Mother's Day is fast approaching us. This Sunday, around the country, many will come together and give "Mama" a big hug and perhaps some roses or a nice meal to celebrate what she means to the family. Mother's Day is a holiday that began when President Woodrow Wilson officially set aside the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day in 1912. While Mother's Day may have had rather recent beginnings, the celebration of mothers and all that they give to the family has been going on for centuries.

A study through the Bible will reveal some very important mothers who have had life changing impacts on their children. These mothers have spared lives, been godly examples, and prayed heartfelt prayers over their children. However, there is one thing that a mother is called to do that is above every other responsibility. Mothers teach their children about God. Now, don’t misunderstand me to say that the husband is not the spiritual leader of the home, but moms are instructed in 1 Timothy 1:11-15 that  one of their primary responsibilities in the home is in the instruction of their children.

However, let me say for just a moment that Mother’s Day is not just for mothers either. We certainly don’t want to take anything away from those dear ladies who raised us, but for many women, the gift of motherhood seems to be a distant dream. Many ladies dread Mother’s Day because it brings back the pain of years of trying to have children and being unable to have them or of a tragedy that robbed them of their own children. For these ladies, motherhood may not come in the form of having biological children, but that doesn’t mean that they cannot have spiritual children.

            The title of this blog post is “This Could Be the Beginning of Something Good.” I chose this title because the key word is “could.” Whether you are a mother or not, there are some important things to learn about being a spiritual mother. We learn from the Scripture that mother’s are responsible for starting their children’s spiritual education. Paul tells the women in 1 Tim. 1:11-15 that they are not permitted to have authority over a man in the churches, but that they are to learn with submissive attitudes. This exhortation has nothing to do with the value of a woman or her teaching. In many cases women may be more capable and more educated in the Bible than men. This was the case with Lottie Moon. However, God has given us an order of how households, including His own, should operate. In the Scripture, we recognize that Christ submits to the Father, yet he is not inferior to the Father but is One and the same with the Father. Christ sets for us the example of how human relationships are to function. Women are under the leadership of their husbands and other authority figures that are placed in their lives as an act of obedience to the Lord (Eph. 5:22), not as a result of an inferiority in their worth. Men are to submit the Christ, and Christ submits to the Father. Submission, therefore, is an act of worship.

            However, this does not mean that women are not responsible for teaching at all. On the contrary, Paul in this same passage of Scripture informs women that their role of teaching is to occur in childrearing. Women are not simply to be “baby-making machines,” but they are given the blessing of being one of the primary caregivers to their children under the spiritual leadership of their husbands. For this reason, women have in many ways an even greater impact on the direction of the church than they may realize, because they are able to help instill the godly values that are needed for these future leaders of the church. Paul was very clear that Timothy had been shaped by the teaching of his grandmother and mother in 2 Timothy 1:5. They also train up godly women who will, in turn, train up godly children themselves. This is a most commendable calling: the calling of motherhood.

As I mentioned before, many may be spiritual mothers, while not necessarily biological mothers. If you are a lady in the church, you are in some ways a mother. Many women serve in the children’s ministries of the church and make a substantial impact on the lives of the children they serve. The primary educator of children is to be the family, instituted and ordained by God; however, the sad truth is that there are many parents that will simply ship their children off to the church to receive their spiritual education. It is great that they see the value of instilling Christian virtue in their children, but they are usurping a God-given role that He has given to the family. The church cannot possibly train children at exactly the same level of effectiveness as a parent could. This being said, it is the women that are currently serving the church in the area of children’s ministry that have an opportunity to set an example of how a godly lady should live and teach them the gospel and what it means to be a follower of Christ. These ladies are just as deserving of our praise this Mother’s Day as any of our biological mothers.

If you are a lady, we applaud you and exhort you in the Lord to be all that you are meant to be in Christ. If you have children or not, we are thankful to you this Mother’s Day that God has placed you in His body. Our prayers are for you and your spiritual development. May you shape the next generation of His leaders as we seek to share the good news of the gospel to the nations. This could be the beginning of something good!

Yesterday, we began looking at some interesting findings from an 1832 letter to the Georgia Baptist Association. Today we will finish that letter by pointing out some interesting findings from the second portion of that letter.

Regarding Punctuality in Our Contracts:

It is rather interesting that in one section of the letter, the author mentioned that debt seemed to be in fashion in those days. I wonder what he would say about the climate of our culture today regarding debt?
He goes on to write:

"how many pitiful and unjustifiable excuses are made for want of punctuality by professing Christians. Our exhortation is that you fulfill your contracts. We think there is a great deal too much credit in our day, and if necessary should drive you to it, and you perceive that you cannot meet the demand when due, go to your creditor and obtain indulgence for further time. By this means you will save your character for honesty...It is better for you to sacrifice property than your Christian character."

Indeed the Bible is correct in stating that the borrower is slave to the lender. How is your witness being affected by your use of finances? Have you ever thought about the impact that finances have on your witness?

Regarding Observance of the Sabbath

The author has much to say about regard for the Sabbath. In one remark he says, "Where there is not much attention to the Sabbath, there is not much attention to religion. Recklessness of the one is generally the concomitant of recklessness of the other."

Wow! Have you ever thought about the connection between our treatment of the Sabbath and our worship? Do you think that it is possible that our careless view of the Sabbath might be affecting our worship? I believe so. We should have a high regard for the one day that God rested and called us to keep as holy.

I found this letter from ancient history, at least in terms of modern history, to be quite relevant to our society today. Perhaps we have failed to learn from the past. If so, we are bound to repeat its mistakes. Let's take a close look at our lives and see where we need to change some things!

As I was preparing for a class in Baptist History that I am taking this month, I came across a letter that was circulated to the Georgia Baptist churches in 1832. The letter has a striking message to the church today. A couple of the highlights of the letter are as follows:

Regarding Family Religion:
-many families neglect prayer
-"We need not expect the blessing of the Lord, - the manifest tokens of his presence, upon our public meetings, if we neglect family and closet religion. No doubt the cold lifelessness, the lamentable apathy apparent in our public assemblies, is to be ascribed to the fact that we have little or no religion at home; that our hearts are not attuned for the services of the sanctuary by the devotions of the closet."

Regarding our Children:
"If God has directed us to bring up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, can we be guiltless in neglecting it? We cannot save their souls by means; nor can we make them rich by means; but because we are not sure that our exertions will accumulate vast wealth for them, do we therefore sit down in indolence or despair. No; if one expedient fail, we try another, and we continue until we descend to the grave. So let us thus act in the means of salvation. Let us bring every means in our power to bear upon their hearts—to arouse their slumbering consciences & win them back to God. We dear the duties to our children are sinfully and shamefully neglected by many of us."

Indifference to Witnessing:
Because we are not the means by which a person is saved, many have felt that they need not attempt anything in order to save sinners.
"Now if the means used by Paul & others were instrumental in producing regeneration and the
exercise of faith; so we may expect that our endeavors will result in the same happy effects,—
And yet how indifferent, how careless are we in regard to means."

God has not confined the use of our means to a particular method, but has told us to be about His work until He comes.

This is the first part of the letter. If these were the issues that were plaguing the church in the 1800s, how do we fare? Perhaps much worse. We should learn from the past so as not to repeat its mistakes. How are you doing with these concerns? Is there any improvement for you to make in your life? Stop and think for a moment. You might be surprised at what you find!

Tomorrow Part 2 will be posted.

I am not a country music fan, and I don't get into the whole Taylor Swift vs. Kanye West ordeal. However, I was driving to the office the other day listening to Holly on XM Radio and heard this song playing. I began to listen to the lyrics and I was taken back to hear such truth being sung in a time where the word Christmas is forbidden. So I thought I would share the lyrics to this song with you. Take a look at them and contemplate why everything stops on this one day. Could it be that there is something more than Santa that makes us want to sing about peace on earth? I believe so. As Isaiah the prophet foretold,

Preaching is essential in the body of believers. It is one of the main sources for counseling and teaching in the church. With that being said, there are many forms of preaching. What for is the most biblical? What exactly does it mean to be an expository preacher? Take a look at this resource and find out why this is such an important topic.

What is the state of our church today? I recently listened to a fellow pastor preach a message on the state of the church where he served. He spoke about where they were, what they were doing, and what was to come. I think that these types of messages are important for us to hear, so that we know where we stand and how we are doing. Something that I think we also need to take a look at is the state of the church universal. Where are we as a body of Christ? How are we doing at completing the task that Christ has given us? Where are we headed? Many people refuse to think about these things. We have succomed to the culture that tells us that religion is personal and should be kept private. We have turned our churches into social clubs and gatherings that have no more meaning than a pep ralley before a football game. We are not called to be cheerleaders or to play games. We are called to fight the good fight of faith. 1 Timothy 6:11-16 says,

But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

Paul later told Timothy in 2 Tim. 2:3-6 that we are to fight as soldiers, compete according to the rules as an athlete, and work hard like a farmer. What are we doing these things for? We are fighting for our witness in a lost and perishing world. Many of us have become content making this world our home. We are happy to make this heaven on earth, but God has much greater things ahead for us. He has a home in glory that is better than we could ever seek to make here on this earth, but we must work while it is still called today, because night is coming when no man can work (Jn. 9:4). Jesus said in the verse that follows that, "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." The same holds true for those who have joined together in the body of Christ, His church. We cannot sit on the sidelines, lounging in our pews, while a lost world is dying. We need to remember the mission that the Commander and Chief gave to us. He said in Matt. 28:19-20, "GO!" We are called to go and make disciples. We are called to be light as long as we are in the world. We are called to get involved in people's lives and share life together with them.

The problems that we face right now as a nation are not new. They have not sprung up in front of us as if we never saw them coming. The Bible warns us not to think to highly of ourselves (Rom. 12:3). I think that perhaps we have bought the lie that God needs the American church to accomplish His mission. Wrong! God is not governed by human choices or nations' agendas. When the United States ceases to follow God's plan, God uses others who will. The Bible warns us of removing God from our lives. In fact, so did the founding fathers, who said that democracy without a solid moral compass, will lead to destruction. We began removing God from our families first, then from our schools. We hold up stickers that cry for us to put the Ten Commandments back in schools, but many of the same people could not recite all ten. We forget that the law is meant to point us to the cross and our need for a savior. If we want to see things change, we need to point people to the only One who can change things. Jesus Christ. Recently I signed a document called "Toward a Great Commission Resurgence." I am committed to the gospel. I am committed to the Bible. It is my guide for life. It is my ultimate authority. It is my constitution. I hope that as a church we will get back to our marching orders. God has called you. Will you go?

       Every institution has policies and procedures that the adherents to that institution are expected to follow. The International Mission Board (IMB) is no different. One such policy that has recently been adopted by the IMB is a policy regarding the use of tongues in worship and prayer languages. Much can be said about both of these issues; however, this essay seeks to identify the value of such a policy on these issues and to critique the IMB’s stance on these two issues.

Continue Reading...

This weekend, I had the honor of celebrating my big sister's wedding. It was probably one of the most beautiful weddings that I have attended. I am so blessed also to have had the priviledge of helping to officiate it (also my first wedding). I had a wonderful time getting to know my sister's pastor and learned a few things that I think will be helpful to me in my ministry in the future.

I had the best view in the sanctuary, being right in front of the bride and groom. I probably should mention that my sister and I are very close. We are not like a lot of brother sister relationships. We have always gotten along pretty well, at least since the hair brush incedent (I'll save that for another day!). My sister's greatest desire was to find a man that would love her unconditionally and that she could spend her life with, loving one another and building a family together. I saw that wish fulfilled Saturday. My sister cherished every moment of that ceremony. From the time she walked into the sanctuary with the song "Here I Am to Worship," to the time they left, she beamed with joy. She cherished every word that was said. Every word that Preston, her husband, said to her she took in as if she were gasping for breath. She savored every word that she said to him and made sure to pronounce every syllable of every word. Not one moment of that ceremony was wasted, not one period of a sentence. It all had meaning. I also have to say that she had the best wedding cake I have ever eaten, and the biggest pieces too.

You may say, "I don't know your sister, so what does any of this have to do with me?" Well, the Bible describes us as the Bride of Christ. God's people in the Old Testament were called God's wife, and in the New Testament, we are called the Bride of Christ. Just as that was a beautiful picture of self-giving love that I witnessed this weekend, we are to give ourselves completely to God. We are to savor every word that He says as we would the very air that we breathe. We are to cherish every moment that we have together to be in relationship with God. How have you treated your relationship with God lately? Has it been a careless formality? Have you taken it for granted? I've learned one thing as I've been married just a short time myself. If you don't tend to the romance in your marriage, it will grow faint. You have to water it and feed it like you would a plant. It needs a good environment to grow in. We need to treat our relationship with God in the same way. We need to give it a good environment. We may have to give up some of our old hang outs or some of our old ways. We have to have a selfless devotion to God. The Bible says in James 4 that God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. We need to be sure to cherish every word that God has given us from the Bible and we need to speak to God in prayer.

I had such a wonderful time seeing the purity of the service and the sincerity. I know that my sister will have a wonderful marriage and will be a happy woman with Preston. I know that they are a great couple and they truly love one another and their actions show it. How do your actions reflect your relationship with God? I hope you will treat your love for God as you would a marriage and present yourselves as a pure bride to Christ.

God Bless!

Here is one of the songs that was sang at the wedding that I know you will enjoy!

[ Older Posts ]