israel, including the women and children and the foreigners who lived among them.

2 Chronicles 20:13As all the men of Judah stood before the Lord with their little ones, wives, and children.

Ezra 8:21There by the Ahava Canal, I gave orders for all of us to fast and humble ourselves before our God. We prayed that he would give us a safe journey and protect us, our children, and our goods as we traveled.

Nehemiah 12:43Many sacrifices were offered on that joyous day, for God had given the people cause for great joy. The women and children also participated in the celebration, and the joy of the people of Jerusalem could be heard far away.

We build godly homes as we worship together as families.

1 Corinthians 7:14The believing wife brings holiness to her marriage, and the believing husband brings holiness to his marriage. Otherwise, your children would not be holy, but now they are holy.

We build godly homes by modeling godly living and thus influence our children to do the same.

1 Kings 9:4“As for you, . . . follow me with integrity and godliness, as David your father did, obeying all my commands, decrees, and regulations.”

2 Chronicles 17:3The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of his father’s early years and did not worship the images of Baal.

2 Chronicles 20:32Jehoshaphat was a good king, following the ways of his father, Asa. He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight.

2 Chronicles 26:4He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, just as his father, Amaziah, had done.

2 Chronicles 27:2Jotham did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight. He did everything his father, Uzziah, had done, except that Jotham did not sin by entering the Temple of the Lord. But the people continued in their corrupt ways.

Psalm 101:2I will be careful to live a blameless life—when will you come to help me? I will lead a life of integrity in my own home.

2 Timothy 1:5I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you.

We build godly homes by making God-honoring choices and by leading lives of integrity. Often, the next generation follows the examples we have set.