Taylor

GODLY WOMEN IMPACTING LIVES

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It’s impossible to even estimate the impact godly women have had on this world! For instance: Godly mothers have affected the destiny of countless millions by their influence in the home. George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, D.L. Moody (evangelist), Hudson Taylor (missionary), Charles Spurgeon (pastor), R.A. Torrey (pastor, evangelist, Bible teacher), Chuck Smith (pastor/Bible teacher), Jack Hayford (pastor/Bible teacher), and James Dobson (psychologist/author) all testify to the shaping influence of their mothers.

Consider also the VBS, Good News Clubs, and Sunday School teachers who plant seeds that produce fruit years down the road! I don’t even remember their names but I do remember the faces and the kindness of godly ladies in my childhood years who ministered to me in these ways. They were unaware of the impact.

And what about the typical Christian mom who spends herself day in and day out to love, nurture, and care for her husband and kids?

Dear sisters in Jesus, thank you for your ministry! Be encouraged that your labor is not in vain (I Corinthians 15:58)! There will be a harvest tomorrow for every seed you plant today. May God bless, enable, and sustain you.

REAL SATISFACTION

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Brevity is a gift I’ve always admired — so much can be said in a few simple sentences by one endowed with such a gift. Jesus of course was THE master of brevity, the Beatitudes being a wonderful example!

I was reminded of this powerful truth when I came across Hudson Taylor’s succinct application of Jesus’ words found in John 4:34, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.” Taylor (1832-1905) noted that: “The real secret of an unsatisfied life lies too often in an unsurrendered will.”

Well, there it is: Believers are called to an uncompromising surrender of the will — period! All true followers of Christ eventually come to points of what might be called a crisis of the faith — an encounter with the Lord where we face a decision that must be made: “My will or His will be done.”

Should we choose a path other than the one the Lord has for us, the result will be “an unsatisfied life” — a life that lacks the confidence that we are safely abiding in the will of God; that we are in the center of His will, directed and protected by His very presence.

I’m sure some of you have been there; some are there as you read these lines. If this is you, the consolation for complete surrender is God’s unfailing promise: “…No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly” Psalm 84:11.

THE BOTTOM LINE

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J. Hudson Taylor (1832-1905) noted that “The real secret of an unsatisfied life lies too often in an unsurrendered will.” Well, there it is: Believers are called to an uncompromising surrender of the will — period! All true followers of Christ eventually come to points of what might be called a crisis of the faith — an encounter with the Lord where we face a decision that must be made: “My will or His will be done.” Should we choose a path other than the one the Lord has for us the result will be “an unsatisfied life” — a life that lacks the confidence that we are safely abiding in the will of God; that we are in the center of His will, directed and protected by His very Presence.
I’m sure some of you have been there; some are there as you read these lines. If this is you, the consolation for complete surrender is God’s unfailing promise: “…No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” (Psalm 84:11)

A Prayer for Deliverance

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Psalm 6 (NLT)
O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your rage.
Have compassion on me, LORD, for I am weak.
Heal me, LORD, for my body is in agony.
I am sick at heart.
How long, O LORD, until you restore me?
Return, O LORD, and rescue me.
Save me because of your unfailing love.
For in death, who remembers you?
Who can praise you from the grave?
I am worn out from sobbing.
Every night tears drench my bed; my pillow is wet from weeping.
My vision is blurred by grief; my eyes are worn out because of all my enemies.
Go away, all you who do evil, for the LORD has heard my crying.
The LORD has heard my plea; the LORD will answer my prayer.
May all my enemies be disgraced and terrified.
May they suddenly turn back in shame.

A Theme to Remember:
How little have we lived in the likeness of the Son, and in sympathy with Him–for God and His glory alone. Let us take time, until the Holy Spirit discover it to us, and we see how wanting we have been in this. True knowledge and confession of sin are the sure path to deliverance. (Adapted from Andrew Murray, With Christ in the School of Prayer)

Words to Remember:
Whatsoever we beg of God, let us also work for it.
–Jeremy Taylor

A Prayer for Victory

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2 Samuel 5:19 (KJV)
And David enquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go up to the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into mine hand?
And the LORD said unto David, “Go up: for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine hand.”

A Theme to Remember:
Although David was a great warrior and king, he knew that all good things come from the hand of God – including victory over the enemies of Israel. David’s life is a model of God’s faithfulness, even during times when our sinful natures separate us from His holy will.

Words to Remember:
It is possible to move men, through God, by prayer alone.
–Hudson Taylor