Best Mum

Nothing touches a child like a mother’s love.

Prov. 31:10-12, 28-31

Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.—Proverbs 31:28

On Mother’s Day, 2007, British national television ran an intriguing story. Peggy Bush’s daughter had died, so Peggy absorbed the responsibility of caring for her daughter’s three children while her son-in-law worked. Then, tragically, her son-in-law also died. With both parents gone, Peggy took her three grandchildren in and raised them as if they were her own.

In a world where wrong is glamorized and the lurid is presented as appealing, we seldom hear of the good things that happen. Yet this woman’s love and sacrifice were recognized, acknowledged, and honored as the nation took note of her as Britain’s “Best Mum” for 2007.

This Sunday, May 11th, is Mother’s Day in the US. Most of the efforts, sacrifices, and expressions of love our mothers have given us will not be the lead story on the news. Their recognition will be more personal. But what matters is not the scope of the appreciation but its genuineness.

On this special day, may we thank God for the mothers who have molded our hearts. As we honor them, we fulfill the truth of Proverbs 31:28, “Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.”—Bill Crowder

 

A Christian mother’s love contains

A gospel all its own,

Because the King of love has found

Her heart an ample throne.—Crawford

 

Impress Your Grandchildren By the Faith You Live

Becoming a grandparent has all the rewards of being with children, with the bonus of being able to send them home at the end of the day. One of the special ways a grandparent can make an impact on the lives of their grandchildren is by letting them see how you live a spiritual life. Your values will make their deepest impression on your grandchildren through the way you live your life.

As your grandchildren watch you go about your daily business, what do they see and hear?

• Love Jesus openly. Bring Him into the open where your grandchildren can get to know Him better. By your words and actions you can convey your love for the Lord and your reliance on His unseen presence.
• Express your pleasure in being God’s child. Show your grandchildren that you, and they, are both children of a heavenly Father. Show your joy in living.

 

Godly Grandparenting: Ways to Inspire Faith in Your Grandkids

As a grandparent, you play an important role in your grandchildren’s lives – so important, in fact, that your influence on them has eternal significance. Making the most of this opportunity to invest in their lives will lead to great rewards.

Here’s how you can become the best grandparent you can be:

Answer the call. Realize that becoming a grandparent isn’t just another season of your life; it’s a God-given calling. Take full advantage of the awesome opportunity to influence another generation of children in your family. Even though you likely have more freedom to live the lifestyle you want than your own grandparents of old did (better health, more money, etc.), you share the same responsibility to be committed grandparents. View your investment in your grandchildren

 

When We Don’t Draw Near To God

Practical Steps for Effective Quiet Times

1. Schedule time with God. Your devotional time is like anything else you intend to do. Unless it planned, it usually wont’ happen

Specifically, before you go to bed, try to decide on a time and place to be alone with the Father the next day.

 2. Choose a place. If possible, conduct your quiet time in the same location every day. Eventually, this spot will take on special significance. Being there will affect your mood and your ability to concentrate.

Choose a place off the beaten path of your daily activities. You need a place where the only thing you do there is meet with God.

No matter where you live, you can find a spot to be alone with God.

 3. Use a variety of methods. If spending time with Him has become monotonous, the culprit is probably your method. The cure is to modify your routine.

Remember, this is a relationship. Look for ways to keep it fresh, and your quiet times won’t be boring.

 

Adapted from “Charles Stanley’s Handbook for Christian Living,” 1996, pgs. 500-503

 

The Power Of Pentecost

The power of God’s Spirit gives power to our witness.

Acts 2:1-17

You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me.—Acts 1:8

The Holy Spirit’s presence and power can be evidenced in a dynamic preacher who attracts great audiences. But it is seen as well in the volunteer who carries on a one-on-one prison ministry, in the person who witnesses to a co-worker or a neighbor, and in the Sunday school teacher who faithfully teaches week after week.

The power of Pentecost is not especially reserved for the highly gifted. Rather, it is available to all believers in Christ who want to serve Him.—Herb Vander Lugt

 

God’s guidance and help that we need day to day

Are given to all who believe;

The Spirit has come and He is the source

Of power that we can receive.—Branon

 

Answers To Tough Questions: Drug Use

Why shouldn’t I use marijuana and other “recreational” drugs?

The negative consequences of using drugs “recreationally” far outweigh their short-term pleasures.

First are the physical effects. Marijuana, for instance, may have dangerous long-term effects, including cancers of the head and neck. Amphetamines and cocaine are highly addictive and cause rapid physical deterioration. Barbiturates depress the central nervous system and are so physically addictive that withdrawal can be fatal if someone dependent on them attempts to stop taking them without medical supervision. (Another peculiar danger of barbiturates is the ease with which a person can take a fatal overdose.) Alcohol, too, is highly addictive for persons with a genetic tendency towards alcoholism.

 

Riding A Rollercoaster

Love helps people even when it hurts.

Galatians 6:1-10

 

Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. —Galatians 6:9

If you love someone who struggles with a substance-abuse problem, you know that your emotions and his can be like riding a rollercoaster—up and down. Today he wants help; tomorrow he’s drinking or is high on drugs again. Today she’s being honest; tomorrow she’s running from the truth.

The Holy Spirit helps us learn how to love people like that, even in their sins and struggles. Here are a few principles we can put into practice:

• Treat the person with respect. Be gentle when trying to restore him (Galatians 6:1). But don’t do for him what he should do for himself. Don’t get in the way of the consequences that God can use to bring change.
• Remember that you do not have the power to change another person. Instead, ask God to help you become the person He wants you to be (vv.4-5).
• Reach out in love. Seek God’s wisdom in what to say and do in each encounter (James 1:5). Then rebuke or be silent—in love.
• Depend on God. You will make mistakes. But anchor yourself in God’s Word and continually commit yourself and your loved one to the Lord in prayer (Philippians 4:6).

Making some of these choices can help to slow down the rollercoaster ride of changing emotions.—Anne Cetas

Love is an attitude, love is a prayer
For someone in sorrow, a heart in despair;
Love is goodwill for the gain of another,
Love suffers long with the fault of a brother. —Anon

 

Defining Moment

Let danger drive you to Jesus.

Genesis 50:15-21

You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good. . .to save many people alive.–Genesis 50:20

When the unthinkable happens, it may seem impossible to believe that anything can overcome the emotional scars. Yet, the life of Joseph offers a powerful illustration of God’s transforming power (Gen. 37-50). The brothers who sold him into slavery were sure he would take revenge on them (50:15-17). But Joseph told them, “You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive” (v.20).

When we place our desire for revenge in God’s hands, we become participants in the remarkable process described by Paul: “Do not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:21).

The defining moments of our lives are not determined by the evil done to us, but by our response through the grace and power of God.–David McCasland

 

When rough the path from day to day,

When sorrows fill our eyes with tears,

Our choice to find our hope in Christ

Can lift our soul and calm our fears.–D. De Haan

 

God’s Refreshng Word

The Bible is to a thirsty soul what water is to a barren land.

Isaiah 55:8-11

My word. . .shall not return to Me void.—Isaiah 55:11

Water produces marvelous changes in arid regions. For example, the pincusion cactus is completely dormant during the dry season. But after the first summer rains, cactuses burst into bloom, displaying delicate petals of pink, gold, and white.

Likewise, in the Holy Land after a rainstorm, dry ground can seemingly sprout vegetation overnight. Isaiah used rain’s renewal to illustrate God’s refreshing Word: “As the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it” (Isa. 55:10-11).

Scripture carries spiritual vitality. That’s why it doesn’t return void. Wherever it encounters an open heart, it brings refreshment, nourishment, and new life.—Dennis Fisher

 

God’s Word is like refreshing rain

That waters crops and seed;

It brings new life to open hearts,

And meets us in our need.—Sper.