Daily Bread

O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. Psalm 119:97

We're all familiar with the nutritional listings on food and beverage packages. Most of us are interested in total calories per serving, especially calories coming from good or bad fat, as well as readings on carbohydrates, sugar and sodium. But while these government-regulated fact lists work well for food required by our physical body, what if a similar kind of list were available to help us evaluate the spiritual content of the products we consume?
What if every TV program, magazine, book, DVD or CD revealed the "recommended daily allowance" of the spiritual necessities it provided--things like holiness, truth, forgiveness, perseverance, grace, justice and repentance? How many of them, rather than supplying anything we need, would be shown to actually deplete us, stripping away whatever spiritual health we already have?

But there is one product--the Bible--that is guaranteed to provide everyone in your family with the perfect blend of spiritual nourishment. Whether packaged in cheap paper or top-grain leather, the Bible comes complete with "everything required for life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:3, HCSB).

Although most Christians today express a deep fondness for the Scriptures, they are apparently failing to feast on it. Noted researcher George Barna has reported that fewer than 4 in 10 born-again Christians read the Bible on their own even once in a typical week. A similar FamilyLife survey conducted in churches throughout the United States found that two-thirds of couples read or discussed the Bible together but only occasionally.

If you want a spiritually healthy family, you must make sure that each member consumes a healthy diet of the everlasting Word of God. It's the difference between a healthy spiritual life and lifelessness.

Discuss
What are the chief threats to keeping the Bible central in your family's life? What are we saying when we let those things take prominence over the Scriptures?

Pray
Pray for daily consumption of the Word, both in priority and in practice.

Excerpted from Moments With You by Dennis and Barbara Rainey

Dennis Rainey

President, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Co-Founder

Dennis Rainey is the President and CEO of FamilyLife, a subsidiary of Campus Crusade for Christ. Since the organization began in 1976, Dennis' leadership has enabled FamilyLife to grow into a dynamic and vital ministry that offers families blueprints for living godly lives.

Dennis has authored or co-authored more than two dozen books including the best sellingMoments Together for Couples and Staying Close. He has also received two Golden Medallion Awards from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. Dennis serves as the senior editor of the HomeBuilders Couples Series® which has sold over 2.5 million copies and has been translated into 47 languages.

A powerful and effective communicator, Dennis can be heard daily as co-host of the nationally syndicated radio program FamilyLife Today®. For his work in radio, Dennis was the recipient of the National Religious Broadcasters Radio Program of the Year Award twice. Dennis serves on the Board of Directors of FamilyLife and Dallas Theological Seminary. He has also served in the past as a member of the Board of Directors for the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA).

Dennis has spoken at numerous Weekend to Remember Marriage Getaways across the United States and internationally, but also for Promise Keepers events, YPO University, Fellowship Forum and at FamilyLife's I Still Do® and Rekindling the Romance® events. He has testified on family issues before Congress and has appeared on numerous radio and television programs.

Dennis earned a degree in business administration from the University of Arkansas and a master's degree in Biblical studies from Dallas Theological Seminary. He also holds an honorary doctorate from Trinity Evangelical University and Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois.

Dennis and Barbara have been married since 1972 and love laughing with their six children and numerous grandchildren. In his spare time, Dennis enjoys helping Barbara in her garden, reading great books, and pursuing his passions for hunting and fishing.