Why Mothers Matter

One of the most beautiful passages in Scripture is found in Luke’s Gospel. It is called “The Magnificat.” We have Mary proclaiming, “My soul magnifies the Lord.” The word soul is a special word and in Hebrew is used to reveal or describe a person’s entire identity. It is the very essence – or being or character – of a person. In this one word, Mary reveals that all of her is committed to the Lord. The sum and substance of her life was to worship God in all of His Majesty!

If we want to study the smallest particle of God’s creation we put it under a microscope to magnify it. This enlarges, or expands, every detail of the particle so we can discover its intricacies, its subtleties and its structure. Mary was determined to put God under her “microscope” so she could understand Him personally, intimately and completely.

In her “song” she magnified her Lord – not her Son. Often we become overly concerned about the way our children look rather than what they look at. Not so Mary. She recognized her responsibility as a mother and knew that if God were first in her life, He would be first in her child’s life. She had her priorities right.

God entrusted Mary with the Messiah because He was at the center of her life and knew that her Son would be nurtured in what matters most in the life of a child: knowing, understanding and following His will.

Prayer: We ask, Lord, that all mothers everywhere will recognize the importance of being a mother and the trust You place in them to raise children to know You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Luke 1:46-55 “My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.

No Limits Love!

Four-year-old Martha was just beginning to understand numbers. Trying to put her new knowledge to work, she said, “Mommy, I love you ten times! No, I love you a hundred and ten times. No. That's not right, Mommy. I love you more than all the numbers in the world!”

That mother’s heart must have jumped with joy!

Numbers have become an important part of everyone’s life. It seems as though we try to measure everything in one way or another. Whether it is household budgets, interest rates, unemployment numbers, political polls or retirement accounts - to name a few - we attach a number to everything.

But there is one item that cannot be measured. It is impossible to assign a number to the love of God. It is immeasurable, incalculable, and actually beyond our reason to comprehend. God set the pattern or the standard for true, selfless, self-sacrificing love in the gift of His one and only begotten Son.

God paid a price we cannot comprehend when He gave His Son to pay the price of our sins. And we must also add to that love the love of Jesus who willingly and unhesitatingly gave His life on the cross for our salvation.

When we combine the love of God with the love of Jesus, we come to Martha’s conclusion: it’s more than all the numbers in the world! And then some!

Prayer: Father, we do not understand the love that You have for us. It is beyond our ability to grasp. We do know, however, that Your love made salvation possible. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Why Mothers Matter

WHY MOTHERS MATTER

As the young man was saying his final goodbyes to his mother, through tear filled eyes, she asked, “Robert, will you make one final promise to me?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he responded with a promise in his voice.

“Promise me,” she begged, “that every night before you lie down to sleep, that you will read a chapter from the Bible and pray.”

Hesitatingly, but sincerely, he replied, “I will.”

Sometime later, keeping that promise led to his conversion to Christ. One day as he was walking on a country road in Scotland, he saw a poster announcing a missionary meeting. He decided to attend that meeting and while listening to the message, “God prompted the heart of the youth to become a missionary.” Soon after attending that meeting, God called him to become a missionary to South Africa.

He labored among the Bacchanals for twelve years before there were any conversions. His loyalty to them finally lead to a revival that eventually spread to other tribes in the region and many came to know Christ.

As the revival spread and the church grew, he realized the need that the people had for a copy of the New Testament in their own language. He realized that if they were to learn God’s Word and live God’s way, they had to have a Bible. So, he not only translated the Scriptures, he procured a printing press to print it.

Robert Moffat opened the jungles to the Gospel; he braved their dangers, withstood the threats of medicine men, taught the natives to read, write, sing and farm and wrote two books about missions. What an impact one mother’s request had on her son!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we realize the importance of a mother’s influence and we ask that You equip and enable them to influence their children in Your ways. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: 2 Timothy 3:13-16 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.