May 25, 2008
Spiritual Fruit - Faithfulness
Semper Fi.
FIRST SERVICE INTRO:
A man was leaving church one Sunday. He stopped in front of the preacher to shake hands. The preacher grabbed the man’s hands and pulled him aside. The pastor told him, “You need to join the army of the Lord.” The man replied, “I’m already in the army of the Lord, Pastor.” The minister then questioned, “Then why don’t I see you here more often?” The man whispered back, “I’m in the secret service.”
Serving the Lord was never meant to be a secret. Spiritual fruit are supposed to be apparent. The fruit must be visible in what we say and do. They are signs that we are in the army of the Lord. Today, we arrive at the spiritual fruit of faithfulness.
SECOND SERVICE INTRO:
A rather harried preacher, speaking to his congregation on a Sunday morning, said, “The philosophy of ministry that worked in the 60s didn’t work in the 70s. What worked in the 70s didn’t work in the 80s. And what worked in the 80s didn’t work in the 90s. We are now in a new decade and a new millennium. Let’s hope what worked in our first service will still work in the second service. Things change pretty fast, but not that fast, right? And, believe it or not, some things never change - like the timeless truths of the Bible. We are studying the spiritual fruit. Today we are on 7 of 9 – the fruit of faithfulness.
Many of you remember the terrorist bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut during the Regain presidency. A few days after the bombing, Marine Corps Commandant Paul Kelly, visited some of the wounded survivors at the Army Hospital in Frankfurt, Germany. Among them was Corporal Jeffrey Lee Nashton, severely wounded in the incident. Nashton had so many tubes running in and out of his body that a witness said he looked more like a machine than a man; yet he survived.
As Kelly neared him, Nashton, struggling to move and racked with pain, motioned for a piece of paper and a pen. He wrote a brief note and passed it back to the Commandant. On the slip of paper were but two words -- "Semper Fi" the Latin motto of the Marines meaning "forever faithful." With those two simple words Nashton spoke for the millions of Americans who have sacrificed body and limb and their lives for their country -- those who have remained faithful. (J. Dobson & Gary Bauer, Children at Risk, Word, 1990, pp. 187-188.)
On this Memorial Day Sunday, we honor our veterans and remember the supreme sacrifice made by many precious soles. Let’s take a moment of silence. We will never forget!
I wonder if God finds us “Semper Fi”? The fruit of the spirit is…faithfulness… This spiritual fruit is about being “tried and true.” Can God count on us? Are we tried and true? Do we do what we say we are going to do? Are we reliable? To God? To people?
The author of Ecclesiastes wrote: “It is better not to make a vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it” (5:5). Jesus echoed this when he said, “(Mat 5:33 NIV) "Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord...simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No';” (Mat 5:37, 39 NIV). And something must have rubbed off on James, Jesus’ brother, because he wrote in the book that bears his name, (James 5:12 NIV) “Above all, my brothers, do not swear--not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your "Yes" be yes, and your "No," no, or you will be condemned.”
Our words will make us or break us. What we say and the result of what we say will form our judgment. Good intentions won’t hold up under scrutiny. The great deciding factor will be this: did our actions mach our words? Were we a “follow through” people?
As I was setting at the car shop Friday having Betsy’s brakes worked on, I shared the waiting room with a lady who was on her cell phone. She was a nice lady; she spoke with enough volume that it was impossible not to overhear the conversation. She commented to someone that she did not like a particular co-worker because she was two-faced. I took that to mean that the co-worker acted nice to your face, but behind your back, look out for the knife. That person was unreliable. The comment made me think - what do others see in us? Are we reliable? Are we steady – the same to someone’s face as much as to their backs? And does that behavior reflect God in some way?
Verizon has some interesting commercials. The person who has Verizon is traveling with the Verizon network. The idea is that there are a team of professionals and techs always standing by to support us and assure that our network is functioning and reliable. If you have Verizon, you are never left alone; you have everything you need so that you can do what you need to do. Some Verizon customers that I have talked to say that this works better in theory than practice. On the other hand, if we have Jesus, we always have support. We are never, ever left alone, but we have all that we need to be able to do what we should be doing.
What should we be doing? When we commit to something, we should do it. If we are on a committee or team, we should follow through with attendance and homework assignments. If we are in a helping ministry, we should be a team player and share the load. If we say we are a Christian, the fruit must show. What should we be doing? We should be loving, patient, kind, faithful. There are probably few who exhibit every spiritual fruit all the time. But as a Christian, we should be progressing toward that goal. Just like Clarence Jordan.
Clarence Jordan was a man of unusual abilities and commitment. He had two Ph.D.s, one in agriculture and one in Greek and Hebrew. So gifted was he, he could have chosen to do anything he wanted. He chose to serve the poor. In the 1940s, he founded a farm in Americus, Georgia, and called it Koinonia Farm. It was a community for poor whites and poor blacks. As you might guess, such an idea did not go over well in the Deep South of the '40s. Ironically, much of the resistance came from good church people who followed the laws of segregation as much as the other folk in town. The town people tried everything to stop Clarence. They tried boycotting him, and slashing workers' tires when they came to town. Over and over, for fourteen years, they tried to stop him.
Finally, in 1954, the Ku Klux Klan had enough of Clarence Jordan, so they decided to get rid of him once and for all. They came one night with guns and torches and set fire to every building on Koinonia Farm but Clarence's home, which they riddled with bullets. And they chased off all the families except one black family which refused to leave. Clarence recognized the voices of many of the Klansmen, and, as you might guess, some of them were church people. Another was the local newspaper's reporter. The next day, the reporter came out to see what remained of the farm. The rubble still smoldered and the land was scorched, but he found Clarence in the field, hoeing and planting. "I heard the awful news," he called to Clarence, "and I came out to do a story on the tragedy of your farm closing." Clarence just kept on hoeing and planting. The reporter kept prodding, kept poking, trying to get a rise from this quietly determined man who seemed to be planting instead of packing his bags. So, finally, the reporter said in a haughty voice, "Well, Dr. Jordan, you got two of them Ph.D.s and you've put fourteen years into this farm, and there's nothing left of it at all. Just how successful do you think you've been?"
Clarence stopped hoeing, turned toward the reporter with his penetrating blue eyes, and said quietly but firmly, "About as successful as the cross. Sir, I don't think you understand us. What we are about is not success but faithfulness. We're staying. Good day." Beginning that day, Clarence and his companions rebuilt Koinonia and the farm is going strong today. (Tim Hansel, Holy Sweat, Word Books Publisher, 1987, pp. 188-189.
Clarence was faithful to God first – whether in big things or in small things. All the rest took care of itself.
Fred Craddock is one of my favorite preachers. He is now retired, but for quite some time he taught preaching at Candler Theological Seminary. We used his books at Ashland Theological Seminary, and I met him in person and had him sign one of my books. Speaking of small things, In an address to ministers, he said, "To give my life for Christ appears glorious," he said. "To pour myself out for others. . . to pay the ultimate price of martyrdom -- I'll do it. I'm ready, Lord, to go out in a blaze of glory. "We think giving our all to the Lord is like taking $l,000 bill and laying it on the table-- 'Here's my life, Lord. I'm giving it all.' But the reality for most of us is that he sends us to the bank and has us cash in the $l,000 for quarters. We go through life putting out 25 cents here and 50 cents there. Listen to the neighbor kid's troubles instead of saying, 'Get lost.' Go to a committee meeting. Give a cup of water to a shaky old man in a nursing home. Usually giving our life to Christ isn't glorious. It's done in all those little acts of love, 25 cents at time. It would be easy to go out in a flash of glory; it's harder to live the Christian life little by little over the long haul." (Darryl Bell.)
“Dont' waste your time waiting and longing for large opportunitis which may never come. But faithfully handle the little things that are always claiming your attention.” (F.B. Meyer.)
May we be found Semper Fi.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
Sunday, May 18, 2008
"Is God Always Good?"
“God is Good - all the time.
All the time - God is good.”
Do we really believe this? We see many things that seem to deny that God is good: China earthquake, Midwestern and southern tornadoes. Diseases. Death. Demise. When bad happens instead of good, is God still good?
A man was cutting trees for firewood and one tree landed on top of him. He broke some ribs, punctured a lung and crushed some vertebrae in his back. A pastor visited him and told the man that he would be praying for him. To that the man commented, “Where was God a few days ago?” The minister replied, “The very fact that you are alive to question God’s presence and care show that God was indeed around and even providing help.” If we are still here to question, then it stands to reason that God is at least good enough to keep a body alive.
This man will mend completely. What about when injuries don’t mend, or diseases aren’t healed or when help doesn’t come? What about something as bad as, let’s say, a concentration camp? Let’s take a page from Corrie Ten Boom’s diary. Corrie and her family were put in a German concentration camp during World War II and faced the worse examples of human hatred.
“Often I have heard people say, ‘How good God is! We prayed that it would not rain for our church picnic, and look at the lovely weather!’ Yes, God is good when He sends good weather. But God was also good when He allowed my sister, Betsie, to starve to death before my eyes in a German concentration camp. I remember one occasion when I was very discouraged there. Everything around us was dark, and there was darkness in my heart. I remember telling Betsie that I thought God had forgotten us. ‘No, Corrie,’ said Betsie, ‘He has not forgotten us. Remember His Word: “For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him.” ” Corrie concludes, “There is an ocean of God’s love available—there is plenty for everyone. May God grant you never to doubt that victorious love—whatever the circumstances.” (Source unknown)
How does someone write that?
Let’s take another example. One of God’s faithful missionaries, Allen Gardiner, experienced many physical difficulties and hardships throughout his service to the Savior. Despite his troubles, he said, “While God gives me strength, failure will not daunt me.”
In 1851, at the age of 57, he died of disease and starvation while serving on Picton Island at the southern tip of South America. When his body was found, his diary lay nearby. It bore the record of hunger, thirst, wounds, and loneliness. The last entry in his little book showed the struggle of his shaking hand as he tried to write legibly. It read, “I am overwhelmed with a sense of the goodness of God.”(Source unknown)
How does someone write that?
Let’s put this a little closer to home. If Susan’s car accident would have led to loss of health or worse, would God still have been good?
That depends on what you think of God! The ability to believe that God is good regardless of what happens is based on a right understanding of God’s nature. Is God good? Is God’s nature always a good nature? Let’s see!
The psalmist thought God was good:
1 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; for His lovingkindness is everlasting (Psalms 107:1).
2 I said to the LORD, “Thou art my Lord; I have no good besides Thee” (Psalms 16:2).
You cannot have goodness without God, just as you cannot have God without goodness. Romans draws a divide between us and God when it comes to goodness: “there is no one good, no not one” in and of themselves.
When Jesus was called a “good teacher” he replied: “There is only one who is Good.” True goodness cannot be understood apart from God.
James mentions that every good and perfect gift is from above (1:17). God is good. He gives good things. And yet, we still have the problem of bad or evil. This is presented in the second chapter of the first book of the Bible – God planted a tree in the garden – a tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve would go on to disobey God and forever change the course of human history. A disobedient decision in the Garden of Eden put us in a world where pain – sometimes terrible pain – is a stark reality.
Humanity is paying the price for the original sin. Romans says as much: one man sinned and because of that, all have sinned.
God is good, and apart from Him we are not good. But with God in us through Christ, we can do good things. It was part of our original nature to be good. And if we can do good things for Christ’s sake, our goodness can lead others to a good God.
Wayne gave me a card from the Terry Tekyle seminar on prayer. The card gives directions on how to pray for the lost. One of the requirements is asking God to change your actions so that others can see God at work in you. Our good acts in Christ will lead to the one who is truly, fully good.
The fruit of the spirit is goodness. The word for goodness in Galatians 5:22 is “agathose.” Do you know anyone named “Agatha?” This is the same word. Implied in its meaning is “action” – works of goodness. Some translations use the word “generosity.” This spiritual fruit is talking about works of goodness fueled by God working in a person. We are talking about good works – not as a means of earning God’s approval – but as the result of God living in a heart. It is a spiritual fruit – one of 9 characteristics visable in the life of a Christian. It is an inheritance from the Father – a way of living because Christ is present.
It is also a profound perspective based on Romans 8:28 – all things work for good. A believer will know in their heart of hearts that God uses every situation to produce a greater good – sometimes seen, sometimes unseen.
This is the way it was for Randy Hoyt. He stood by helpless as his wife Kris went into the hospital for an emergency Caesarean section operation when only 5 months pregnant. As the doctors battled to save her life Randy cried out to God "God, what do you want? I know you can heal her; why don't you?"
God didn't heal her. Randy was left the single parent of six children.
"What about our plans, God?" he asked. "Who will teach the kids, guide them, and love them like their mother?"
Randy soon found out. A program was started which became known as "Help Bring Hope to the Hoyt Kids." Over the next six months, hundreds of people worked, sent money, donated meals and supplies and poured love into Randy's family. Randy received more than 500 letters, e-mails and cards from people who said they were praying for them.
At the end of the six months the medical bills were all paid, the mortgage has been paid and Randy is back at work. God did not save his wife, but God's love was ministered to Randy and his children in deeply profound ways after Kris' death.
The pain of Kris' departure remained. Yet when he started to sink into despair Randy could imagine the two of them in heaven together, fully alive, healthy and full of joy. "See her as she is now," he felt the Holy Spirit saying. "She is alive."
Reflecting upon his experience Randy says, "I asked God for the life of my wife; I received instead a lesson on the nature of God. God is good. Armed with that knowledge, I have no fear for today or the future. God will always be enough…for any situation." (Source: reported by Randy Hoyt, "Seeing God," Pentecostal Evangel, January 21, 2001, pp.14-15)
But the fruit of the spirit is…goodness…
"Is God Always Good?"
“God is Good - all the time.
All the time - God is good.”
Do we really believe this? We see many things that seem to deny that God is good: China earthquake, Midwestern and southern tornadoes. Diseases. Death. Demise. When bad happens instead of good, is God still good?
A man was cutting trees for firewood and one tree landed on top of him. He broke some ribs, punctured a lung and crushed some vertebrae in his back. A pastor visited him and told the man that he would be praying for him. To that the man commented, “Where was God a few days ago?” The minister replied, “The very fact that you are alive to question God’s presence and care show that God was indeed around and even providing help.” If we are still here to question, then it stands to reason that God is at least good enough to keep a body alive.
This man will mend completely. What about when injuries don’t mend, or diseases aren’t healed or when help doesn’t come? What about something as bad as, let’s say, a concentration camp? Let’s take a page from Corrie Ten Boom’s diary. Corrie and her family were put in a German concentration camp during World War II and faced the worse examples of human hatred.
“Often I have heard people say, ‘How good God is! We prayed that it would not rain for our church picnic, and look at the lovely weather!’ Yes, God is good when He sends good weather. But God was also good when He allowed my sister, Betsie, to starve to death before my eyes in a German concentration camp. I remember one occasion when I was very discouraged there. Everything around us was dark, and there was darkness in my heart. I remember telling Betsie that I thought God had forgotten us. ‘No, Corrie,’ said Betsie, ‘He has not forgotten us. Remember His Word: “For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him.” ” Corrie concludes, “There is an ocean of God’s love available—there is plenty for everyone. May God grant you never to doubt that victorious love—whatever the circumstances.” (Source unknown)
How does someone write that?
Let’s take another example. One of God’s faithful missionaries, Allen Gardiner, experienced many physical difficulties and hardships throughout his service to the Savior. Despite his troubles, he said, “While God gives me strength, failure will not daunt me.”
In 1851, at the age of 57, he died of disease and starvation while serving on Picton Island at the southern tip of South America. When his body was found, his diary lay nearby. It bore the record of hunger, thirst, wounds, and loneliness. The last entry in his little book showed the struggle of his shaking hand as he tried to write legibly. It read, “I am overwhelmed with a sense of the goodness of God.”(Source unknown)
How does someone write that?
Let’s put this a little closer to home. If Susan’s car accident would have led to loss of health or worse, would God still have been good?
That depends on what you think of God! The ability to believe that God is good regardless of what happens is based on a right understanding of God’s nature. Is God good? Is God’s nature always a good nature? Let’s see!
The psalmist thought God was good:
1 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; for His lovingkindness is everlasting (Psalms 107:1).
2 I said to the LORD, “Thou art my Lord; I have no good besides Thee” (Psalms 16:2).
You cannot have goodness without God, just as you cannot have God without goodness. Romans draws a divide between us and God when it comes to goodness: “there is no one good, no not one” in and of themselves.
When Jesus was called a “good teacher” he replied: “There is only one who is Good.” True goodness cannot be understood apart from God.
James mentions that every good and perfect gift is from above (1:17). God is good. He gives good things. And yet, we still have the problem of bad or evil. This is presented in the second chapter of the first book of the Bible – God planted a tree in the garden – a tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve would go on to disobey God and forever change the course of human history. A disobedient decision in the Garden of Eden put us in a world where pain – sometimes terrible pain – is a stark reality.
Humanity is paying the price for the original sin. Romans says as much: one man sinned and because of that, all have sinned.
God is good, and apart from Him we are not good. But with God in us through Christ, we can do good things. It was part of our original nature to be good. And if we can do good things for Christ’s sake, our goodness can lead others to a good God.
Wayne gave me a card from the Terry Tekyle seminar on prayer. The card gives directions on how to pray for the lost. One of the requirements is asking God to change your actions so that others can see God at work in you. Our good acts in Christ will lead to the one who is truly, fully good.
The fruit of the spirit is goodness. The word for goodness in Galatians 5:22 is “agathose.” Do you know anyone named “Agatha?” This is the same word. Implied in its meaning is “action” – works of goodness. Some translations use the word “generosity.” This spiritual fruit is talking about works of goodness fueled by God working in a person. We are talking about good works – not as a means of earning God’s approval – but as the result of God living in a heart. It is a spiritual fruit – one of 9 characteristics visable in the life of a Christian. It is an inheritance from the Father – a way of living because Christ is present.
It is also a profound perspective based on Romans 8:28 – all things work for good. A believer will know in their heart of hearts that God uses every situation to produce a greater good – sometimes seen, sometimes unseen.
This is the way it was for Randy Hoyt. He stood by helpless as his wife Kris went into the hospital for an emergency Caesarean section operation when only 5 months pregnant. As the doctors battled to save her life Randy cried out to God "God, what do you want? I know you can heal her; why don't you?"
God didn't heal her. Randy was left the single parent of six children.
"What about our plans, God?" he asked. "Who will teach the kids, guide them, and love them like their mother?"
Randy soon found out. A program was started which became known as "Help Bring Hope to the Hoyt Kids." Over the next six months, hundreds of people worked, sent money, donated meals and supplies and poured love into Randy's family. Randy received more than 500 letters, e-mails and cards from people who said they were praying for them.
At the end of the six months the medical bills were all paid, the mortgage has been paid and Randy is back at work. God did not save his wife, but God's love was ministered to Randy and his children in deeply profound ways after Kris' death.
The pain of Kris' departure remained. Yet when he started to sink into despair Randy could imagine the two of them in heaven together, fully alive, healthy and full of joy. "See her as she is now," he felt the Holy Spirit saying. "She is alive."
Reflecting upon his experience Randy says, "I asked God for the life of my wife; I received instead a lesson on the nature of God. God is good. Armed with that knowledge, I have no fear for today or the future. God will always be enough…for any situation." (Source: reported by Randy Hoyt, "Seeing God," Pentecostal Evangel, January 21, 2001, pp.14-15)
But the fruit of the spirit is…goodness…
Mother's Day Sunday, May 11, 2008
"Spiritual Fruit: Kindness"
(Gal 5:22 NRSV) …the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness…
A little boy forgot his lines in a Sunday school presentation. His mother was in the front row to prompt him. She gestured and formed the words silently with her lips, but it did not help. Her son’s memory was blank. Finally, she leaned forward and whispered the cue, “I am the light of the world.” The child beamed and with great feeling and a loud, clear voice said, “My mother is the light of the world.” (Bits and Pieces, August 1989)
More Than a Mother by Kari Keshmiry:
When God set the world in place,
When He hung the stars in space,
When He made the land and the sea,
Then He made you and me.
He sat back and saw all that was good,
He saw things to be as they should.
Just one more blessing He had in store;
He created a mother, but whatever for?
He knew a mother would have a special place
To shine His reflection on her child’s face.
Oh, the power of a godly mother! A mother filled with Pentecost – the filling of the Holy Spirit – nothing can compare to! Now, I realize that not all mothers are godly! I realize that some of you may have had a terrible relationship or no relationship at all with your mother. Others may be profoundly missing their mother today. I am glad that God is both Mother and Father to us; and God enables us to be godly parents to our own and to others. Praise be to God.
Today’s spiritual fruit is “kindness.” I find it interesting that people who are often remembered most are those who were kind. A kind mother is a gem!
Susan and I paid a visit this past week to one of my college English and Composition professors, now retired, in Philippi, Leah Richards. She has not been well, and it had been sometime since I had seen her. I house set for her during the summer of 1986 while she traveled. I worked at the same church that she attended, and got to know her pretty well. When she saw me, I could tell that she remembered me. It was great to see her. As we were chatting, I told her that I had 2 very clear memories of her. First, she uncovered that my roommate had been pronouncing a word wrong just about his whole life. The word that he was mispronouncing was the word “category.” He had been pronouncing it “categlory.” Second, I remembered writing a paper about my mother, mentioning how much she had influenced my life and how appreciative I was. I’ll never forget her comment in big, bold red on my paper: “Great. Now be sure you tell her!”
Some of you have been reading Proverbs. The last chapter speaks about an ideal wife and mother: She looks forward to the future with joy. She speaks wise words and teaches others to be kind. She watches over her family and never wastes her time. Her children speak well of her. Her husband also praises her. Give her the reward she has earned.
One person suggested making a list of 31 things that your wife, your mother, your grandmother or significant other does for you and your family which you seldom thank her for, making a specific point of thanking her for one a day the coming month. Watch what that does for your relationship!
Back to our spiritual fruit: kindness. A truly kind mother is a mother in constant prayer for her brood!
Lorne Sanny of The Navigators once wrote of his mother: “My mother gave birth to me in a frontier house on a Midwestern prairie. On the kitchen counter she placed a list of the ingredients necessary for my formula. At the top of the list was “prayer,” and that remained at the top of her list for me throughout her life…I have her to thank for firmly establishing my spiritual roots. (Today in the Word, January 1990, p 23)
The great preacher Charles Spurgeon once commented, “I cannot tell how much I owe to the prayers of my good mother. I remember her once praying, ‘Now Lord, if my children go in sin it will not be from ignorance that they perish, and my soul must bear swift witness against them at the day of judgment if they lay not hold on Christ and claim Him as their personal Savior.
Years ago, a young mother was making her way across the hills of South Wales, England, carrying her tiny baby in her arms, when she was overtaken by a blinding blizzard. She never reached her destination and when the blizzard had subsided, her body was found by searchers beneath a mound of snow. But they discovered that before her death, she had taken off her outer clothing and wrapped it about her baby. When they unwrapped the child, to their great surprise and joy, they found that he was alive and well. She had mounded her body over his and given her life for her child, proving the depths of her mother love. Years later, that child, David Loyd George, grown to manhood, became prime minister of Great Britain, and without a doubt, one of England’s greatest statesmen. (James Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited, 1972, p. 375)
This is a grand picture of what God has done for us through Christ – He has given His life for ours. A profound, unceasing love. Come to this Love today, as you are, and find renewal and rebirth. Allow God to be your perfect parent, supplying all your needs, not the least of which is eternal life.
"Spiritual Fruit: Kindness"
(Gal 5:22 NRSV) …the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness…
A little boy forgot his lines in a Sunday school presentation. His mother was in the front row to prompt him. She gestured and formed the words silently with her lips, but it did not help. Her son’s memory was blank. Finally, she leaned forward and whispered the cue, “I am the light of the world.” The child beamed and with great feeling and a loud, clear voice said, “My mother is the light of the world.” (Bits and Pieces, August 1989)
More Than a Mother by Kari Keshmiry:
When God set the world in place,
When He hung the stars in space,
When He made the land and the sea,
Then He made you and me.
He sat back and saw all that was good,
He saw things to be as they should.
Just one more blessing He had in store;
He created a mother, but whatever for?
He knew a mother would have a special place
To shine His reflection on her child’s face.
Oh, the power of a godly mother! A mother filled with Pentecost – the filling of the Holy Spirit – nothing can compare to! Now, I realize that not all mothers are godly! I realize that some of you may have had a terrible relationship or no relationship at all with your mother. Others may be profoundly missing their mother today. I am glad that God is both Mother and Father to us; and God enables us to be godly parents to our own and to others. Praise be to God.
Today’s spiritual fruit is “kindness.” I find it interesting that people who are often remembered most are those who were kind. A kind mother is a gem!
Susan and I paid a visit this past week to one of my college English and Composition professors, now retired, in Philippi, Leah Richards. She has not been well, and it had been sometime since I had seen her. I house set for her during the summer of 1986 while she traveled. I worked at the same church that she attended, and got to know her pretty well. When she saw me, I could tell that she remembered me. It was great to see her. As we were chatting, I told her that I had 2 very clear memories of her. First, she uncovered that my roommate had been pronouncing a word wrong just about his whole life. The word that he was mispronouncing was the word “category.” He had been pronouncing it “categlory.” Second, I remembered writing a paper about my mother, mentioning how much she had influenced my life and how appreciative I was. I’ll never forget her comment in big, bold red on my paper: “Great. Now be sure you tell her!”
Some of you have been reading Proverbs. The last chapter speaks about an ideal wife and mother: She looks forward to the future with joy. She speaks wise words and teaches others to be kind. She watches over her family and never wastes her time. Her children speak well of her. Her husband also praises her. Give her the reward she has earned.
One person suggested making a list of 31 things that your wife, your mother, your grandmother or significant other does for you and your family which you seldom thank her for, making a specific point of thanking her for one a day the coming month. Watch what that does for your relationship!
Back to our spiritual fruit: kindness. A truly kind mother is a mother in constant prayer for her brood!
Lorne Sanny of The Navigators once wrote of his mother: “My mother gave birth to me in a frontier house on a Midwestern prairie. On the kitchen counter she placed a list of the ingredients necessary for my formula. At the top of the list was “prayer,” and that remained at the top of her list for me throughout her life…I have her to thank for firmly establishing my spiritual roots. (Today in the Word, January 1990, p 23)
The great preacher Charles Spurgeon once commented, “I cannot tell how much I owe to the prayers of my good mother. I remember her once praying, ‘Now Lord, if my children go in sin it will not be from ignorance that they perish, and my soul must bear swift witness against them at the day of judgment if they lay not hold on Christ and claim Him as their personal Savior.
Years ago, a young mother was making her way across the hills of South Wales, England, carrying her tiny baby in her arms, when she was overtaken by a blinding blizzard. She never reached her destination and when the blizzard had subsided, her body was found by searchers beneath a mound of snow. But they discovered that before her death, she had taken off her outer clothing and wrapped it about her baby. When they unwrapped the child, to their great surprise and joy, they found that he was alive and well. She had mounded her body over his and given her life for her child, proving the depths of her mother love. Years later, that child, David Loyd George, grown to manhood, became prime minister of Great Britain, and without a doubt, one of England’s greatest statesmen. (James Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited, 1972, p. 375)
This is a grand picture of what God has done for us through Christ – He has given His life for ours. A profound, unceasing love. Come to this Love today, as you are, and find renewal and rebirth. Allow God to be your perfect parent, supplying all your needs, not the least of which is eternal life.
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