May 14, 2017

"She looks well to the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and bless her; Her husband also, and he praises her, saying: "Many daughters have done nobly, But you excel them all."…" Proverbs 31:27-29

It was late Sunday afternoon on January 15, 1950 and a very pregnant Reita Mae Snyder was sitting on a stool in her kitchen in Bourbon, Indiana frying some steaks for dinner.

Trust me, the woman can cook! But the steaks on the stove were about to be interrupted by the "bun in the oven" as labor pains began in a serious way.

Don Snyder devoured both steaks while Reita packed her stuff for the 16.2 mile trip down U.S. 30 to the Murphy Medical Center in Warsaw, Indiana. Around 10:30 that night they welcomed a 9' 15" 22 1/2 " baby boy into the world. They named him Bradley Donn Snyder.

Over the next ten years she gave birth to four daughters and another son and, she took on a step-son. We all call her, "Mom". We still do!

Despite working two jobs in addition to cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, grocery shopping and canning fruits and vegetables she made sure we got to church Sunday morning and Sunday night and midweek prayer meeting. She "brought us up in the way we should go" as the Bible instructs.

Functioning essentially as a single parent, she prayed for us, punished us, and pushed us in the direction of the Christian faith and Christian friends. She wasn't above chasing away friends of ours that she didn't like. If she thought they were a bad influence and we didn't listen you her urging  to stop hanging out with certain friends, she would take it upon herself to suggest they get lost.

Mom wasn't perfect but her love was and her intentions were. You could call some of her methods into question but you had to give her a high grade for tenacity. For Pete's sake, she spanked me when I was 16 years old!

There are seven productive contributing adults making the world a better place because "Mom" built the right stuff into us and beat the bad stuff out of us!

On this Mother's Day, Mom, your children rise up and call you blessed!

Happy Mother's Day!
.

May 13, 2017

"10 A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. 

11 Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. 

12 She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. 

13 She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. 

14 She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.

15 She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls. 

16 She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. 

17 She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. 

18 She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night. 

19 In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers. 

20 She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.

21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet. 

22 She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple. 

23 Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land. 

24 She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes. 

25 She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. 

26 She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. 

27 She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. 

28 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 

29 "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all." 

30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. 

31 Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate." Proverbs 31:10-31

Sunday we will be celebrating and honoring our Magnificent Moms!

Honestly, I chose that theme for the alliteration of it - it sounds good! And I chose it because it captures the thoughts expressed in Proverbs 31 describing a godly woman!

I also chose it because it is true of every lady who graces the doors of FredWes on Sundays!

It's certainly true of the lady who resides in my house!

However, I didn't know how right I was until I actually looked up the definition of magnificent!

Check it out and see how perfectly this fits the FredWed females!

adjective:

1.

making a splendid appearance or show; of exceptional beauty, size,etc.

Forget the size part........

2.

extraordinarily fine; superb:

Right on!

3.

noble; sublime:

Everyone of you!

4.

(formerly used as a title of some rulers)great; grand:

Rulers.........yep, that fits!

5.

lavishly munificent; extravagant:

Lavish and extravagant, indeed!

See what I mean! We have Magnificent Moms!

Mother's Day "By The Book"

I found this thought today and wanted to share Mother's Day "by the Book".

What does the Bible say about moms? Here are some Bible quotes you can use for inspirational greeting cards, personal devotions, or preparing a Bible study/sermon about Mother’s Day. Each of these scriptures about mothers are quoted from the ESV translation.

Motherhood Before the Fall

"Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.". (Genesis 2:24-25 ESV)

Sons Should Follow their Mother’s Teaching

"My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching. Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck. When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you." (Proverbs 6:20-22 ESV)

Mother’s Must Correct their Children

The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother. (Proverbs 29:15 ESV)

Children Must Honor their Mother (and Father)

“Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:2-4 ESV)

Timothy’s Mother as Faith Example

"I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well."  (2 Timothy 1:5 ESV)

Jesus Provided for His Mother Before He Died

"When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home." (John 19:26-27 ESV)

Warning to Provide for Your Aged Mother

"Honor widows who are truly widows. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God. She who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day, but she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives. Command these things as well, so that they may be without reproach. But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." (1 Timothy 5:3-7; 1 Timothy 5:8 ESV)

Women Who Believer are Like Mothers to Jesus

While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12:46-50 ESV)

May 11, 2017

“Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.” Proverbs 31:27

A Proverbs 31 woman makes guarding her family a top priority. She watches over her family like a mother hen gathers her chicks under her wings. And, she builds hedges of protection around each family member.

Over the past two days we have been examining several of those hedges virtuous women build around their family members. They are:

1) Hedges of Prayer

2) Hedges of Personal Relationships

3) Hedges of Principles

4) Hedges of Patterns

5) Hedges of Partnership

6) Hedges of Penalties

7) Hedges of Privileges.

Please allow me to share three more.

Hedges of Pictures

What do I mean by "hedges of pictures"?

I am talking about creating memories that will last in the heart and mind of each child raised by a Virtuous woman. If a child grows up with fond memories and many happy mental images he will not only be healthier but harder to tempt with evil.

Memories and mental images are great but it is also good to document every important event with pictures. You just can't have too many pictures!

Hedges of Pals

A mother who guards her family diligently and closely will be very interested in what sort of people her baby is spending time with. "Watching over the affairs of her household" includes screening the friends of your kids. A virtuous woman will know about the friends of her children.

Looking back on the friends that my mother didn't care for, in retrospect, she was right on every one of them.

Hedges of Pride

I know what you're thinking, but there is a good type of pride!

A friend of mine played football for a high school that had a storied tradition for winning football championships. He recalls that when he first made the team and they gave him his jersey they said something like this, "This the the #5 jersey. And they proceeded to remind him of all the great players in the past who had worn that jersey and what honors they had won."

That is an example of what I am talking about. Build a tradition and a heritage around your family. I remind my children and grandchildren what it means to be a Snyder and what Snyders believe. I want my family to be strong on their identity and embrace it.

So, here are three more hedges that godly mothers build around the hearts and minds and souls of their children.

If you have a mother or wife who is a hedge builder, honor her well!

The Prayer Hedge

"She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness." Proverbs 31:27

Proverbs 31 lauds the virtues of a godly woman. Verse 27 praises her for the way she guards the spiritual and emotional welfare of her family. She builds a hedge around them and I have been highlighting some of those hedges.

There was the prayer hedge and the personal relationship hedge and the principles hedge. In this post I want to share several more hedges a godly mother can build.

The Pattern Hedge

A godly mother not only teaches good principles but she lives them out daily to demonstrate a pattern for living. Teaching is instructing but it is also illustrating.

The Partnership Hedge

A woman of virtue understands the importance of partnering with God in shaping the hearts and minds of her children. She also teams with her spouse in building the hedge of safety around their kids.

The Penalty Hedge

In an era when most are trying to escape responsibility and avoid the consequences of their actions, godly mothers enforce penalties for wrong or rebellious behavior. People who are loving punish those the love when they do wrong.

The Privileges Hedge

Equally important as punishing bad behavior is the practice of rewarding good behavior by extending privileges. Reinforce what is right by catching them being good.

What hedges are you building around your family?

May 9, 2017

"But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man." For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." Genesis 2:20-24

This week leading up to Mother's Day I want to focus on the great mothers of the Bible. It's kind of hard to do that without beginning with Eve. None of us would be here without her.

God made Eve from Adam and for Adam to be a "helpmate". Life is challenging and even more so when you tackle it alone. I find it a great tribute to women that even though Adam was intricately connected with God, He saw the need to create another "helper" or "soul-mate" for Adam. It almost looks as though God created woman to be a helper for man BUT ALSO as a helper for God!

I told my son the other day, "Next to God, a good woman is the best thing that can happen to a man." It has been true in my life. I think God would agree with that.

As happy and satisfied as Adam was with God it was God Himself Who recognized Adam needed something else - woman. She was handmade by Him to complete a perfect creation!

Eve, the first wife and the first mother was a marvelous gift from God! She was hand-picked and hand-made for Adam by God. She was God's gift to Adam and God's tool to help shape his life, grace his journey and lighten his burden.

Of course, we know how it ended. We know that the very same one who completed paradise eventually brought it down by her disobedience. So, she was the first and final perfect woman.

Still, women are one of God's great ideas! I am thankful that He created them. Not only have the played a HUGE part in the history of mankind, they have been key contributors in the development of the Christian faith and particularly in the local church.

Thank God for women! Thank God for the women in my life - my mother, my wonderful wife, my daughter, my daughter-in-law, my sisters, my grand daughters and the strong women in my church. I honor you. I bless you!

This is your week leading up to your day! May you know how much you matter!

May 8, 2017

"David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!” As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him. Reaching into his shepherd’s bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground." I Samuel 17:45-48

What have we been talking about this week? We have been proving the statement that it was the five stones in David's spirit that killed the giant as much as the stone in his sling. I believe that and I hope maybe I have convinced you.

The five stones I identified are: purpose, passion, plan, perspective and now, prayer. The key to purpose is commitment and the question is, "What am I willing to live for?" For passion the key is conviction and the question is, "What do I truly believe?" A plan is essential for anything you do, especially if you intend to face a giant. The key to a plan is competence and the question is, "How do I play to my strengths?" Stone four is perspective and the key is concentration. Here's the question, "Where do I chose to concentrate?"

This morning I want to share some thoughts on the fifth stone, prayer. With prayer the question is, "Will I live in communion with God?"

When it comes to David, communion with God was the deal! Giant-killers are built on the backside of the desert alone with God. That's where David and God got acquainted and that's where David found out what God can do. It is also where God found out what David would do.

David proves that prayer is not and act as much as it is an attitude, it is an attachment with God. There is no prayer recorded when David faced Goliath and launched the stone toward Goliath's temple.

Giant-killers live in constant communion with God. His thoughts are their thoughts. His nature is their nature. His will is their will. His strength is their strength. Giant-killers don't start praying the just never stop. They pray without ceasing.

The small smooth stone that pieced Goliath's skull was the world's first guided missile. Was David skillful with the sling? Absolutely, but he was better at trusting God. You can't tell me that David didn't launch a quick prayer the same time he launched the stone.

Prayer brings a giant-God into play against the big trials and tests of life. Got any of those? Any giants on your horizon? Live in communion with God. Don't think about starting to pray think about never stopping!