The Answer Book: A Devotional for Busy Families

By Nancy Ruth

The Answer Book: A Devotional for Busy Families recognizes that todays families keep hectic schedules, often leaving mere scraps of time for asking and answering spiritual questions. Nancy Ruth brings years of experience in childrens ministry and a masters degree in theology to bear in crafting a seven-week set of daily devotions that offers families assistance in exploring how to live as Christians.

Adults, who sometimes find children challenging them with hard questions about the Christian life, will find The Answer Book enables them to ask those questions as a family, to listen to Gods Word, and to discover its answers. Each weekly section addresses a major topic, including truth, the reasons for spending time with God, the identity of Jesus, and family discipleship. Each daily devotion shares a brief reflection, suggests a Bible reading, presents an On the Road challenge to the family, and calls for a Weapon Check, in which one memorizes key scriptural passages.

As you spend time around your children, you may wonder what drives them to ask endlessly, Why? The Answer Book: A Devotional for Busy Families gives you a structuredyet flexibleway to turn small blocks of time into moments for taking seriously their deep and heartfelt questions. By spending some time together as a family with these questions and with the message God reveals in the Scriptures, you will grow together to trust God more fully, to build your lives on a strong foundation, and to be prepared for lifes coming challenges.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Feb 18, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490868905

Nancy Ruth

Nancy Ruth began ministering to families at a young age, growing up to serve churches across the country as a children’s director and volunteer. Along the way, she earned a master of divinity. Around her current church and family responsibilities, she substitute-teaches and writes. Find out more at ParentRoadMin.com.

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Copyright © 2015 Nancy Ruth.

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THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-6891-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-6892-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-6890-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015901681

WestBow Press rev. date: 3/17/2015

Contents

How Does This Work?

When Is the Best Time to Do This?

Week 1: What Is a Worldview?

Week 2: Is There Only One Truth?

Week 3: Why Spend Time with God?

Week 4: Who Are the People God Can Use?

Week 5: Who Is Jesus?

Week 6: How Can You Be Changed?

Week 7: How Can a Family Follow God?

When a Child Is Ready

Why Stop Here?

Endnotes

To my family

Thank you for grounding me in God’s Word

and supporting me in the calling He placed on my life.

How Does This Work?

You hold in your hands a family Bible study examining a Christian worldview. It begins with the foundation of What is a worldview? and explores where one goes to find the answers to life’s questions.

Each weekly topic is broken into five days of family study, with two optional shorter days. Strive to complete the five full days every week. If you get one or two of the additional shorter days as well, wonderful! If not, just skip them.

Weekly On the Road Family Challenges involve your whole family—even the little ones—adding action to the study of God’s Word.

These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (Deuteronomy 6:6—7, NIV)

The daily Want More? box suggests extra reading for older children, teenagers, or adults who wish to study the topic further. You are encouraged to read the endnotes, as they provide further information and great additional resources as well. Don’t take my word for it. Study Scripture, do your homework, and find your answers! God welcomes your questions (Matthew 7:7—8; James 1:5; Deuteronomy 4:29).¹

A daily Weapon Check breaks memory verses into doable chunks even busy family members and younger children can manage. Each day begins with a memory prompt, then adds a few more words from the verse. Soon you know the whole thing! Feel free to add your own verses.

Weekly small-group guides are also available if you’d like to invite some friends to do this study with you. They are designed for two families up to as many as you’d like. No teaching experience is necessary to use these guides.

May God bless you and your family as you study His Word. May He guide your discussions and draw you closer to Himself. Praise be to the Lord God Almighty, who holds all things in His hands! Amen.

Nancy Ruth

Parent Road Ministries

When Is the Best Time to Do This?

You will need to find the time that works best for your family. Keep trying different times of the day until you find what works for you. Keep in mind that as schedules change (e.g., basketball season starts), the best time to have your family devotional time may shift as well.

Here are some times that have worked for other families to get you started.

• a little earlier in the morning over breakfast, before everyone leaves for school and work

• going directly to music/dance lessons/sports practice after school and doing family devotions in the car before it starts

• just before bed

• around the dinner table

What do you think will work best for your family? Don’t be afraid to try a different time if that one seems to not be working.

Dear Lord,

You are God Almighty

and I praise You!²

Thank You that You have

all the answers to all of life’s questions.

I admit that I do not know everything.

Please teach me.

Help me to find the answers

to the questions that I have.

Please show me the way.

Please take my thoughts and desires.

Show me ways I see things

that are not the way You see things.

Shape me like Play-Doh

so I can be more like You.

I want to know and follow You

in every area of my life,

not just when it is easy

or fits what I already want to do.

Help me to stay faithful to this study

and draw me closer to You.

May I walk away at the end of this time

changed because I encountered You.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

Week 1, Day 1: What Is a Worldview?

What is your favorite food? What is your favorite outfit? Who is in your family? What is one thing you do at work, school, or home? What is your favorite movie? Game? What is your favorite song or type of music? What church do you go to? Who is your best friend?

W

ant More

?

Read Galatians 5-6. What should be the attitude of a forgiven believer looking at those fallen in the world?

All of these things shape what is called a worldview. Does anyone in your family wear glasses? When someone sees things around them as fuzzy or blurry, they get glasses to help them see more clearly. A worldview helps us see the world more clearly and make decisions easier. It helps us decide what is good to eat, what to wear, what to do with our time, how to treat other people, and how to think about things. We learn how to do all of this from our families, friends, teachers, churches, and other things we watch and hear.

Speaking about five- to twelve-year-olds, George Barna said, "If you want to shape a person’s life—whether you are most concerned about his or her moral, spiritual, physical, intellectual, emotional or economic development—it is during these crucial