Daily Devotional

In 1 Thessalonians 3:12,13 we read; “May the Lord make you to increase and abound in love to one another and to all… so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will all the saints.”

Let the Lord establish your heart in love! To love God is our first commandment, and to love others is the second! This prayer by the Apostle Paul, is an important truth that each of us should give our all too! Much is said about love in the Scriptures, and our Lord is the first to demonstrate it, (Romans 5:8)! 1 John 4 tells us that ‘perfect love’ casts out fear, so we need not concern ourselves with whether others will love us back or not, we just need to demonstrate God’s love to them.

My friend, as the Lord has shown and given to us His love, let us love one another and encourage our brethren to do the same!

Quote of the Day: ‘We may give without loving, but we can not love without giving.’

Happy Mothers Day; May the manifestation of God’s love through Motherhood, bless and encourage you today!

From the Pastor:

Mother’s Day is here and many families are preparing to honor and appreciate their mothers. Since the time of Eve, the mother of all humanity, God has blessed and given to us the special person of a mother to nurture and mold mankind for God’s purposes. Many stories are told of the special place given to a mother who loves and desires to see her children become all that they can possible be for the Lord. There is Sarah of Genesis 21, whom God blessed in her old age with a son, there is Rebekah who gave birth to twins, (Genesis 25), and Leah and Rachel, sisters married to the same man, longing for his approval. Next we learn of Zipporah, (Exodus 2), who interceded for her husband to the Lord, and there is Rahab the harlot, (Joshua 2) who took action to save her family from certain death. Next we see Deborah, (Judges 4), who was the only female Judge of Israel, and there was the wife of Manoah, (Judges 13) the mother of Samson . Then there is Ruth, the God fearing Moabite, (Ruth 1), who was great-grandmother to King David. We then learn of Hannah, (1 Samuel 1), who taught us to dedicate our children to the Lord. Each of these women tell their story of sacrifice and dedication, desiring only to be an instrument of God’s plan for mankind.

The “heart” of a mother is a unique and wonderful thing, because God has blessed and given to them a powerful and noble ministry of training up God’s children. In Deuteronomy chapter 4 and chapter 6, instruction is given to train our children in the ways of the Lord, to teach them when they wake up in the morning, and while they go about throughout their day, and again when they lay down to rest at the end of the day. Yes the instruction is given to all of the family, but it is the mother who has the nurturing grace to train-up a child in the way that they must go. All to often, people look at Proverbs 31, as the typical description of what a mother should be, and then we hear the frustration in the voice of all those mothers who fear that they can never measure up to what God expects of them. But the truth of the matter is, God only desires that each of us try to do our very best, with Jesus as our guide and the Holy Spirit as our helper.

Well, what can a mother do to train and nurture their children? One thing that mothers and all Christians should do, is read the Word. Mom, when your children observe you in the Word, when they see you study and read the Word daily, they begin to understand the place of God’s Word in a believer’s life. The Read for Life Journaling Program is an excellent way to teach your children what the Word can mean to them personally. Together, the family can discover the special “word” that the Lord has for each member, and as you demonstrate the special ness of the Word by writing your thoughts in a journal, they learn how to apply God’s Word in their lives. Another area is in prayer. As your children see you pray, individually as well as for them corporately, they begin to understand God’s desire to have relationship with them, and with each of His children, no matter what their age may be. Personal prayer opens up a new dimension in our realization of God’s love and grace. As our children see God answer our prayers, they can comprehend His love for them, and that they too can seek the Lord for the desires of the heart. Another area, that I believe can make all the difference in a growing child, is the Baptism with the Holy Spirit. Living a “Spirit Filled” life, demonstrates the need for everyone to walk in the fullness of God’s grace. When children see the “Fruit of the Spirit” living and flowing from the heart of a mother, the Spirit in them yearns to emulate that same attitude and characteristic, compelling them to seek God’s fullness in their lives as well. They begin to realize that there is something missing in their lives, to equip them and help them walk in the calling and purpose that the Lord has chosen for them. Witnessing the move of the Spirit in their parents, demonstrates the grace and love of God to empower every believer, even children, to live and function righteously and effectively for the Kingdomof God. Verse 28 of Proverbs 31 says, “Her children rise up and call her blessed, her husband also, and he praises her.” When you allow the Spirit of the Lord to come upon you and encourage you to live the life that God desires for you, you demonstrate a heart for God. The Bible says that God saw that David was a man after His own heart. That’s what a Mother’s heart emulates! A heart for good; a heart for justice; a heart that chooses to live for God!