OPEN YOUR MOUTH

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering."
Hebrews 10:23 (ESV).

How do we stay strong in faith? How do we stand fast against the ungodly influence of others around us? God has the answer. The way to do it is to continually confess our faith. We are born again into the family of God by believing and CONFESSING that Jesus is our Lord (Romans 10:9,10). But we don’t stop there. We keep on believing and CONFESSING every day of our lives (Colossians 2:7).

You only keep what you speak out. Both David and Paul stated: “I believed; therefore have I spoken” (Psalm 116:10 and 2 Corinthians 4:13).

Can I encourage you to continually confess your faith, your hope, your convictions, and the truths God daily reveals to you? If you don’t speak them out, you’ll lose them. The more you speak them out, the more they become part of you, and you become UNWAVERING in your faith. You will stand no matter what people say against you.

SPEAK TO YOUR SOUL

When doubts and unbelief creep in, speak the truth aloud to your soul. When discouragement and despair begin to overwhelm you, encourage your soul. This is what David did: “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance” (1 Samuel 30:6; Psalm 42:5, 11; and 43:5).

SPEAK TO YOUR HUSBAND

Share the truths and revelations you receive as you read God’s Word with your husband. As you share them, they will become even clearer and stronger in your spirit.

SPEAK TO YOUR CHILDREN

Speak out God’s truths and ways daily to your children. It is not enough to have God’s Word in your heart. You must have it in your MOUTH! And even that’s not enough. God’s purpose for you as a mother is to get His Word and His truths into your children’s MOUTHS! Not just their hearts.

Isaiah 59:21 is the vision we must have: “My Spirit who is upon you, and my words which I have put in your MOUTH, shall not depart from your MOUTH, nor from the MOUTH of your descendants, nor from the MOUTH of your descendants’ descendants, says the LORD, from this time and forevermore.” How will your children get it into their mouth unless it continually comes out of your mouth?

SPEAK TO EVERYONE YOU MEET

Always be ready to open your mouth to sow seeds of truth--to friends at church, but also to unbelievers you meet when shopping or out and about (Hebrews 3:13; 10:25; and 1 Peter 3:15).

Truth becomes part of you when you confess it. Therefore, the more you confess, the less you will waver! The more you speak out, the less you will be intimidated by your antagonists.

Jesus said: “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before M=my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32, 33).

Are you a confessing family? It’s the only way for you and your children to stay strong in the truth.

Blessings to you today, Nancy Campbell
www.aboverubies.org

PRAYER:

“Dear Father, I have so much to confess. You have saved me and washed me clean through Your precious blood. How can I keep this to myself? You daily show me wondrous things out of Your Word. Please help me to share them with my family and everyone I meet. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I am an unwavering Word-believing, Word-adhering, Word-confessing believer!

WHAT IS YOUR CROWN OF BOASTING? Pt 2

“Holding forth the word of life that I may rejoice in the day of Christ,
that I have NOT RUN IN VAIN, NEITHER LABORED IN VAIN”
(Philippians 2:16).

We continue our study about preparing our children for the coming of the Lord Jesus.

4. GOD’S WORD OF TRUTH

We must have a healthy fear of God’s Word. That means we revere it as the living, breathing, active Word of God. We read it as though God is personally speaking to us. We listen to Him through His Word. We obey Him. We tremble at His word. If we have this attitude to God’s Word, our children will imbibe the same attitude.

If we carelessly treat God’s Word, our children will be careless about it. Our children notice if we rarely pick up God’s Word. They see what importance we place on His Word by how much we read it and talk about it. Do we read it with them every morning and evening? They soon become aware that we either take it with a grain of salt or tremble at His Word (Isaiah 66:2).

In preparing the new Christians to be his “crown of boasting” when Jesus comes, Paul lifted God’s Word to its high level. 1 Thessalonians 3:13 says: “When ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God which effectually worketh also in you that believe.”

When writing to these believers, Paul shared how he longed to see their faces again so he “might perfect that which is lacking in your faith” (3:10). How did he do this? By continuing to teach them more of God’s Word of truth. It is the Word that builds up our faith and fills up the areas we are lacking in our lives and our children’s lives.

THERE IS NOTHING LIKE GOD’S WORD TO FILL UP THE WEAKNESSES IN YOUR CHILDREN’S LIVES.

When you see an area of lack in your children’s lives, fill it up with God’s Word. Find the Scriptures that apply to that area of need. Read those Scriptures with your children. Write them up in big colorful letters in appropriate places in the home. Encourage your children to memorize these Scriptures. You will find that there is nothing else that is as effective of God’s Word to fill up the lacks.

5. PRAYER

The last point, but the most important of all. And the one we use the least. Do you and your husband pray together each day for your children? It takes much prayer and intercession to get them through life in victory and holiness—and for them to become your “glory” and “joy.” Never give up praying. Find a time that is suitable for your husband to pray with you each day. Paul prayed “NIGHT AND DAY EXCEEDINGLY” (3:10). We can at least find one time in the day.

He prayed that God would establish their hearts “unblamable in holiness before God” (3:13). We live in an evil and deceived world and it takes prayer to keep our children and grandchildren walking in holiness. He prayed: “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly, and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (5:23).

He not only prayed, but travailed in prayer for the believers in Galatia (Galatians 4:19).

He prayed many blessings for the Ephesians believers and that they would be “filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:14-19).

He did “not cease to pray” for the Colossians believers (Colossian 1:9-12).

He prayed for the Philippian believers who he also called “my joy and crown” (Philippians 1:4, 9-11 and 4:1).

We must continually lift our children up before the Lord for He is the only who can “keep you from falling, and to present your faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 1:24).

Are your children your boast in the Lord? Paul confessed in 1 Thessalonians 3:8 “For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.” Is this how you feel too? You feel you can only really live if your children are standing fast, walking in holiness, and overcoming the temptations of this evil world.

May our children be our “glory” and “joy” at His coming. May we not live in vain.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell]

PRAYER:

“Dear Father, Thank You for showing me the tools I need to prepare my children for Your coming. Help me to use them faithfully. Help me to give them a LOVE for Your precious word. Help my husband and I to be faithful in praying for them each day. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I have no lesser a vision than to be a Holy Spirit-filled, Word-loving, and powerful-praying mother.

WHAT IS YOUR CROWN OF BOASTING?

“That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth,
though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ”
(1 Peter 1:7).

Are you preparing for the Coming Day? The day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns from Heaven? What will we present to Him on that day? Paul writes about what He is preparing for the Lord Jesus. He doesn’t mention any material things or aspirations of building a great organization. Instead he talks about his babes in Christ.

When writing to the new Thessalonian believers, he says: “For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy” (1 Thessalonians 2:19, 20 ESV). What will be your glory when Jesus comes?

What a challenge to us as mothers. We have such a powerful ministry right in our own homes. It’s right at our doorsteps. We don’t have to go any further. God has given us precious lives to lead to salvation and to nurture, train, and teach to be ardent disciples of the Lord. We have the responsibility to pray and pour into their lives so we can present our children to the Lord at His coming—sanctified and blameless in body, soul, and spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

We have no greater ministry. The Lord Jesus will not be interested in our presenting our career to Him. Or our material possessions. Or the great name we made for ourselves. He looks for cleansed, purified, and holy sons and daughters. They will be our “crown of boasting.” They will be our “glory” and “joy” on that day.

But it cannot happen without our intercession, dedication, sacrifice, and pouring out our lives. As we read the entire epistle of Thessalonians we find Paul’s example of what it takes for this to happen.

1. NURTURING

Paul was like a “nursing mother” to these new babes in Christ. He says in 1 Thessalonians 2:7, 8 (ESV): “We were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God, but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.”

If Paul could be like a nursing mother, surely, we can embrace our mothering role with all our hearts. We know that a nursing mother is available to her little babe day and night. She pours out of her life. She doesn’t try to save her own life. She loses her life to find it (Mark 8:35).

Be encouraged, dear mother, you begin discipling your children from the moment they are born. You not only nurture your babe with sustenance from your breast, but with powerful thoughts, visions, and prayers from your heart. Every moment of nursing is powerful and ministers into the life of your child who is an eternal soul. Not one moment is lost.

YOUR PREPARING THEM FOR THE COMING OF JESUS BEGINS AS A NURSING MOTHER!

2. LIFE EXAMPLE

As our children grow they learn more from watching our lifestyle than what we teach them. They emulate our way of life (1 Corinthians 4:15, 16; 11:1; Philippians 3:17; 4:9; 1 Thessalonians 1:6; and 3:9).

Paul could say to these young Christians: “You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you” (1 Thessalonians 2:10). Not only for our own sake, and for God’s sake, but for our children’s sake we must seek to live holy lives.

3. TEACH AND COMMAND

Nothing happens in life without making it happen. Our children do not become our “glory” by hoping it will happen. What was Paul’s example? He says: “For you know how like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and CHARGED you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory” (1 Thessalonians 2:11, 12 ESV). It takes constant encouraging, urging, teaching, and even commanding.

Abraham was a great example of parenting. God said that all the nations of the earth would be blessed because of Abraham and one of the reasons was because of his parenting. God said in Genesis 18:19: “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.” He didn’t let his household work things out for themselves. He COMMANDED them in the ways of the Lord. Read also 2 Thessalonians 3: 4, 6, 10, 12 and 4:2-7.

It is a constant and daily duty. Read Deuteronomy 4:9; 6:6-9; Psalm 78:1-8; and Isaiah 28:10,12.

PRAYER:

“Dear Father, I want to be ready for Your coming. I want my children to be ready for Your coming. Please strengthen me to be a responsible mother as I get my children ready to present them to You. I want them to be my joy and crown at Your appearing. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I have a royal command to prepare my children for the coming of the Lord.

THE TWO COMMISSIONS

“However, the spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and then the spiritual”
(1 Corinthians 15:46 NET).

I am continually astonished that most of Christendom today spurns the very first words God spoke to man, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion . . . " God's plans and purposes for mankind cannot be fully implemented without fulfilling this first commission.

There are many who say that God is not interested so much in natural children any more, but only spiritual children. But how can God have spiritual children if there are no natural children? God has a BIG heart. He loves fruitfulness. He loves increase. He wants to fill the earth with people so He can fill eternity with people.

Reading the genealogies in the Old Testament I often notice the phrase "many sons." For example, 1 Chronicles 8:40 says: "And the sons of Ulam had MANY SONS, and sons' sons, 150." Again, in 1 Chronicles 28:5 David says: "The Lord has given me MANY SONS." We find reference to 19 sons of David in the Bible, although some Bible scholars say there could be 20 or more.

Because every theme of the Old Testament is reiterated in the New, we come to Hebrews 2:10 and read: "For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing MANY SONS UNTO GLORY, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings."

This is the vision of God’s heart from Genesis to Revelation. God begins in Genesis 1:28 with His vision to fill the earth to overflowing with many sons and daughters and then we go to the end of the Bible and read John's vision: "I beheld, and, lo, a GREAT MULTITUDE, WHICH NO MAN COULD NUMBER, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, say, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb" (Revelation 7:9-10).

Each one of this great multitude could not be around the throne of God if some mother had not opened her heart and her womb to bring them forth into the world.

Why does God want us to bring forth children? Just for the sake of doing it? No. It is all for God. It is to fill God's eternal kingdom with sons and daughters who are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Every child we bring forth into this world and lead to salvation will be part of the innumerable company and live forever and ever. This is the purpose of the first commission and the second great commission.

For too long we have listened to humanist and feminist lies to limit the number of children we have. This is not Bible doctrine. It is not Bible language. It belongs to the humanists. Why do God's people listen to humanist indoctrination rather than the living Word of God? Have we put aside the Bible for the vain ideas of man? It's time we took notice of Isaiah 2:22: "Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?"

We have the great privilege and responsibility of fulfilling the two commissions. We have a two-fold anointing. We can bring forth natural children AND spiritual children. Plus, as we lead our children in the ways of God and encourage them to speak the gospel message, our natural children will grow up to bring forth spiritual children.

The more natural children we have, the more spiritual children we can have.

All our children are serving the Lord and have taken the gospel to countries to which I have never visited. I have influenced thousands for the kingdom in this nation and countries I have never been to through my children, which would not have happened if they had not come into the world.

The more children we have, the more possibility of impacting the world for God. The less of the godly seed in the land, the less revelation of God. The more godly seed in the land, the more revelation of God--more righteousness, more influence against evil, and more preaching of the gospel.

The big question is: are we going to get in line with God's plan? Or continue the way of the world? God’s heart is not only satisfied with fruitfulness, but MORE fruitfulness. But even more. He longs for MUCH fruitfulness—in the natural and the spiritual (John 15:2, 8).

Love and blessings to you today, Nancy Campbell
www.aboverubies.org

PRAYER:

“I thank you, dear Father, that You are a God of fruitfulness. You love fruitfulness in every area of our lives—in the natural and in the spiritual. Please help me to have Your heart and Your vision. Please give me a BIG HEART to embrace natural children and spiritual children. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I want to live a life of fruitfulness in the natural and the spiritual!