Courageous Character

It is called Mother’s Day, not wife’s or wives’ day for the simple reason that it is the day children honor their mothers, not husbands honoring wives or fathers honoring mothers. It is a day when children reexamine what mothers mean to them. It is a day when children reexamine their relationships to their mothers, what they have done or not done to honor or dishonor their mothers. It does not mean however that a husband cannot honor his wife or a father the mother!

Children should be asking themselves am I honoring her only today by a tiny token or am I honoring her by a lifestyle that warms her heart and provokes thanks to God rather than tears before Him?

It may also be a day when mothers reexamine their priorities and the heritage they are leaving to their children. In referring to heritage not only is the material meant but also and more important the spiritual. Do your children see Christlike qualities in you? But then we will have to ask ourselves what we mean by Christlike qualities. Is there consistency in you? Is there commitment? Is there consecration? A mother after God’s Heart is a woman who develops nurture and promotes these qualities, not only in her life but in the lives of her children by instruction, training and example!

Hannah was an Israelite mother who exhibited

1. Consistency in her prayer.

She would not be sidetracked from her intercession and crying to God

2. Consecration in her purpose

She gave back to the Lord wholeheartedly that which she had longed for.

3. Commitment in her promise!

She swore to her own hurt and would not retreat from her promise to God

It takes a special kind of courage to do what Hannah did!

We need to be consistent in our daily witness for Christ.

We need to consistent in our dealings with our children.

We need to be consistent in our commitment to His cause.

CONSISTENCY:

1 Corinthians 15:58 KJV 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

The deceitfulness of sin is an enemy of consistency

Hebrews 3:12-15 KJV Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. 13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; 15 While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.

It is called staying the course. It is hard to maintain consistency when we relegate our Christianity to only an hour or two on Sundays (if even that). Too often we have been too busy to pursue God and we will willingly find all sorts of "legitimate" reasons why we are unable to have fellowship. We may not think it critical or important, but our children young they may be, are aware of the various reasons why we miss fellowship, and every moment of interaction is a teaching moment, mostly by our words, behavior and attitude

A young man was being interviewed for a position in a small business firm. He had a neat appearance and made a good impression on the owner. He had also prepared an excellent résumé in which he listed his pastor, his Sunday school teacher, and a church deacon as references.

The owner of the business studied the résumé for several minutes then said, “I appreciate these recommendations from your church friends. But what I would really like is to hear from someone who knows you on weekdays.”

Jesus gives the definitive take on being consistent : Luke 9:23 KJV And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

Enoch had a consistent walk with God:

Genesis 5:24 KJV And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

Hebrews 11:5 KJV By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

A striking example of consistency is recorded in Daniel:

Daniel 6:3-10 KJV Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. 4 Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. 5 Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God. 6 Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever. 7 All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions. 8 Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. 9 Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree. 10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.