A GODLY MOTHER

Today is a day we take the time to remember our Mothers. When God created mothers He made a wonderful thing. When we stop and think back to when we were small I am sure most, if not all of us, fondly remember our Mother and the love she taught us, not just by her words but by her actions. Not all mothers are Christians, but mine was and she taught me about God as far back as I can remember. Once again she not only taught me by her words but by her actions. She would make sure we were the best kids in the neighborhood, in fact the other kids in the neighborhood would ask, “gang warden when can your prisoners come out and play?” She made sure she knew where we were at all times. There was no doing anything bad on her watch, and if we did slip and do something she didn’t approve of, we received punishment for “our crimes”. There was no waiting on Dad to get home. In fact I think we were more afraid of Momma than Daddy. I know I was.  Now that I am a grown-up (most days) I appreciate the Mother God gave me, she is part of the reason I am a Christian today.

When we read our Bible we see a lot of different stories about Mothers. There were some that you have to think, they sure would not have gotten a Mother of the Year award. The very first one was Eve. When I get to Heaven I want to have a long conversation with dear ole Eve. I want to ask her “WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?” There you were living in a beautiful garden, that was like Heaven on earth, and along comes a snake and you let him talk you into disobeying God. Was that piece of fruit that worth it???? I think not. First of all if a snake gets that close to me I am not about to stick around to hold a conversation with him. I guess talking and walking snakes back then was the norm but still….  

Another Mom that comes to mind that was not a very good influence on her children was Lot’s wife. God had chosen to save them after dear ole uncle Abraham had pleaded for their lives when it was decided that Sodom and Gomorrah had to be destroyed. The only thing they had to do was RUN and NOT LOOK BACK! Seems pretty simple doesn’t it? Run for your life! There’s fire and brimstone flying all around and all you have to do is NOT LOOK BACK!

We could try to imagine all the reasons that she looked back but not one of them was worth it. Maybe she was thinking about her other daughters that didn’t come with her, maybe she was thinking about her possessions she had to leave behind. I guess we’ll never know, but we do know that she will forever be remembered as a life size statue of SALT!

I know it seems like these Mothers made some pretty bad mistakes in their lives but they were put in the Bible for a reason. I believe that God wants us to learn from mistakes, whether they are our own or someone else’s. Daniel and Joshua can tell you, I am always pointing out “life lessons” to them. “Don’t you dare do what “Johnny” did… Don’t you ever repeat that stunt again...” “Don’t you ever drive like that idiot!”

Now, on to some wonderful examples in the Bible of Godly Mothers.  I love the story of Jochebed, Moses’ Mother. She was not afraid to put her tiny son in a little boat and set him afloat on the Nile River. I cannot imagine the fear she must have had in her heart for her son. If she kept him with her he would be killed, if she let him float down the Nile he could be killed. I am sure she was thinking about the crocodiles and snakes that could easily take her baby. But she was obedient to God and trusted him to take care of her son, who we know was to be the one to lead the Israelites to freedom. Thank God for trusting Mothers.

Another Godly Mother is Hannah. I am amazed that after many years of not being able to have children, God blessed her with a son and then she gave him back to God. Most all of us have gone through the dedication service with our newborns. We stand up front and thank God for giving us a child and then go through the motions of “giving them” back to Him. Hannah didn’t just go through the motions; she GAVE her only son back to GOD. He went to live in the Temple with Eli, the old prophet. He was probably around 2-3 years old. I cannot imagine what her husband must have thought about her, she waited for years for that son and then she gave him away!

What faith in God Hannah had, she didn’t know if she would have any more children or not. But God was faithful to her and blessed her with 3 sons and 2 daughters. Hannah is the perfect example of a praying Mother, a woman who didn’t give up petitioning God for a child until He heard and answered her prayer. We as Mothers should be more like Hannah. Keep on praying for that child, DON’T EVER give up, and most importantly let them know that you are praying for them! The legacy I want to leave for my children is that their Mother taught them to pray. Thank God for praying Mothers.

Mothers, we are the glue that holds our family together.  We are there for our children; we will do anything for them. We would fight ‘til the death for them, well the biggest fight of their lives is the one to keep satan from claiming their souls. I don’t ever want to do anything that would cause one of my sons to turn his back on God. As Mothers we should teach by example, if you want your children to live for God, then you have to do the same. In 2 Timothy 1:5 Paul tells Timothy “When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.”  This scripture points out that if you live a Christian life, then your children and grandchildren will follow your example. Proverbs 22:6 tells us “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Moms it looks like we have our work cut out for us! Like Jochebed, Hannah and all the other Godly Mothers, let’s keep those prayers going up for our children and like in Proverbs 31:28 our kids will rise up and call us BLESSED!

KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS

     Go back with me today to a very familiar story, one that almost the entire world has heard. The one about a small baby that was born in Bethlehem, in a stable. That baby was the Son of God, given to us to be our Saviour. The Bible doesn't tell us a lot about his childhood, except the time he worried his Mother by getting what she thought was "lost" from her and Joseph. He wasn't lost at all; he was in the Temple doing His Father's business. No, He was not drumming up business for Joseph's carpenter shop, but at the age of twelve He had started to amaze the elders and priests with His wisdom about the scriptures. I think even then they started to think maybe, just maybe, those stories they remembered from when He was born could be true. The Messiah??? The Son of God??? OR, Just Mary and Joseph's firstborn. Yes that's much better, just a mere boy of twelve, nothing to worry about, He seems very intelligent but still He's just the carpenter's kid.

     We don't have much more to go on about his youth, but I would like to think He did have a lot of the "little boy things" in His life, skinned knees, running and playing with the family pet, chores to do. But I know there was that ever present thought in His heart and mind, of what was to come...

     I wonder what Mary's thoughts were about her first born son? When she was told she was going to bare the Son of God, I wonder if she knew what was going to take place in His life? Did she see Him as the promised King? Did she know He was going to have to die to fulfill that prophecy? Did she think her wonderful first born son was going to die at the age of 33????

     Jesus started His ministry at the age of 30 years old. His first miracle was at a wedding, they ran out of wine and since there was no store to go run and buy more. They were going to be embarrassed by serving plain ole water. Here comes Mama, maybe she gives Jesus a nudge or maybe she whispers in His ear, "Son can't you help them out? I know you have the power to turn that water into wine. Somewhere in His life Mary had come in contact with the awesome power of God and she KNEW her son but most importantly God's Son could do this one tiny little thing. In John chapter 2 it tells this story and it seems in verse 4 Jesus was scolding Mary for her wanting Him to do this. But it was Mama asking, so He did it for her. I'm sure she told everyone in the house that would listen, that was my son who turned that water into the best wine you ever tasted!

     Fast forward to the day He came into Jerusalem, the shouts of praise, the people proclaiming Him king. What a day that was! Finally they were getting it! He had been preaching for about 3 1/2 years. He had been healing the sick, raising the dead; he even helped out those hard working fishermen by overflowing their boat with fish. And I'm sure some days He thought no one was really getting what He was telling them. But this day it seemed that maybe someone was listening. Maybe....

     Well it's the week of Passover, and back to those wonderful priests in the Temple. They have decided that Jesus had to go! Joseph's kid is causing way too much trouble. I wonder how they found that weakest link. How do you go about finding someone to betray their "Friend"? I guess Judas had shown his true colors to someone, and the priests knew he was the one they needed. How can anyone listen to Jesus teach and see all the miracles he had done, and still be blind to the fact this is the SON of GOD?

     The Last Supper is over; Judas has gone to finish up his part in what was going to take place. Jesus decides to go pray a while in the garden, He knows what is coming, and somehow I can't help but think it is almost too much. In Matthew 26:39 He is talking to His Father about not having to do this, but He KNEW it had to be done. He could have stopped right there and said "I want to come home, I don't want to die" but He loved us enough to say "not my will but thine". He took some of His friends with Him to help Him pray, but what good did that do??? They fell asleep, not once, not twice but THREE times. Here was our Lord groaning over what was to come and He couldn't even have a little support from His disciples. If only they would have known what was to come.

     Here comes good ole money bags himself, (Judas), who has the nerve to kiss Jesus on the cheek like nothing was wrong. Next comes the soldiers, I guess they were just doing their job. They seize Him, and now ole Peter has finally woken up, and he decides to cut off the ear of one of them. Here is our Lord, the King of Kings being carried off by Roman Soldiers and He takes the time to heal the guy's ear. Yep, Peter showed Jesus he had his back, but give him a couple of more hours and he will act like he has never seen Jesus before. Imagine how Jesus must have felt, here He is the Son of God, the true Messiah and all He has ever done was want to help these silly humans and now they want Him dead.

     Here come the priests again, they can't wait to get rid of this trouble maker. All night long our Lord was tortured, made fun of, spit on and beaten beyond what any man should have to bear. Any time He could have cried out STOP and I believe God would have sent angels to take care of the whole rotten bunch. But Jesus had made up His mind that regardless of what they did He would go through with what His Father ask of Him. Pilot tried to let Him off with just a horrible beating but those priests wouldn't let it go at that, HE HAD TO DIE. This man who had done nothing but good all his life, Had To Go!

     The Son of the Almighty, who left His throne in Heaven, who was now bruised, bleeding and half dead, had to drag a huge cross through the city. But the worse part was still to come. He would have to be nailed to this huge cross and stood up for the entire city to see. The Son of God dying the shameful death of a common thief or murderer. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords dying for you and me! Taking on the sins of every person that was born or ever would be. I can't imagine the horror of that. Have there been times in your life when you have sinned and do you remember how bad it made you feel? Like you had a weight crushing the life out of you. Well multiply that by millions and millions, and you can imagine a little of what Jesus felt hanging there on the cross that day taking on the sins of the world.

     You know what the worst thing had to be for Him? His own Father forsaking Him. Here He was doing the hardest thing in His life, for ungrateful sinners, and then His Father turns away because God cannot look on sin. Oh What Pain! Oh What Hurt! Here is Jesus providing Himself as a lamb for our sins and He is feeling like no one cares, not even His own Father, much less the wonderful religious leaders, or those wonderful followers that shouted Hosanna, Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord. Was that just a few days ago???

     He has taken all He can take, but yet in His last few moments of his life, He forgives the guy on one of the other crosses, the one who really deserved this punishment. Then He cries out again to His Father and tells Him I'm Done! I'm Coming Home! Right about now all the demons are having a blow out party. They have done it! They have gotten rid of the trouble maker. Boy were they in for a big surprise! Have you ever wondered what Jesus did those days before He arose? I would like to think He paid a little visit to the one who tried to get him to worship him, ole satan. Just when they thought they had pulled one over on God, just like He promised, Up From The Grave He Arose! Hallelujah Christ Arose! That should have been enough right then for satan to give up and admit defeat but no he is still trying to stamp out the name of Jesus. But I have read the back of the Book and Jesus wins!

     He Is The King of Kings and Lords of Lords and He Shall Reign Forevermore!

I hope no one thinks I was trying to bring Jesus down to our level with this but He did come down in human form. And I was trying to show how hard it would be to endure the things He did for us. He was the Son of God but He felt every stripe on His back, every slap on His face, every punch to His body, and yet He still endured it for us. No matter how long we could live we could never begin to thank Him or repay Him for what He did for us. Thank you Lord.

Thanks for stopping by.

Happy Easter
~Teresa
　
　

New Year!

PSALM 46
1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
3Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.
 4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.
6 The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted.
7 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
8 Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth.
9 He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder he burneth the chariot in the fire.
10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.



Happy New Year 2012! WOW! The year is now 2012....does that scare you to read that? I saw a post on Facebook today that ask, "how are you going to spend your last year"? I am tired of hearing the hype about the Mayan calendar, and how the world is going to end in 2012. I want to make a statement here...."I have read the end of the BOOK and I know how it ends!" I have no fear if the world should end right now as I sit here typing this post. I know where I am going...I have Christ as my guide and He will get me where I need to go when the time comes.

As Psalm 46:1 tells us God is our HELP  and STRENGTH when we are in trouble, and to me that says it all. Jeremiah 1:5 also tells us BEFORE we were formed in our Mother's womb HE KNEW US. So if He knew us before we even knew ourselves then He must know everything about us, He has already walked the path that we will walk and He has cleared it for us. He sent His son to be our guide and we have to do is ask Him to forgive our sins and follow Him.

I don't usually bother with New Year's Resolutions but this year I have one I would like to share with you.

My New Years' Resolution for 2012 is to be more of the person God wants me to be and less of the person I am now. I want His likeness to be reflected in my life. I want the blessings of the Lord to overtake me...(Deuteronomy 28:2) but first I have to do my part...I have to listen to the voice of God and do what He tells me to do, not what I want to do. A lot to live up to for the New Year but with His help it is possible.


HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! I LOVE YOU!
Thank You for stopping by.


Teresa

Christmas Spirit

Luke Chapter 1
²⁶And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
²⁷To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
²⁸And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
²⁹And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
³⁰And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
³¹And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
³²He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
³³And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
³⁴Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
³⁵And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
³⁶And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
³⁷For with God nothing shall be impossible.
³⁸And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.


 I was reading something the other day that wanted to know, "what gets you in the Christmas Spirit"?  I love listening to Christmas music, everything from Away In A Manger to Jingle Bell Rock.  But if I had to choose a favorite I think it would be "Mary Did You Know?"  To me it's one of the most thought provoking songs. I was thinking about it, and I started wondering about Mary, we know she was a precious young girl because, of all the girls in the world, she was chosen to be the Mother of God's son. Mary was probably very quiet and obedient as a child, somehow I have a hard time picturing Mary's mom having to yell at her to finish her chores. So when the angel appeared to her and explained what was going to happen to her, she humbly
said "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word." Luke 1:38

When I stop and  think about Mary, I can't help but wonder did she fully understand who her Son was and what He was to do for all mankind? As she loved and cared for her baby, I wonder how many times she thought this is The Son of God?

Then I love to think about Jesus as a child...was He a typical little boy. Did He love to run and play and yell like my sons did? Did He fall and get ouchies?  I think He was the child that always looked out for the younger children, was always quick to answer when Mom or Joseph called, and He never was a problem. Well there was that time Mary thought He was lost and then she found him teaching in the temple. :)

After pondering all of this for a short while, I stop and think of what He did for us at Calvary and who He is now...not the sweet little baby laying in a manger all cute and cuddly but THE RISEN KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS!

Boy! Won't that get you in the Christmas Spirit?

Thanks for stopping by.

Merry Christmas

A Great Giveaway

I just read a new blog called Seasons of Humility, and this week they are having fun with guest authors and a lot of give aways. Head on over and sign up!

<a href="http://seasonsofhumility.blogspot.com/p/love-finds-you-blog-

Sunday Night Campmeeting

Matthew 18:20
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.


Before I get started I want to say to those of you who have never been to a Pentecostal church, please stay with me and hear me out. I promise not to sound too far out in left field. :)

Last night we had a wonderful church service, you could feel the presence of the Lord surrounding us. It was so beautiful, it felt like a little bit of heaven had come down.

The above scripture lets us know that it doesn't have to be a large crowd for the Lord to show up, we just have to be on the same page. The art of worshipping the Lord is a beautiful thing, sometimes we have to put our hands up in surrender to the Lord, sometimes all it takes is the simple act of humbly speaking Jesus' name and forgetting the cares of your life for a few moments. When we call HE WILL SHOW UP, Jeremiah 29:12 tells us "Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you." That in itself is enough to make me cry, to think that the God of all creation cares enough for me to come when I call.

I am a stay at home mom, that home schools her sons and most days I think I'm a pretty dull person, but when I read scripture like that it makes me feel incredible. It makes me know my Father loves me. Why wouldn't I want to thank Him, worship Him and tell Him how much I love Him?

If you have never experienced the peace that comes from worshipping the Lord why not try it now. You don't have to be in a church, just slow down and give the Lord a little of your time. I think that you will be amazed. :)

Have a worshipful day!

T



   

Sunday

Hebrews 10:25
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Every Sunday since a baby, I have been going to church. I was never the child that was stuck on the friendly neighborhood bus that took me to church. I was taken by my mom and dad, I remember very few times we missed church. It was instilled in me that we had 6 days during the week to do what we needed to do and then Sunday was the Lord's. I won't say I have been to every Sunday service because there are times that have come up when I was sick and didn't make it but I have been more times than not.

When I was growing up I remember Sunday being a quiet day, there was lunch at home and then a nap. For years I thought "thou shalt take thy Sunday afternoon nap" was in the Bible somewhere....maybe it was just in my mom's. :) All I know was at the age of 25...Mom still thought I needed that nap. Now that I'm a "little" older I long for the days of the Sunday aftermoon nap, before heading back to the evening service.

If you are reading this and haven't been to church in a while, why not think about it this week and when Sunday gets here, go to church. I think you will find that when you put God first in your life, other things will just fall into place for you. Then when you come home, prop your feet up and take a little nap. I promise you will feel so much better, in fact you just might want to do it again next week. 

Have a wonderful week,

Teresa