A Mother's Greatest Gift Series

A Mother’s Greatest Gift 2 Timothy 1:1-7 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day; Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy; When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Mothers are givers by nature, so throughout life. They offer their sons & daughters all kinds of blessings. But the most important thing a godly mom can give her children is the motivation to believe in God & know Him intimately

Deuteronomy 6:1-3 Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. Some thoughts here on the teaching of mothers. 1.Teach Principles: Deuteronomy 6:5-7 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

If you want your children to survive the secular society in which we live. Teach them biblical principles. Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Most important is, “Obey God, & leave all the consequences to Him.” Teach children the truth, & they will recognize lies.

2.Show Pattern: Children must see you consistently live out your faith. Or they will think you are a hypocrite. Children often follow in their parents’ footsteps (Eve, Cain, Rebekah, Jacob, Jochebed, & Moses).

3.Teach Persistence: Even if kids don’t “get it” the first time. Keep teaching, disciplining, & exemplifying trust & obedience. When your family faces hard times. Use adversity as an opportunity to demonstrate faith by praying together. It’s through difficulties that kids learn how to live out Christianity.

4. Participation: Get involved in your kids’ daily lives by doing the things you want them to do. (e.g., Dr. Stanley ’s friends’ parents didn’t go to church with their children. Which sent a message that it wasn’t important.)

5. Praise: Encouragement is more effective than condemnation. Never shamed them for bad grades if they had done their best. Look for things to praise them for.

6. Prayer: Children need to hear you pray for them. Call their names before God. Make specific requests for them. Nothing you do for your children is more powerful than prayer. Also, be sure to pray with them.

7. Planning: If you want to pass your faith on to the next generation. You must set aside time to read the Bible as a family Take time to talk about spiritual truths. Parents, it’s your responsibility to raise godly children. Thankfully, you are not alone. The Father sends the Holy Spirit to enable, strengthen, & encourage believers Loving Your Child As parents, we want our children to love us. To spend time with us, talk with us. To stay close to us for as long as we live. More importantly, we would like them to want to do those things. But if we don’t love them unconditionally now. It’s unlikely they will remain nearby in the future. “But aren’t I responsible to help them develop to their fullest potential?” you might ask. “Are there not times when I need to push a little?” Absolutely! In fact, motivating your children to excellence & improvement is part of expressing unconditional love. Also showing acceptance to them. To allow kids simply to get by in life is a form of covert rejection. If you want to motivate your children without expressing an attitude of conditional acceptance. Two things must be true. 1. All your prodding & exhortation must be preceded by demonstrations of unconditional love for them. There must be memorials, so to speak, to their worthiness in your eyes. By “memorials,” I mean prior events or conversations that have clearly expressed your love. Memorials are beneficial because they give your children something to recall for reassurance when you pressure them to perform. Sometimes your expectations will be too high, & they will fail.