THE CHRISTIAN MOTHER By John Abbot- 1833

Dearest Mothers,

I had in my mind to post the writing's of John Abbot to "thoughts to Consider" at the bottom of this blog... BUT! I am so moved by his writings I've changed my mind and will section his writings in a series of blog posts.

They will be sectioned in Chapters
God bless you as you read and consider the seriousness of your job as a mother.


THE CHRISTIAN MOTHER
by John Abbott, 1833, Worcester, Mass. Published by the American Tract Society
Chapter One:
The Mother's RESPONSIBILITY
"Be an example . . . in speech, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity." 1 Timothy 4:12
"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6
A few years ago, some gentlemen who were associated in preparing for the ministry, felt interested in ascertaining what proportion of their number had pious mothers. They were greatly surprised and delighted in finding that out of one hundred and twenty students, over a hundred had been borne by a mother's prayers, and directed by a mother's counsels, to the Savior. Though some of these had broken away from all the restraints of home, and like the prodigal, had wandered in sin and sorrow, yet they could not forget the impressions of childhood, and were eventually brought to the Savior, to be a mother's joy and blessing. Many interesting facts have, within a few years, drawn the attention of Christians to this subject.
The efforts which a mother makes for the improvement of her child in knowledge and virtue, are necessarily retired and unobtrusive. The world knows nothing of them; and hence the world has been slow to perceive how powerful and extensive is this secret and silent influence. But circumstances are now directing the eyes of the community to the nursery, and the truth is daily coming more distinctly before the public, that the influence which is exerted upon the mind during the first eight or ten years of existence, in a great degree guides the destinies of that mind for time and eternity! And as the mother is the guardian and guide of the early years of life, from her goes the most powerful influence in the formation of the character of man. And why should it not be so? What impressions can be more strong, and more lasting, than those received upon the mind in the freshness and the susceptibility of youth? What instructor can gain greater confidence and respect than a mother? And where can there be delight in acquiring knowledge, if not when the little flock cluster around a mother's knee to hear of God and heaven?
"A good boy generally makes a good man." Said the mother of Washington,
"George was always a good boy." Here we see one secret of his greatness. George Washington had a mother who made him a good boy, and instilled into his heart those principles which raised him to be the benefactor of his country, and one of the brightest ornaments of the world. The mother of Washington is entitled to a nation's gratitude. She taught her boy the principles of obedience, and moral courage, and virtue. She, in a great measure, formed the character of the hero, and the statesman. It was by her own fire-side that she taught her playful boy to govern himself; and thus was he prepared for the brilliant career of usefulness which he afterward pursued. We are indebted to God for the gift of Washington; but we are no less indebted to him for the gift of his inestimable mother. Had she been a weak, and indulgent, and unfaithful parent, the unchecked energies of Washington might have elevated him to the throne of a tyrant; or youthful disobedience might have prepared the way for a life of crime and a dishonored grave....

Byron had a mother just the reverse of lady Washington; and the character of the mother was transferred to the son. We cannot wonder then at his character and conduct, for we see them to be the almost necessary consequence of the education he received, and the scenes witnessed in his mother's parlor. She would at one time allow him to disobey with impunity; and at another time, she would fly into a rage and beat him. She thus taught him to defy all authority, human and divine; to indulge, without restraint, in sin; to give himself up to the power of every maddening passion. It was the mother of Byron who laid the foundation of his pre-eminence in guilt. She taught him to plunge into that sea of profligacy and wretchedness, upon whose agitated waves he was tossed for life. If the crimes of the poet deserve the execration of the world—the world cannot forget that it was the mother who fostered in his youthful heart those passions which made the son a curse to his fellow-men.
There are, it is true, innumerable causes incessantly operating in the formation of character. A mother's influence is by no means the only influence which is exerted. Still it may be the most powerful; for, with God's ordinary blessing, it may form in the youthful mind the habits, and implant the principles, to which other influences are to give permanency and vigor.

Continue to read: Chapter One: Part 2

Anne Dutton's Letters on Spiritual Subjects (1692-1765)

Anne Dutton's Letters on Spiritual Subjects

Dear Sir,
I am glad you can say, concerning the work of the ministry, "My God would have me go, and go I must." And though you think yourself to be the weakest and vilest of all the Lord's people, and the least and most unworthy of all His ministers, and that you are not fit to preach the gospel, yet, since the Lord spoke by His blessed word to your heart, and persuaded you that it was His mind you should engage in this great work, fear not, for out of weakness you shall be made strong. Your iniquity your great High Priest has caused to pass from you, and He has clothed you with change of clothing—with the glorious robe of His righteousness—having taken off your own filthy garments; and a fair mitre will be set upon your head, or put a fresh beauty and glory upon you in your work, as you are therein made a priest unto God by the Lamb's blood.

And, remember, that the Lord is a Sovereign, and that He may take the least and last, the most unfit and unworthy of all, to send about this great work, the more to exalt the infinite freedom of His boundless grace, to display its exceeding riches, to His endless praise, by men and angels, and to exclude all creature-boasting—that no flesh should glory in His presence. Say, therefore, with your once-rejoicing Lord, "I thank You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and have revealed them unto babes; even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight."

And when God sends the most weak and unfit instruments to do great work, He does not leave them to their own weakness and unfitness, but abundantly supplies all their needs, according to His riches in glory by Jesus Christ—Himself the great, all-wise, and almighty agent, takes them into His own hand, and effectually works by them to answer His great designs. The servants of Christ in the ministry do not "go to war at their own expense;" they do not, should not, go to that great work in 'their own little strength', but abide in Christ by faith for the continual supplies of His Holy Spirit, to fit them for, and carry them through, all their appointed service, to the glory of God, the good of souls, and their own present and eternal bliss. Fear not, therefore, for the Lord who sent you will certainly be with you, and you shall save Israel and smite her enemies, clad with Jehovah's might.

All supplies of sin-pardoning, sin-subduing, all-assisting, and all-persevering grace are from Him, and unto His glory.

That you may be thus endued with power from on high, is my hearty desire.

Anne Dutton (1692-1765)

THAT INCREDIBLE CHRISTIAN - - - - By A.W. Tozer

THAT INCREDIBLE CHRISTIAN - - - - By A.W. Toz

The current effort of so many religious leaders to harmonize Christianity with science, philosophy and every natural and reasonable thing is, I believe, the result of failure to understand Christianity and, judging from what I have heard and read, failure to understand science and philosophy as well.

At the heart of the Christian system lies the cross of Christ with its divine paradox. The power of Christianity appears in its antipathy toward, never in its agreement with, the ways of fallen men. The truth of the cross is revealed in its contradictions. The witness of the church is most effective when she declares rather than explains, for the gospel is addressed not to reason but to faith. What can be proved requires no faith to accept. Faith rests upon the character of God, not upon the demonstrations of laboratory or logic.

The cross stands in bold opposition to the natural man. Its philosophy runs contrary to the processes of the unregenerate mind, so that Paul could say bluntly that the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness. To try to find a common ground between the message of the cross and man's fallen reason is to try the impossible, and if persisted in must result in an impaired reason, a meaningless cross and a powerless Christianity.

But let us bring the whole matter down from the uplands of theory and simply observe the true Christian as he puts into practice the teachings of Christ and His apostles. Note the contradictions:

The Christian believes that in Christ he has died, yet he is more alive than before and he fully expects to live forever. He walks on earth while seated in heaven and though born on earth he finds that after his conversion he is not at home here. Like the nighthawk, which in the air is the essence of grace and beauty but on the ground is awkward and ugly, so the Christian appears at his best in the heavenly places but does not fit well into the ways of the very society into which he was born.

The Christian soon learns that if he would be victorious as a son of heaven among men on earth he must not follow the common pattern of mankind, but rather the contrary. That he may be safe he puts himself in jeopardy; he loses his life to save it and is in danger of losing it if he attempts to preserve it. He goes down to get up. If he refuses to go down he is already down, but when he starts down he is on his way up.

He is strongest when he is weakest and weakest when he is strong. Though poor he has the power to make others rich, but when he becomes rich his ability to enrich others vanishes. He has most after he has given most away and has least when he possesses most.

He may be and often is highest when he feels lowest and most sinless when he is most conscious of sin. He is wisest when he knows that he knows not and knows least when he has acquired the greatest amount of knowledge. He sometimes does most by doing nothing and goes furthest when standing still. In heaviness he manages to rejoice and keeps his heart glad even in sorrow.

The paradoxical character of the Christian is revealed constantly. For instance, he believes that he is saved now, nevertheless he expects to be saved later and looks forward joyfully to future salvation. He fears God but is not afraid of Him. In God's presence he feels overwhelmed and undone, yet there is nowhere he would rather be than in that presence. He knows that he has been cleansed from his sin, yet he is painfully conscious that in his flesh dwells no good thing.

He loves supremely One whom he has never seen, and though himself poor and lowly he talks familiarly with One who is King of all kings and Lord of all lords, and is aware of no incongruity in so doing. He feels that he is in his own right altogether less than nothing, yet he believes without question that he is the apple of God's eye and that for him the Eternal Son became flesh and died on the cross of shame.

The Christian is a citizen of heaven and to that sacred citizenship he acknowledges first allegiance; yet he may love his earthly country with that intensity of devotion that caused John Knox to pray "O God, give me Scotland or I die."

He cheerfully expects before long to enter that bright world above, but he is in no hurry to leave this world and is quite willing to await the summons of his Heavenly Father. And he is unable to understand why the critical unbeliever should condemn him for this; it all seems so natural and right in the circumstances that he sees nothing inconsistent about it.

The cross-carrying Christian, furthermore, is both a confirmed pessimist and an optimist the like of which is to be found nowhere else on earth.

When he looks at the cross he is a pessimist, for he knows that the same judgment that fell on the Lord of glory condemns in that one act all nature and all the world of men. He rejects every human hope out of Christ because he knows that man's noblest effort is only dust building on dust.

Yet he is calmly, restfully optimistic. If the cross condemns the world the resurrection of Christ guarantees the ultimate triumph of good throughout the universe. Through Christ all will be well at last and the Christian waits the consummation. Incredible Christian!


http://www.awtozerclassics.com/articles/article/4938678/86406.htm

Dearest Mothers,Teach Your Children to Pray And Trust Jesus!

"Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength." Corrie Ten Boom


I found this video on YouTube and love the message!

Because of my plans to start a series on prayer I thought this video would be a good
introduction.

With love in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Sarah

DEAR SHEPHERD OF THY PEOPLE, HEAR

Dear Shepherd of Thy people, hear;
Thy presence now display;
As Thou hast given a place for prayer,
So give us hearts to pray.

O Lord, our languid souls inspire,
For here, we trust, thou art!
Send down a coal of heav’nly fire,
To warm each waiting heart.

Show us some token of Thy love,
Our fainting hope to raise;
And pour Thy blessings from above,
That we may render praise.

Within these walls let holy peace
And love and concord dwell;
Here give the troubled conscience ease,
The wounded spirit heal.

The feeling heart, the melting eye,
The humble mind bestow;
And shine upon us from on high,
To make our graces grow!

May we in faith receive Thy Word,
In faith present our prayers;
And, in the presence of our Lord,
Unbosom all our cares.

And may the Gospel’s joyful sound
Enforced by mighty grace,
Awaken many sinners round,
To come and fill the place.

Words: John New­ton, Ol­ney Hymns (Lon­don: W. Ol­iv­er, 1779). In New­ton’s orig­in­al ver­sion, the first stan­za was the one be­gin­ning, “O Lord, our lan­guid souls in­spire.”

To hear the music for this Hymn:

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/d/e/dearshep.htm

"She shall be called women, because she was taken out of man.". Genesis 2: 21-23

My Husband and I with Our Daughter and Her Husband with little Grace.
Marriage is a True Blessing From God.


And Adam said, this is now bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called women, because she was taken out of man. Genesis 2: 21-23

Though now existing apart from him, with a personality of her own, she is restored by marriage to a mystical re-union with him. The rib, which was taken out of his side, is replaced by the living form which is the compliment of himself, so that he "who loveth his wife loveth himself." And as "no man ever hated his own flesh," so in "nourishing and cherishing her." he simply "loves his own body".

There is a depth of tenderness in this, which just floods the heart with blessed sympathies. It is love itself which puts the crown of headship upon man; who, in the splendor of this majesty, folds within himself the gentle counterpart of his own being, who wreathes the garland around his brow. She is henceforth one with him in a mystical unity, holier and closer then that which was broken when the flesh ever cleft the side.


Taken from: "The Family" by: B.M. Palmer and J.W. Alexander. Published in 1847

The Answer To Anger And Resentment-Liberty Through Jesus Christ!

Dearest Ones,

I am sensing an urgency in writing about this subject, since it just recently came upon me and God gave such victory I want to share!
Only because of Jesus Christ my Lord I'm not given to anger and resentment, He has freed me from that bondage!

Where would any of us be without Jesus? Even David the Psalmist expresses his sorrow:

For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead. Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled. I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands. I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah (Psalms 143:3-6)

We do have an enemy of our soul who will not stop trying to hurt God's people. He's called "The old serpent" in Revelations 12:9. A serpent or snake is very subtle in the attack of a victim, sly and sneaky creeps up and waits for his prey to jump on. So likewise our enemy waits for an open door to leap on us to subtly whisper lies into our thoughts, to break us down by telling us lies about ourselves or other people. Ephesians 4:27 tells us not to give place for the devil, which means we need to recognize this foe when we are attacked and not be ignorant of the devils devices, 2 Corinthians 2:11... And in the verses preceding verse 11 lies the answer to these subtle attacks when we are roused to be angry at someone, to be bitter, to be hurt, to be in a rage: FORGIVENESS! "But to whom ye forgive anything, I forgive also: for what I also have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, for your sakes have I forgiven it in the presence of Christ; that no advantage may be gained over us by Satan: for we are not ignorant of his devices." (2 Corinthians 2:10-11)

As a godly wife and mother you may come to realize that in-fact you are a servant of God to your husband and children. We often sacrifice our own comforts and desires so our family will have things better, healthier and happier. Yes, the Proverbs states it clearly that the wise women builds her home. (Every wise woman buildeth her house; But the foolish plucketh it down with her own hands. (Proverbs 14:1) There is a wonderful fulfillment in the roll of wife and mother, nothing can compare to the liberty and joy we experience as we learn to obey God in our commission from Him.

There is another side to this sacrifice though- Sometimes it may seem we are not appreciated and it may seem that our Husband and children take us for granted. A Husband and children may demand more than we think we can give. In such cases we can easily get frustrated and get discouraged or depressed. This is why we as wives and mothers MUST evaluate daily WHY we DO what we DO! If you are a true child of God through Jesus Christ the Lord than you are doing everything For Him and so look to HIM for the strength and wisdom to accomplish your tasks for Him and His glory. Keep Him in your mind and eye-front and you will be victorious!
But if we forget and somehow open a door for the enemy.. not deliberately at all but because of our sin and weakness it does happen, and subtly the enemy puts a seed of thought of resentment into our minds, (Usually about our own husband) not realizing the seed growing over time until suddenly we find ourselves very angry to the point of great frustration, rage and even hatred. What a dreadful state to find oneself in!
What is the answer? What if we believe our resentment and anger is justified? What if we have others agreeing with us and even feeding our rage? Here lies two choices: Be a wise women or be a foolish women.

Be a wise women: GO! LOOK AT THE CROSS OF JESUS CHRIST! He died for you. He bore your sin on cross, HE shed His blood for you. He forgave you of all your sins. Your sins against Him are far greater, far more wretched and ugly than any sin anyone has ever done against you at any time. Repent of your anger, plead the blood of Jesus over you and FORGIVE the offenses of your husband or another person you are angry with. "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Matthew 6:14-15) This is very sobering to realize. BE wise!
What if you want to forgive but your emotions are still angry and resentful? The answer lies in obedience to God, tell God you forgive, ask Him to help you to feel love and forgiveness. What we don't often realize the problems often come because we have forgotten to pray for our husband or the other person. Every time you have a critical thought against your husband, pray for him. Pray that he will love the Lord, read the Bible, hunger and thirst for righteousness, pray that he will love you and be a wise and good husband and father. Pray more and often for him, and pray that you will love him more and be the right kind of helpmeet that he needs. The wrong feelings will vanish away and suddenly you will feel the true liberty that forgiveness offers.

A foolish women tears her own household down with her hands. What bitterness and sorrow! Many divorces come from the proud and unforgiving wife who hardens her heart against the truth and refuses to obey God.

May God bless you in your walk with Him dear godly daughters,
In His love,
Sarah