Sunday morning thoughts

". . .that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness. . ." Titus 2:3

I will unashamedly admit to being stuck on this one clause. Those who have been following this blog knowing that I am going through Titus 2:3-5 point by point will probably wonder if I am ever going to get past this one point! In one way I hope I never do, because if we women miss this one point, we may as well give the rest of it up. This one point will determine our obedience in all other areas of our roles as wives, mothers, women.

This morning our brother from Beauport, Quebec, preached for us. Having heard him preach before, I was looking forward to this, because the Lord always uses his preaching in my life. The only thing I never liked about his preaching was that his sermons always seemed too short. Not today! He preached as long as my husband does--and my husband learned to preach in the South, where many Baptist preachers are known for their long-winded sermons!

Brother Marcel's sermon was such a blessing to all of us. You see, for the last two months God has been blessing their little fellowship in Beauport. I believe they are seeing the very beginnings of a great work of God as they spend more and more of their time on their knees. (When was the last time you were in a Sunday service that lasted 10+ hours, non-stop? They have had that blessing every Sunday for 8 or 9 weeks.) I wish I could convey his heart to you. God has taught him so much in the last two months. As he says, our church's family camp in July marked a turning point in his life, and he will never be the same.

I won't be, either. My turning point goes back a month further than that, to June 18. That was the day God began teaching me more about prayer and its importance in my life as a Christian. Since then God has made me a more joyfully submissive wife, a more cheerful mother, and a more prayerful Christian. This morning, Brother Marcel encouraged me to pray more. For years I have made excuses about the busyness of motherhood being the reason why I couldn't spend concentrated time in prayer. But now I know that my failures as a wife and mother are a direct result of NOT spending concentrated time in prayer.

I will not waste time looking back at what could have been if I'd prayed more then. I am going to go forward and see what God will do with me as I pray more now.

Do you long for revival? Do you even understand what real revival is? Brother Marcel mentioned a website that has impacted him a lot. It is A Revival Resource Center. I have just begun to read through it, but here is one of the many convicting quotes I found:

“The men that will change the colleges and seminaries here represented are the men that will spend the most time alone with God…It takes time for the fires to burn. It takes time for God to draw near and for us to know that He is there. It takes time to assimilate His truth. You ask me, How much time? I do not know. I know it means time enough to forget time.” - John R. Mott

I think I can adapt that to my situation this way:

The women who will change their families, churches and communities are the women who will spend the most time alone with God. It takes time for God to draw near and for us to know that He is there. It takes time to assimilate His truth. You ask me, Where can I find this time? I do not know where you will find it. I know that I have found it in all the precious minutes of the day that I have wasted in meaningless, frivolous activity that, in the end, will only amount to so much wood, hay, and stubble.

Pearl