In Praise of My Mother...

You ever wonder what God was thinking when He placed you in your family? I think of my mother, her strength and weaknesses, her faith and fears. I am not worthy to serve beside her. Her heart is utterly selfless, and her life completely defined by her unceasing service of God, her family, and the church. Her dedication to fasting, prayer, and eternal things gives me faith to add my feeble prayers to hers and trust God to intervene. Her untiring, constant efforts to complete real-life, drudging work that I would rather put off until tomorrow never ceases to amaze me. She has the diligence of the woman in Proverbs, “whose candle goeth not out by night;” the persistence of the woman in the parable who continued to cry out to the unjust judge until he finally avenged her; and the faith of the woman of Canaan who said to Jesus after He had basically called her a dog, “Yet the dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from the master’s table.”

So many of her strengths are my own weaknesses. Without her beautiful example always before me, I would probably be a hypocritical jerk. Honestly. She should be the one blogging here right now, and I should be the one doing the laundry. She’s so wise. I cannot take credit for the things I know; they’re not my own, only borrowed.

           

God bless Momma today.

Delighting in HIS Story

I love history.
 

History: The narration of the redemptive plan of God Almighty throughout time; the story of His providence, mercy, and judgment in the lives of men and of nations, ending finally with the triumphant return of Christ to claim His bride.
 

Fathers are commanded to teach history to their children:   

“We will not hide them from their children, showing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength, and His wonderful works that He hath done. For He established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: that the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments: and might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with God” (Psalm 78:4-8).

This generation is stubborn and rebellious. Their heart is not right, but tied up in lust, temporal pleasures, and immediate gratification. They know not the works of God, neither keep His commandments; and therefore, judgment may come upon them.

Except they repent. Except the Lord have mercy. Except the men of God stand boldly and courageously for truth, and convert the sinner from the error of his way, saving his soul from death and hiding a multitude of sins (James 5:19-20).

History is overflowing with examples of great men and women who rose to the defining challenges of their day and broke through to glorious victory; “Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions. Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight…” (Hebrews 11:33-34).

I have long admired their strength and resolve – men such as Washington, who admonished his troops, “The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage of THIS ARMY... We have, therefore to resolve to conquer or die.” 

What has become of such men?

For some time, I feared they had disappeared! But praise God, He has His faithful few laboring diligently for the sake of Him and His Kingdom. These strong, visionary leaders have taken the narrow path, refusing (as oft is possible) to contribute their time, their money, and their children to the State for its unrighteous ends. On the contrary, all these things are devoted to the Lord and His work.

Most importantly, these culture-challenging followers of Christ are committed to raising up the godly seed. They are training and discipling their children, AND THEY ARE MULTIPLYING! Praise the Lord! Their children are well-educated, respectful, and thankful, their sons brave and adventurous, and their daughters joyful and industrious.

They are the hope of our nation and the hope of our future, and I sat with some of their mothers this afternoon, as around the table we exchanged ideas for seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. These beautiful ladies are hosting a brunch three Saturdays hence to mentor younger women in the faith, teaching them "to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed" (Titus 2:4-5).

We are - you are - a part of history: the story of HIS plan to redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works (Titus 2:14).

 

May God bless our efforts.