Mission Possible!

Mothers, we have a mission from God!

There are times, mothers, when you feel as though you are not able to serve the Lord because you are so busy looking after children. You wish you could escape the frustrations and tediousness of each day and instead go out as a laborer on the mission field. Mother, I want to remind you that you are already a missionary. You already have a mission field. It’s right in front of your eyes.

In Matthew 9:37-38, Jesus said to his disciples, "The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest."

As a mother in your home, you are fulfilling this scripture in two ways:

1. You are a laborer yourself as you train your children for the purposes God has planned for them.
2. You are supplying laborers for God’s harvest field as you receive the children He has planned for you and as you train them for God’s army.

Mothers, we have a mission from God! We have a destiny! Motherhood and training our children in God’s ways has been God’s plan for women from the beginning of creation, but I believe that there is a special call from God for the mothers of today. I believe the mothers of this hour could well be the mothers who will train the generation that will prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. We have a mighty task – greater than any time in history. Let’s take up our mission.

WHAT IS A MISSION?

Here are some dictionary meanings of the word ‘mission.’

To be assigned to a special work

Our purpose in life

That which we are fitted to do – our calling

The goal or task that we are destined to accomplish in life

Delegated to perform a specific or special task.

Life’s principal task.

Synonyms for mission are:

a charge, a duty, a trust, an assignment, an undertaking,

an enterprise, a mandate, a calling, and a pursuit.

A mission is also used in the context of a military operation:

It is a group of forces and resources especially of military units

for the accomplishment for a specific objective.

We know that God has given us ‘arrows’ to train for Him. Mothers, we are involved in military training. What an awesome task.

WHY DO WE DO IT?

God CREATED us for this task.

God has created women physically for the task of childbearing. He has given us a womb to conceive and nurture life, and breasts to nourish that life. One of the Greek words for woman is ‘thelus’ derived from ‘thele’ meaning ‘the nipple of a woman’s breast, to nourish, to give suck.’ It is translated "woman" in Romans 1:26 and "female" in Matthew 19:4 and Mark 10:6.

The word ‘woman’ is a combination of ‘womb’ and ‘man’. We are ‘womb men.’ The womb is our most distinguishing characteristic as a woman. It is a gift from our Creator. It is His plan and destiny for us. When we decide to cut off the function of our womb, we despise God’s ultimate gift to us as women, and we thwart God’s highest calling for our lives.

God COMMISSIONED us for this purpose.

In Genesis 3:20 "Adam called his wife’s name Eve: because she was the mother of all living." When Adam said these words, Eve was not yet a mother. She had never experienced motherhood. She had never seen a newborn baby. She had never nursed a child at her breast. Why therefore, does Adam call her a mother? Adam spoke under the anointing of God and gave a prophetic word to his wife, and to all women to come. Eve was the prototype of all women who would be born. When Adam spoke these words, he proclaimed Eve’s highest destiny of motherhood and also that of all women to follow.

1 Timothy 5:10 gives a description of a woman who fulfilled God’s purposes for her life. She lived in the anointing of motherhood. She embraced the children that God intended for her and nurtured, nourished and trained them. But that was not all. She continued in motherhood all her life, releasing the maternal heart that God had put within her by divine creation. She opened her doors in hospitality, and she reached out her hands to care for the needy and the poor and those who needed the consolation of her mother heart.

God wants us to be COMMITTED to His calling for us.

Colossians 4:17 says, "Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it. Motherhood is the ministry that we have received from the Lord. Therefore we should fulfil it with all our hearts.

J.B. Phillip’s translation says, "God ordained you to your work – see that you don’t fail Him."

I like Moffat’s translation too, "Attend to the duty entrusted to you…and discharge it to the full."

Colossians 3:23,24, J.B. Phillips says, "Whatever you do, put your whole heart and soul into it, as into work done for God, and not merely for men – knowing that your real reward, a heavenly one, will come from God, since you are actually employed by Christ…"for the Lord! You are making your home a sanctuary for the Lord. You are training your children for God and for the purposes that He has planned for them. Be encouraged. You are in the service of the King. Sometimes you can feel as though it is a thankless task, but God is watching. Don’t fail Him! Remember that Christ employs you. Therefore, be committed. Dear mother, God is your employer. It is God who has ordained you to mother the children that He has graciously given you. When you feel frustrated and no one appreciates your daily service in the home, (Yes, I’ve felt like that many times!) remember that you are working

God wants us to COMPLETE our work.

Luke 12:37-39 says, "Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he comes shall find watching…and if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through."

One of our biggest tasks as a mother is to be a WATCHDOG! In Titus 2:4 the phrase "keepers at home" actually means to be the "guardians of the home." We are to carefully guard our little flock like a ferocious watchdog. We must never give up on our job until the day when we meet the Lord. We need to stay on duty through every watch.

THE FIRST WATCH. Most mothers are faithful in the first watch when their babies are little. They devote themselves to caring for their little one, nursing their baby, and always being available to them. If the Lord were to come on the First Watch, they would be found faithful.

THE SECOND WATCH. Some mothers sit down a little on this watch. The children are now school age, and they can’t wait to get them off to school so they can get on with their own projects and things that they want to do. They send them off to kindergarten, and to school, to sit "in the counsel of the ungodly." Psalm 1:1. They are not concerned that their children may be learning things that are anti-God and anti-family and that they are being slowly brain-washed by humanistic philosophy. Would they be found faithful if the Lord should come during the Second Watch?

THE THIRD WATCH. Those who have been faithful in the first two watches, sometimes slip up here. Their children are now teens and going on to College. They feel that they are old enough to go out on their own, choose their own friends and date whoever they want. The mother feels that she really has time now to do other things, and even to get into ministry for the Lord!

Oh dear mothers, this is one of the most important watches. We simply cannot sit down on this watch. We must stay awake, be faithful, and stand upon our watch in the Third Watch. This is the most vulnerable age of all. This is when we need to be on duty in the home. We can’t vacate our post now! Our young people need constant watching and guarding. We need to be guarding carefully what they are watching, what they are reading and where they are going. We need to check what is hidden in their bedrooms. Yes, mothers, we are responsible before God. We are in charge of their lives and what is in our home while they live under our roof.

This is when we get serious about the prayer watch. We need to spend much time in prayer for our young people. More is wrought by prayer than this world dreams of. Don’t give up on the Third Watch. We need to faithfully teach them God’s ways of godly courting, rather than worldly dating, and pray much for God’s partner for their lives. Oh may we be found faithful during this Third Watch.

THE FOURTH WATCH. The children are getting married now. The grandchildren are coming along. Do we give up motherhood now? No, we continue our mission until the day we meet Jesus. Of course, we can’t direct their lives now. They are setting up their own homes and establishing their own families. But we are commanded as older women to teach and encourage the younger mothers. However, our big job on this watch is to continue the PRAYER WATCH. We are to be faithful in prayer for our children, our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren.

I know of one dear mother who is now in her nineties. She prays for all her offspring every morning before she starts the day. When another grandchild or great-grandchild is born, she gets up 15 minutes earlier to add this child to her prayer list. Now in her old age, instead of sleeping in, she gets up earlier and earlier to pray for her descendants.

My husband comes from a family of nine children – all are serving the Lord. Their children are all serving the Lord, and now they are raising another generation to serve the Lord. They believe this blessing upon this family is because of the great-grandmother who was an intercessor and who prayed for the "coming generations."

Matthew 14:23-27 tells an incident in the life of Jesus, "When he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray…. and in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea…." (Mark 6:4;8) Jesus gives us the example of praying in the fourth watch. It was while he was praying that he became aware of the disciples in the storm. It is as we pray that God will show us the areas of need that we should be praying about for our families. This is how we guard in the fourth watch.

2 John v.8 RSV says, "Look to yourselves, that you may not lose what you have worked for, but may win a full reward." Don’t lose all you have done by sitting down in the Fourth Watch.

Here are some other scriptures to remind us to be continually on our watch.

Jeremiah 51:12, "Make the watch strong."

Habakkuk 2:1, "I will stand upon my watch." We mustn’t sit down on our watch, or go to sleep on our watch. Remember that we are the guardians of our home.

1 Thessalonians 5:6, "Therefore let us not sleep, as do others, but let us watch and be sober."

Hebrews 13:17 is a word to elders of the church, but I believe that it is also a word for us as mothers and for fathers too of course. "They watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief." If we are faithful Watchdogs unto the end, we will have joy and not grief.

 

WHAT KIND OF CHILDREN DOES GOD WANT US TO TRAIN?

WHAT IS THIS TASK FORCE TO BE LIKE?

As we discuss the following character traits, we will realize that they first have to be a living reality in our own lives before we can teach them to our children. In fact, we will impart them to our children by living example, rather than by teaching.

Children will learn far more from your daily attitude

in the home than they will learn from what you teach them!

I have commented only briefly on the following points. However, I would ask you to pray about each one and ask God to show you how to impart each character trait to your children. God will give you wisdom and anointing. Above all, pray these attributes into your children. More is wrought by prayer than any other method. I have not mentioned the obvious point, which is that we need to lead each one of our children to know Jesus as Lord and Saviour and into a born again experience. We know that this can only happen by the working of the Holy Spirit in their hearts, but God has chosen you as their mother to lead them to the foot of the cross. They need a revelation of Jesus and His blood sacrifice for them and a personal encounter with God if they are going to continue to walk with God as they grow and leave the nest.

CHILDREN WHO LOVE GOD.

Deuteronomy 6:5 is one of the great scriptures in the Word of God. God says, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." Mark 12:30.

Matthew 22:38 says that "This is the first and great commandment." If this is the first and greatest commandment, this is where we must start. Love for God is the foundation of everything. We can know all truth and have all knowledge, but without loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, it is lifeless. It becomes legality, and children will eventually run from legality. (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)

How can we teach our children to love God? This same passage in Deuteronomy tells us how. v 6-7, "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…"

Our children will learn to love God in the atmosphere of our home where God is loved. Children imbibe the atmosphere of God’s love. They won’t grow up loving God where parents take their children to church on Sunday but there is bickering and hypocrisy in the home during the week.

CHILDREN WHO ARE OBEDIENT AND WHO KNOW HOW TO TAKE ORDERS.

The first lesson a soldier learns in training for a Task Force is how to obey. We may as well forget every other lesson if this one is not learned properly. However, before we can teach our children to obey, we must first teach them how to listen.

Listening is the prerequisite for obedience.

I love the picture that is painted in Proverbs 8:34. Can you see this trained soldier who is eager to get into the battle? He can’t wait to be involved. But he has learned that he cannot do anything until he hears orders from his captain. "Blessed is the man that hears me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors."

As soon as your little ones can understand, teach them how to hear. Give orders face to face with eye-to-eye contact. When you know that they have heard you, train them to obey immediately. Mother, you are the one who determines what kind of ears your children have. Do they have lazy ears? Dull ears? Defiant ears? Resistant ears? Forgetful ears?

Read Matthew 13:15-16; Acts 28:27; Hebrews 5:11.

God wants us to train our children to have "obedient ears" Proverbs 25:12, and "swift ears" James 1:19. There are two kinds of children – obedient doers and forgetful hearers. Which kind are you training?

The two main Hebrew words for hearing are:

1. 'shama’ which means ‘to hear with attention and obedience, to give undivided listening attention." When God gave Solomon the opportunity to ask whatever He wanted from the Lord, He prayed, "Give therefore thy servant an understanding (shama) heart…" He asked for a heart that listens to God. The Bible says that this prayer "pleased the Lord." 1Kings 3:3-14.

2. ‘qashav’ which means 'to prick up the ears, e.g. sharpening them like an alert animal.’ Now this is the kind of hearing we want our children to have, isn’t it? This is the word that is used in 1 Samuel 15:22,23, "Behold to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken (qashav) than the fat of rams…"

When your children learn to listen, they’ll learn to obey.

When they learn to obey you, they’ll learn to obey God.

True hearing results in action!

Delayed obedience is disobedience!

Read these scriptures: Proverbs 1:5; 13: 1; 15:32; 23:12; 25:12; Isaiah 30:9

Important point. Is there rebellion in your children? Check your own heart. If there is rebellion in any area in your own heart, you will often see it reflected in your children.

CHILDREN WHO FEAR THE LORD.

Once we have taught children to obey, we then teach them to fear the Lord.

Deuteronomy 4:9,10, "I will make them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children."

Deuteronomy 6:1,2 "Now these are the commandments…that ye might do them…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…"

Deuteronomy 31:11-13, "Thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing, Gather the people together, men, women, and children…that they may hear and that they may learn, and fear the Lord your God…and that their children which have not known any thing, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God…"

Oh how important for our children to walk in the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is clean, it is strong, it is a fountain of life, and it is the beginning of wisdom and the beginning of knowledge. Refer to separate teaching sheet about walking in the fear of the Lord.

CHILDREN OF COURAGE AND VALOUR, WHO ARE STRONG IN THE LORD.

Exodus 18:21, "Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens."

The word "able" is ‘chayil’. It means – a force, an army, wealth, virtue, valor, military strength, great forces, a host, might, power, noble, strong. It has the meaning of ‘a strength of an army’ – ‘a force to be reckoned with.’ God is looking for soldiers for His army, not wimps. He is looking for those who have been trained to battle with the enemy. He is looking for those who know how to overcome the enemy. He is looking for those who are after the victory. No wonder God calls our children "arrows". Psalm 127:4,5. In Bible days "arrows" were weapons of war!

Now this sounds great for our sons, but what about our daughters? No, they are not left out! You will be surprised to know that the word "able" in the Hebrew is exactly the same word that is translated '‘virtuous" in Proverbs 31:10. "Who can find a virtuous (chayil) woman, for her price is far above rubies." God also wants our daughters to be strong in the Lord, strong in faith, strong in truth, strong in their convictions, strong in commitment and strong in faithfulness. In fact, Proverbs 31:17 says that she is to be strong physically too. She should be strong for childbearing and child training. We are preparing our children for motherhood, which is a career that is not for wimps. It requires spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical strength.

This is a picture of the army God is raising. Song of Solomon 6:10, "Who is she that looks forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?"

CHILDREN WHO ARE KNOWN FOR TRUTH AND INTEGRITY.

Exodus 18:21, "Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens."

The leaders who God is looking for are men and women who are ingrained in truth and integrity. God wants absolute truth in our hearts and minds and mouth - truth in the very inward being. I believe that this is the definition of integrity – being truthful and doing what is right in every situation, even when no one else is looking or no one else knows.

Truth is also understanding the will of God. The middle letter of trUth is U, which stands for UNDERSTANDING. Ephesians 5:17 says, "Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is."

We must train our sons and daughters in the ways of truth. We must seek God for truth. We must seek God’s perfect will for the roles of our children. We must train our sons for the future, training them to be prepared to one day provide for a home. They should understand from a young age that they are to work hard and study well because they will one day be the priests, the providers and the protectors of their homes. We should prepare our daughters for motherhood. They should understand that this is the greatest calling on which they will embark and that they are to be the nurturers, the nourishers and the nest builders of their homes.

Refer to separate teaching sheet about how God wants us to have truth in every part of our lives. Also read the following scriptures.

Romans 1:31; 1 Corinthians 14:20 Ephesians 1:18, "Col 1: 9; Colossians 2:2; 2 Tim 2:7; 1 John 5:20; Rev 13:18.

I love this scripture in 1 Chronicles 12:32, "The children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do." May we raise children who will be full of truth and understanding and who will know what to do.

Deuteronomy 4:5-8; Proverbs 3:5,6; Isaiah 59:14,15.

 

CHILDREN WHO WILL KEEP THE WAY OF THE LORD AND DO JUSTICE AND JUDGEMENT.

Genesis 18:19, "Abraham…For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him."

There is no justice or judgment in the land today. But God is looking for children who are being trained in godly homes in the way of true justice and judgment. In God’s time these children will come forth to bring godly judgment in the land.

Isaiah 26:8,9, "When Thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness."

CHILDREN WHO HAVE LEARNED TO WAIT.

How do we teach our children to wait? We teach them by our own example, by learning to wait for things ourselves. Here’s a secret! Never rush and buy something immediately. Always wait! Give God a chance to provide. Don’t rush and buy household appliances, clothes or anything that you think you need. WAIT! You will be amazed at how many times God will provide, if you have patience and wait. I am constantly challenged by Hebrews 6:12. "through faith and PATIENCE we inherit the promises."

Psalm 37:7, "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him. Fret not thyself because of him who prospers in his way." v.16."A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked." James 5:7,8. Hebrews 11:39.

 

CHILDREN WHO HAVE A CONTENTED SPIRIT.

How can we teach our children to have a contented spirit if we don’t have a contented spirit ourselves? If children see you wanting things and buying things, they’ll pick up the same spirit. May God work a contented spirit in our hearts so we’ll pass it on to our children.

Luke 3:14, "Be content with your wages." Do you grumble about your husband’s wages or are you content?

Phil 2:14,15, "Do all things without murmurings and disputings, that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world. "

Phil 4:11,12, "I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need."

1 Tim 6:6-8, "Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content."

Hebrews 13:5, "Be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."

Children don’t need to get everything they want. They don’t need something every time they go to the shops. They will learn to be contented as they see us joyfully content with what we have.

CHILDREN WHO HAVE A THANKFUL AND GRATEFUL HEART.

This is such an important point. God doesn’t want grumblers in His army. He wants those who have an ‘attitude of gratitude.’

• Psalm 34:1, "I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth."

• Psalm 35:28, "My tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long."

• Psalm 44:8, "In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name forever."

• Palm 71:6,14,15,24, "My praise shall be continually of Thee…I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more."

• Psalm 71:8, "Let my mouth be filled with Thy praise and with Thy honor all the day."

• Ephesians 5:18-20, "Give thanks always for all things."

• Colossians 2:7 NAS, "Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving."
• 1 Thessalonians 5:17, 8, "Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

Get out your Above Rubies again and look up page 8 in #48 issue which tells you a wonderful idea of how you can bring an overflowing thankful spirit into your home for yourself and for your children. Or check the article HOW TO CHANGE THE ATMOSPHERE INYOUR HOME on this web site.

CHILDREN WHO KNOW HOW TO TRUST GOD.

Jeremiah 17:8, "Blessed is the man that trusts in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreads out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat comes, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit."

Our children need to learn to trust the Lord in the little things of life now, so they will know how to trust God in the bigger things of life. See the example of Joseph in

Genesis 45:6-8; Genesis 50:20; Proverbs 13:5,6; 16:20.

CHILDREN WHO HAVE HUMBLE HEARTS.

The people who God is looking for are those who have a humble spirit. Isaiah 66:2, "To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word."

Isaiah 57:15, "For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy, I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."

1 Peter 5:6, "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time."

 

CHILDREN WHO RESPECT ELDERS.

Children who have not learned to respect elders or have not learned how to respond to authority, will never be able to exercise authority themselves. Do we teach our children to show respect to older people?

Leviticus 19:32, "Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the Lord." Ephesians 6:1-3.

Hebrews 13:17, "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves…"

Read also 1 Thessalonians 12,13; 1 Timothy 5:17; Hebrews 13:7.

CHILDREN WHO KNOW HOW TO WORK.

Teaching our children a work ethic is so important. God gave the principle of work to man for his blessing. Work is the law of man’s being. It is divinely inspired. It is therapeutic – physically, emotionally and mentally.

Genesis 2:8-15, "And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden…and the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it."

The word ‘dress ‘ in the Hebrew is ‘avad’ and means, ‘to work, serve, labour, till.’ It is translated in other scriptures as "till", "work" and "serve".

Refer to separate article on THE PRINCIPLE OF WORK IN THE WORD OF GOD to see 24 different attitudes that God wants us to have towards work and what He wants us to teach our children about work.

CHILDREN WHO HAVE LEARNED TO SERVE.

Jesus shows us the example in Matthew 20:26-28, "It shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave; even as the Son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Mark 10:42-44; Luke 22:27b

Once again, how will our children learn to serve? Of course, when they see us joyfully serving in the home. If we grumble and complain about all we have to do, they will adopt this attitude also. But if they see that serving is our joy, they will learn to live this way. Read the beautiful example of Jesus in John 13:3-17.

CHILDREN WHO CAN ENDURE HARDSHIP.

Endurance is one of the most important qualities to impart to our children as we train them for God’s end-time task force. Endurance is a necessary attribute for a task force.

2 Tim 2:3,4 says, "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that wars entangles himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier."

Check the article on this web site called HOW CAN WE ENDURE? for further understanding on this subject.

CHILDREN WHO MAKE THE WORD OF GOD THEIR GUIDE FOR LIFE.

Most people today are unconsciously guided by the deceptive humanistic philosophy of this world. It shapes our society and even shapes our lives without our realizing it. This is why the homeschooling revival is part of God’s plan. When children are taken out of the public school system, which is ingrained in humanism, and instead trained and taught, in the pure truth of the Word of God, we will begin to see change. God wants an army coming forth that is not only ready for battle, but that is free from the contaminations and deceptions of society, an army that is entrenched and ingrained in the principles of God’s way for life and for warfare. Memorizing the Word of God for ourselves and teaching our children to memorize the Word of God is a wonderful way to make the Word of God part of their lives.

Read Deuteronomy 6:6-9; Joshua 1:8; Psalm 19:7-11; Psalm 119; Matthew 4:4; Colossians 3:16a; 2 Timothy 2:15; James 1:22-25.

CHILDREN WHO HONOR THE BLOOD OF JESUS.

There is no use serving the Lord on our own efforts. The foundation of our service must be the fact that Jesus Christ shed His precious blood for us. Without the blood of Jesus, we cannot be saved. Without the blood of Jesus we cannot have cleansing for our sins. Without the blood of Jesus we can’t have forgiveness. Although we receive forgiveness for sins when we first come to the Lord, we still need His forgiveness on a daily basis.

In all our serving of the Lord we must acknowledge the blood of Jesus. We must teach our children the worth of the blood of Jesus. Many of the worship songs we sing today are wonderful but they don’t speak about the blood of Jesus. Sing the great hymns about the blood of Jesus together as a family. The last few days before my dear mother passed into glory, she asked the friends around her bedside to sing the hymns about the blood of Jesus. The truth of the blood of Jesus was her salvation through life and her comfort as she passed into the next life. Some of her favorites on this subject were: ‘What Can Wash Away my Sin’, ‘Have you Been to Jesus for the Cleansing power?’, and ‘There is a fountain filled with blood.’

Revelation 12:11 is such a powerful scripture, one that we should memorize and teach our children. "They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto the death."

CHILDREN WHO ARE FILLED WITH COMPASSION.

One of the great attributes of God is that He is a God of compassion. Read the following scriptures:

Deuteronomy 13:17; 30:3; Psalm 78:38a; 86:15; 111:4; 112:4; 145:8; Lamentations 3:22.

Jesus also was filled with compassion. It was the motivating force of His ministry. We constantly read these words in the New Testament, "He was moved with compassion toward them." Matthew 14:14.

May God fill our hearts with compassion for the lost, for the poor, for the needy and hurting. May God help us to impart this grace to our children too. Read Colossians 3:12,13; 1 Peter 3:8.

CHILDREN WHO WILL NOT RETREAT.

Luke 9:62, "Jesus said unto him, No man having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

Hebrews 10:38-39, "Now the just shall live by faith; but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul." Read the sad testimony of the children of Ephraim in Psalm 78:9.

The most dangerous maneuver that an army can make in combat is to retreat. The "field of fire’ is the greatest defense for an army. We must be on the offensive against the enemy, not just the defensive. We are here to "destroy the works of the enemy." 1 John 3:8. Mothers, we are in a battle. We are at war. We must also teach our children our to fight the enemy, how to stand their ground, and never retreat.

God’s command to Joshua in Numbers 33:51-53 (which is the same to us today regarding our enemies) was to:

Drive out all the inhabitants,

Destroy all their pictures and molten images,

Demolish all their high places, and

Dispossess the inhabitants of the land!

I love some of the lines of the great missionary warrior, C. T. Studd who wrote:

Lord, send us lion-hearted men

With good courageous habits

Who ne’er will run from the devil’s gun

Like hares and bunny rabbits!

For genuine soldiers are heroes

"Chocolate soldiers" are shams

The soldiers of Jesus are lions

Not hares or timid lambs.

CHILDREN WHO HAVE "ANOTHER SPIRIT".

This is my favorite point of all. We are not training children to conform to this world. We are raising children who are set apart for God’s service. Let’s look at the story of Caleb.

Caleb was one of the 12 spies who was chosen to go in and check out the land of Caanan. Ten of the spies brought back a negative report. Only Caleb and Joshua believed that they could face the giants and the walled cities. While the others gave in to the problems that they saw, Caleb stilled the people and said, "Let us go up at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it…..neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defense is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not." Numbers 13:30-33; Numbers 14:6-10.

God was so upset with the lack of faith of the other ten spies and the rest of the children of Israel who believed their unbelieving report, that He said that not one of them would go in to see the promised land, "But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirithath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it." Numbers 14:24, with him, and Forty-five years later, after every one of those people had died in the wilderness, they come to the Promised Land.

Caleb is chafing at the bit. He has been waiting for 45 years to get into this land. Let’s feel his spirit as we read the account in Joshua 14:6-15. "Lo, I am this day 85 years old. As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in. Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the Lord spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims (giants) were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the Lord will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the Lord said."

Do you get the picture of this man? He was ready for war! He was ready to tackle the mountain! He was ready to face the giants! He had "another spirit". He was different to everyone else. These are the kind of children we are to prepare for the Lord’s army. These are the children who will come forth from our homes, sharpened, polished, and trained and ready to bring godly change in the nation.

Oh mother, what a mighty task you have. God has commissioned you. It is your divine calling. While you train and disciple your children for God in the seclusion of your home, you are actually determining the destiny of the nation. You are shaping the future. You are cooperating with God to fulfil His purposes in these last days. Don’t despise your calling. Give it everything you’ve got.

HOW WILL YOU DO IT?

By God’s grace, His wisdom, His anointing, and His strength.

Don’t trust in your own resources.

Trust in His unfailing inexhaustible

resources that never run out.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL, Above Rubies, PO Box 681687, Franklin, TN 37068

This information can also be found in the study manual, THE POWER OF MOTHERHOOD . For further details, click on the titles for more information.

THE POWER OF MOTHERHOOD

What God says about Motherhood in the Word of God

By Nancy Campbell

This manual tells you what God says about mothers! You will be surprised to read how much God is interested in mothering. You will be inspired, encouraged and uplifted as you study this manual. It is guaranteed to give you a greater vision for your divine calling of motherhood. There are 24 chapters that will take you into the Word of God to see what God says rather than what society says. There are questions at the end of each chapter that are great for personal meditation and encouragement and also to use as a study guide for Ladies Bible Study groups. Mothers all over the nation are studying this manual together and being strengthened and encouraged.

Special bulk prices for Bible Study groups.