"THE GOD WHO CAN BLESS MOTHERS!"

2 TIMOTHY 1:1-11

John Quincy Adams said, "All that I am my mother made me." Abraham Lincoln said, "All that I am or hope to be, I own to my angel mother." Dwight Moody said, "All that I have ever accomplished in life, I owe to my mother." The influence of a Godly mother over her children cannot be overstated and ought not be undervalued! Paul noted the influence of two mothers in the text for today. And it is that kind of mother that God can bless. To illuminate the great influence of a Godly mother, let me tell you about one such mother. Her husband and daughter had gone out in their fishing boat and were overtaken by a dense fog. This mother knew how dangerous the coast was and that in the fog her beloved would not be able to find their way. So she took a lamp and put it in the attic window, hoping its rays would serve as a beacon to direct her family home. As we consider mother and her influence over her family, let's consider that kind of mother God can bless.

• A GODLY MOTHER SETS OUT A LIGHT FOR HER FAMILY:
• You can be sure there was a lot of light shining in Timothy's home. His grandmother Lois had given light to her daughter Eunice and then in turn that light had illuminated young Timothy.
• These are dark times, spiritually speaking.
• Gang activity increases.
• Consumption of alcohol and use of other drugs abounds.
• The occultic doctrines proliferate as the New Age Movement and Psychic Hotlines lead many astray.
• Evolution is taught as established fact and Creationism is scoffed at as religious poppycock.
• Sexual immorality is not only condoned but is encouraged on every hand.
• Divorce and the break-down of the home is at epidemic proportion.
• The abandonment of Judeo-Christian values is wide-spread.
• But mothers, there is light! Let yours shine!
• The light of good deeds, benevolence and unselfish service.
• The light of God's word, spoken, cherished and lived out in your home.
• The light of truth, honesty, sincerity and integrity integrated into our character.
• The light of Jesus Christ, trusted as Savior, obeyed as Lord, and esteemed as Almighty God.
• Though our culture is stagnant and our society is deviant, the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not, will not, and never can overcome it! Set your light in the window and it will shine through the fog. That's the kind of mother God can bless.

So this mother set a lamp in the window as a beacon. Her godless son said, contemptuously, "It won't do any good!" Nevertheless, she kept the lamp lit and added to it her prayers for the deliverance of her husband and young daughter. Out in the fog, the little girl saw the faint light in the distance and pointed it out to her father. "We'll steer for that!" said the father and slowly they made their way toward the light and shore. Here is another factor in a Godly mother's life that God can bless.

• A GODLY MOTHER PERSEVERES IN PRAYER FOR HER FAMILY:
• It isn't in the text, but it had to be in the home. Any home in which faith is passed on from generation to generation has, by default, to be a home of prayer. One cannot imagine Lois not praying for Eunice or Eunice not praying for Timothy.
• Sometimes we worry and fret and grow anxious about our brood.
• Will they grow to be good citizens and useful people in society?
• Will they make it in life?
• Will they keep the faith and walk through all of life with the Lord?
• These and other concerns rest heavy on the hearts of Godly mothers. But each pressure, each burden, each worry, each concern ought to be a signal to pray!
• We read in Acts 12:12 that the mother of John Mark had opened her home to a prayer meeting for Peter who was imprisoned. The church gathered there was in fervent, extended, unceasing prayer. That's the hallmark of a Godly mother.
• After the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, we find Mary, Jesus' mother gathered with the 120 in an upper room. Acts 1:14 shows us that "These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer."
• Paul urged the Christians:
• Colossians 4:2 "Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;"
• 1 Thessalonians 5:17 "pray without ceasing;"
• Philippians 4:6 "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."
• Though the pressures sometimes mount, and our worries about our families run wild, let us persevere in prayer. Add prayer to your light and it can shine through the fog. That's the kind of mother God can bless.

Seeing the light in the window, and I am certain, assisted by the mother's prayers, husband and daughter were soon safely ashore. The family embraced upon reunion and the son asked, "How did you make it back in?" The little girl said, "We steered by the light mother put in the window, but we didn't know what it was out there." To himself, the ungodly son mused, "Perhaps it is time for me to steer by mother's light." And that, too, is another cause for God to bless a Godly mother.

• A GODLY MOTHER INSTILLS FAITH IN HER FAMILY:
• Notice the chain that was created: Lois to Eunice to Timothy. We know from Acts 16:1 that Lois and Eunice were Jewish and that Timothy's father was a Greek. Since he is not mentioned here, it seems certain that he was not a Christian. This Godly mother's influence was not stifled by that fact.
• Notice some characteristics of the faith instilled:
• It was most certainly a Christ-centered faith. Timothy was a disciple and his mother a believer.
• It was a sincere faith: not phony or put on or for the eyes or approval of men.
• It was a personal faith: it was in Timothy as well as in his mother and grandmother.
• It was an evangelistic faith: Mother led daughter, then that daughter led her son who became a pastor at Ephesus.
• A Godly Mother will seek to instill Christian faith and is more interested in
• Her childrens' souls than their bodies.
• Her childrens' eternal life than their success in this life.
• Her childrens' relationship to Jesus Christ than their popularity in the world.
• Her childrens' standing before God than their social status.
• Her childrens' spirituality than their sportuality.
• Though there is much in the world to thwart us, a Godly mother will be diligent to instill faith in Jesus Christ and will see the salvation of her children as her highest calling. That's the kind of mother God can bless.

This Godly mother not only put a light in the attic window, but let her light shine in front of her family. A few months later, the son became ill and the doctor uttered the grim prognosis, "He won't live long." As death approached, the young man said, "Don't be afraid for me. I will make the harbor, for I have steered by mother's light and have found the Savior, Jesus Christ." There is a great need on the one hand for followers of Jesus Christ to send the light; there's a great need on the other hand to steer by that light as you become aware of its beams. Perhaps you are away in the fog of uncertainty -- you don't know about the condition of your soul. Perhaps you are in the fog of insecurity -- you feel unsure that God loves you or will forgive you. Perhaps your fog is doubt or unbelief or stubborn rebellion. The light shines in the darkness -- it shines for you to see -- it shines to lead you to Jesus Christ, the light of the world. Steer by that light and you will find harbor in Him.

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