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Your
Choice of Mothers
By
Pastor Jack Hayford
We so often
hear it emphasized by our victim-minded society, "I
didn’t have any choice—I was just thrust into
this world!" But the truth is, whatever may be
the factuality of our absence of involvement in our
beginning, we have the ultimate choice in life. We can
choose who our mother will be.
Obviously,
I’m not referring to our biological mother, although on this
Mother’s Day, I’m happy for the mother God gave me.
But today I
want to point to the "woman" God points us all toward
in Proverbs 9—Her name is "Wisdom." The Scriptures
personify Wisdom as a woman we are called to embrace, to honor,
to learn from, and revere. And the nature of this Wisdom is characterized
from the start: "The fear (reverence) of the LORD is the beginning
of wisdom" (Prov. 9:10).
I was drawn
to rehearse the ways of wisdom, recently. It was during a time of
prayer as I sought the Lord: "Lord, what ought to form the
foundation for Anna's and my remaining years of service?" The
answer impressed upon my heart: "Wisdom has built her house.
She has hewn out her seven pillars."
As a result
of that prompting, I prayerfully waited upon the Lord to assist
me in summarizing what I have learned and believe to be the essential
elements of living in the Wisdom of God. My pursuit was, I felt,
rewarded with a summary outline of key concepts which encompass
life’s fundamental principles of effective and successful living.
I have written
in more detail concerning each of these. They are practical principles
for your personal application, as well as our corporate observance
as we move into the future God has for us together. I’m asking
you to take time to remember and think about these principles. I’m
persuaded they make the difference between three things about life:
- The difference
between a self-guided life and a God-directed one;
- The difference
between a dynamic Kingdom living and a corrosive religiousness;
- The difference
between a warm, vital, reproductive congregation and a mixed crowd
of individuals doing their own thing.
They involve
your and my choice to embrace this biblical "Mother,"
by learning to live:
- Surrendered
to God’s Throne—The Foundation of Wisdom.
- Steadfast
in God’s Word—The Fountainhead of Wisdom.
- Sacrificial
in Living and Giving—The Flow of Wisdom.
- Submitted
to God’s Divine Order—The Framework of Wisdom.
- Separated
unto God’s Holy Spirit—The Fruit of Wisdom.
- Seeking
the Kingdom of God—The Fullness of Wisdom.
- Servant-like
toward all Mankind—The Faith-fullness of Wisdom.
Let’s
choose Wisdom’s ways. |
Jack
Hayford Ministries
14800 Sherman Way, Van Nuys, CA 91405-2233