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.
Without reminders of your unconditional acceptance. Children might fear your disappointment & rejection.
Memorials can also take the form of a gift or even the bestowal of certain privileges. In presenting the gift, stress several times that it is not connected with any particular occasion or action on their part. That you are giving simply because you love them.
God gave us a gift just because He loved us John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
2.To properly motivate your child. You must measure him by his own ability. Not somebody else’s.
Comparing one child’s performance to that of another eventually destroys self-esteem. Destroys expressions of individuality, & creativity.
The real key here is to view each of your children as a unique individual. Every young person is gifted in some particular way.
Your goal as a parent is to recognize that area of strength. To emphasize it as your child develops. For within these strengths is his or her greatest potential for excellence. By cultivating these strengths, you will also do great things for your children’s self-esteem.
When I was growing up, I had a hard time. I was rejected & abused. Everything turned out okay. I was adopted by great parents. They loved me. They were not Christians but they loved me. But I didn’t have a good start.
As a result, I never told my kids that I expected them to make A’s or B’s while they were in school. I didn’t tell them they had to make the football team or be the most popular. Instead, my question to them was, “Did you do your best?” One good way to find out whether or not your children feel unconditional acceptance is simply to ask them, “What do you think it would take for you to make Mom & Dad as proud of you as we could possibly be?” Evaluate the answer carefully. Is it task-oriented? Do they feel they must do all their chores every day or be straight-A students? Do they feel obligated to make a team or squad, or perform some other task to win your approval? Perhaps the answer is more character-related. Do your children believe that doing their best at every task they undertake is what would please you? Do they know you would be proud of them for obeying God, regardless of the cost? Their reply will give you insight into what you’ve actually communicated. Even regardless of what you have said. The value system you establish will serve as a basis upon which they accept themselves & others. Simply telling your children that you accept them unconditionally is not enough.
The apostle John wrote, 1 John 3:18 1 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
Unconditional love & acceptance are communicated more clearly by what we do. Even how we do it than simply by what we say. Our children must have a backlog of memories to sustain their belief that we truly love them. No matter what. Such love tells our sons & daughters that we accept them for who they are. Despite what they do. What a sense of security & acceptance this gives them! Do you want to encourage your kids to succeed? You don’t need to push expectations on them. If we direct their focus to the Lord. Then they will want to be obedient & do their best for Him. (Hey, remember to lead by example) Never take for granted the impact that you have on their lives. Remember, the way you act toward your kids today greatly influences the way they will respond to you tomorrow.
"Thank You Mom!" God tells us to honor our mother. He does not set any limits to His command. Because she’s our mom. We are to treat her with respect & love.
Mothers don’t always live up to our expectations. Sometimes, they experience hardships & challenges that affect their ability to offer what we need or want. They might even have a personal weakness that negatively impacts us or our families. But we’re to follow the example of our heavenly Father. Who loved us even though we didn’t have any qualities that deserved His favor. Jeremiah 31:3 The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. Romans 5:10 says He chose us to belong to Him through His Son Jesus. Even while we were still His enemies. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. God loved us when we were unlovable. We can express our gratitude to Him by giving unconditional love to our mother. With the Holy Spirit’s help. We can choose to do so genuinely & consistently.
To love the significant women in our lives. Without any strings attached is an important part of showing them honor. No mother or wife should have to wonder. If she’s living up to what loved ones hope & expect from her. After a while, she’ll feel trapped by the burden of unmet expectations, rather than accepted by those closest to her.
Mothers have the same needs as all women: To be loved, listened to, & cared about. Take time to show the important women in your life how much you care for them. Be a willing, attentive listener, & demonstrate your love to them in meanful ways. Rules for the family from the Bible. Ephesians 6:1-4 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Ephesians 5:25-28 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. Ephesians 5:22-24 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Hebrews 13:4 Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. Conclusion: When all fails. Read the manual. The Word of God. The Bible! The altar is now open for business. As the music plays please come. Salvation, join, or just to spend time with the Lord.
As the Bible says in Revelation 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. (A promise from the Lord to all of us) Please come now!
