CHARACTERISTICS OF A GODLY MOTHER

“Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies” (Prov. 31:10 NKJV).

A godly mother is a woman who represents the heart of Christ to her children. She is continually aware of her influence over their lives and futures and makes sacrifices whenever necessary for their welfare. Godly mothers are first godly women. They are not one way at home and another way in public. Even when her children do not have a godly father, a mother can have a great impact on her children’s spiritual future.

She knows God -The first step in becoming a godly mother is surrendering to the lordship of Jesus Christ. A godly mother wants her children to be godly, and she leads the way. A mother cannot pass on to her children values and qualities that she does not possess

She understands her role in marriage and the family - As part of sin’s curse, women struggle with wanting to control their husbands (Gen. 3:16). But God decreed that husbands and fathers should lead their families (1 Cor. 11:3). A godly wife will gracefully submit to that leadership and model for her children godly submission to authority, even when husbands and fathers are not worthy of such respect.

She seizes teachable moments to instill biblical truths - A godly mother is not so focused on meeting physical needs that she neglects their spiritual needs (Eph. 6:4; Prov. 22:6). And because she walks in close harmony with God, she easily directs her children’s attention to His work in their lives.

She models service to God and others - Children need reminders that they were created for God, and serving Him is their highest calling. A godly mother will demonstrate this in her own life as she involves her children in serving others.

(Adapted from Butler’s Daily Bible Reading 3)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“A godly mother will point her children to God by the force of her example as much as by the power of her words!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Earnest expectation

In Phil. 1:20 we read, “According to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death!”(NKJV).

Earnest expectation is the Greek word apokaradokia (ἀποκαραδοκία = ap-ok-ar-ad-ok-ee'-ah). It is made up of three words: “apo” which means from, “kara” which means the head, and “dokeo” which means to look or watch. Thus the word means the eager, intense look which turns away from everything else to fix on the one object of desire. It is to watch with head outstretched. The word was used of watchmen looking into the darkness for a beacon of light. Here the apostle Paul is maintaining a keen anticipation of the future, as when someone stretches his neck to see what lies ahead.

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Testament Prophecy – The Messiah does not change (Mal. 4:6).

New Testament Fulfillment – Heb. 13:8

Did You Know…

The Bible states that the Lord Jesus will literally return here to earth (1 Thess. 4:16-17).

Bible Quiz

What did Moses tell the Israelites to do to preserve the stories of the exodus?

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz: According to Micah, what does the LORD require of those who follow Him? “To do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8)

Names For God Found in the Bible

“The Fountain of Living Water”

"For My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns - broken cisterns that can hold no water” (Jer. 2:13 NKJV).

1. Meaning – The Fountain of Living Water speaks of God as the One who is the spring or source of refreshment.

2. Insights – In context, Israel had forsaken the true God for false gods, which was like abandoning a spring of fresh flowing water for a cracked, muddy cistern that could not hold water. Further, in Palestine, water is a valuable possession, and nobody would do a foolish thing like that. No wonder the Lord said in v. 12, “Be appalled at this, O heavens, and shudder with great horror” (NIV). The second phrase literally means “Let your hair stand on end!” God is the only One who can provide for all the people’s needs, both spiritual and material.

Did You Know...Christian History

Charlotte Digges “Lottie” Moon was born December 12, 1840 in Albemarle County, Virginia. She was a Southern Baptist missionary to China with the Foreign Mission Board.

Despite dedicated Christian parents, Lottie rebelled against Christianity until she was in college. In December 1858, after attending a series of revival meetings led by John Broadus, the founder of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Lottie dedicated her life to Christ. And like her younger sister, Lottie too felt the call to go to China. On July 7, 1873, the Foreign Mission Board officially appointed Lottie as a missionary to China, where she joined her sister in Tengchow.

Throughout her career of service as a missionary, chiefly in Tengchow and Pingtu, China, Lottie taught girls’ school and often made trips into the interior of the country to share the good news with women and girls. Lottie wrote numerous letters home, urging Southern Baptists to greater missions’ involvement and support. One of those letters triggered Southern Baptists’ first Christmas offering for international missions - and became the predecessor of today’s Christmas offering.

Further, during her time in Pingtu, Lottie gave orientation to new single women missionaries. By 1893, there were eight Southern Baptist missionaries who made up the north China mission. In 1898, Lottie began a day school for boys and girls together, an innovation for Chinese. Later, despite war and rising persecution, she organized other schools to help meet the new, widespread desire for education.

In the fall of 1911, women from three women’s missionary societies met in Lottie’s living room and organized the Woman’s Missionary Union of North China. They elected Lottie president. Then, in 1912, war broke out and Lottie’s compound was no longer an informal training school for Chinese women but a hostel for the ill and indigent. Knowing that the Chinese to whom she ministered didn’t have enough food, Lottie silently starved. On Christmas Eve, December 24, 1912, Lottie died aboard a ship in the Japanese harbor of Kobe. She was 72 years old.

We are indebted to Anna Maria Barclay, Lottie Moon’s mother, who instilled in her daughter a deep love of education. This desire to educate her daughter, the same as she did her sons, proved instrumental in the latter work that Lottie Moon would do in China.

A Little Humor

Two children ordered their mother to stay in bed one Mother’s Day morning. As she lay there looking forward to breakfast in bed, the smell of bacon floated up from the kitchen. But after a good long wait she finally went downstairs to investigate. She found them both sitting at the table eating bacon and eggs. “As a surprise for Mother’s Day,” one explained, “We decided to cook our own breakfast.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“A broken heart is the first step to spiritual wholeness!”