What do “Choosy Moms” choose?

David Sproule

JIF peanut butter used to have a slogan (and maybe they still use it), “Choosy moms choose JIF.” Pretty clever.  In other words, if you’re a mom who’s interested in making smart choices for your children and looking for what is very best for your children, then the natural thing for you to do is to choose JIF peanut butter.  Are you a choosy mom? What other sorts of things would “choosy moms” choose?

Choosy moms choose to take their kids to Bible class. Of all the places moms take their kids (like she’s a taxi service), Bible Class should be the top destination every Sunday and Wednesday.

Choosy moms choose Christ-centered priorities for their homes. It is easy to let friends, school and extra-curricular activities set the priorities for the family, but moms know Christ alone must be first.

Choosy moms choose appropriate entertainment inside their homes. Games, movies, TV shows, apps, phone usage—these are not things for children to make decisions on their own but are things that moms need to regulate.

Choosy moms choose modest, appropriate, “professing-godliness” apparel for their daughters (and themselves). This isn’t easy or popular today, but if girls do not learn modesty at home (from mom), where will they learn it?

Choosy moms choose to respect their husbands as the head of the house and support him in that role. The Bible still teaches that “the husband is the head of the wife,” and every mom should show her children how God’s roles in the home are the best and need to be honored every day.

Choosy moms choose positive attitudes when discussing the church and its members. What a mom says  and how she says, when she’s talking about “people down at church,” will have a direct impact on how those children grow up and view the church.

Choosy moms choose to teach with words and exemplify in actions true love for the Lord and His Word. Just like “being a mom” is a 24/7 “job,” being a Christian is a 24/7 “job,” and children need to grow up with a deep love for God, for Jesus and for the Bible because that’s what they saw in mom.

Being a “choosy mom” is not the easiest or most popular path to take.  Sometimes moms would rather be “non-choosy” or “I-don’t-care-go-away” moms.  Sometimes moms have so much going on and so many things to do, that it’s tempting to let “church stuff” slide and “godly living” fade.  Unlike the message of the nifty slogan, “choosy moms” usually have much tougher choices than which peanut butter to buy.

Thank God for “choosy moms,” who only want what is very best for their children and thus choose to be “choosy”!

The Bible Is an AMAZING Book!

David Sproule

All sorts of things have been said and written about the Bible, and it can sometimes be hard to sort through it all.  So, here’s the question, “What can we know about the Bible?  Is it possible to know if it is really from God or not?”  Consider just a few things we know about this amazing book.

Amazing Fact #1: The Bible maintains complete unity from beginning to end.  Think about this: There were about 40 men who wrote the 66 books of the Bible over a period of about 1,600 years.  Can you imagine finding any continuity or agreement in such a document?  And yet, that’s exactly what you’ll find, and with masterful precision.  The penmen remain united in theme and purpose and content throughout the entirety of the book, without wavering and without contradicting each other.  That’s amazing!  That’s from God!

Amazing Fact #2: The Bible is completely accurate in all of its details.  That’s a bold claim to make, so check it carefully.  The Bible is full of historical and geographical information covering millennia, and whenever discoveries have been made from those eras, it has only verified the precision of each of those details.  Books produced by mere men have been found to be plagued with mistakes, especially as time passes.  But not the Bible!  That’s amazing!  That’s from God!

Amazing Fact #3: The Bible is filled with predictive prophecies that were fulfilled exactly as predicted.  There are hundreds of prophecies that were made hundreds (sometimes thousands) of years before their fulfillment, and these prophecies deal with matters relating to people, places and events that were impossible for the writers to have known about or to have affected the outcome in any way.  No human could ever foretell the future like the Bible does!  That’s amazing!  That’s from God!

Amazing Fact #4: The Bible contains extraordinary scientific foreknowledge.  The Bible is not a science textbook, but there are scientific details within it that are astonishing, as related to the fields of astronomy, oceanography, biology, medicine, physics, etc.  The penmen could have never known or understood these things, as man just recently “discovered” most of them in the last few centuries.  That’s amazing!  That’s from God! Pick up your Bible.  This is no ordinary book!

While many charges have been leveled against the Bible, those charges have all faded one-by-one, but the Bible still remains.  Why is that?  Because the evidence within the pages of the Bible itself prove that it can in no way be the product of a man or a group of men (on their own)!  God used men to write HIS WORD (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21).  That’s amazing!

Broken Things

Wade Webster

Someone observed that it takes broken oxen to plow the earth. It takes broken soil to receive the seed. It takes broken seed to produce the plant. It takes broken clouds to give water. It takes broken grain to make flour. It takes broken bread to feed a family.

That is a lot of broken things coming together to meet a need. We serve an awesome God, don’t we?. Consider a few examples from the Bible of how He uses broken things:

A Broken Pitcher

God used broken pitchers to put to flight the enemy in the days of Gideon. We read, “And so it was, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, that he worshiped. He returned to the camp of Israel, and said, “Arise, for the LORD has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand.” Then he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet into every man’s hand, with empty pitchers, and torches inside the pitchers. And he said to them, “Look at me and do likewise; watch, and when I come to the edge of the camp you shall do as I do: When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you also blow the trumpets on every side of the whole camp, and say, ‘The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!’ ” So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outpost of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just as they had posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in their hands. Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers—they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing—and they cried, “The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!” And every man stood in his place all around the camp; and the whole army ran and cried out and fled” (Judges 7:15-21).

A Broken Flask

God used a broken flask to anoint His Son and to fill a house with fragrance. We read, “And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head. But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, “Why was this fragrant oil wasted? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they criticized her sharply. But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me. For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always. She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her” (Mark 14:3-9).

A Broken Body

God used the broken body of His Son to make us whole. We read, “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

A Broken Heart

God uses broken hearts to bring Him glory. We read, “Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, The God of my salvation, And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, And my mouth shall show forth Your praise. For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise” (Psalms 51:14-17).

What a great God we have! Let us give thanks for a God who uses broken things to accomplish His will.

Caring For New Plants

Wade Webster

It is the time of year when people are redoing their landscaping. Many are adding new plants and shrubs. Maybe, you are working on yours right now. Jennifer and I are. I would like to think that we are not the only ones with our hands in the dirt.

As you know, new plants are especially vulnerable. They need lots of tender love and care. In fact, they are not likely to survive without it. It seems to me that the same is true in the spiritual realm. New converts require lots of attention. Consider a few parallels.

New plants need room to grow. The instructions that come with new plants advise digging a hole for the new plant that is twice the size of the container that the plant is in when it is purchased. I don’t really like digging holes. That probably comes as no surprise. If I must dig a hole, I want to keep it as small and as shallow as possible. If left up to me, I would dig a hole no bigger than the container. However, a hole that size would leave no room for the new plant to grow. Though the plant might survive for a time, it would likely be sickly and soon die because it would have no room to grow. The same is true of new converts. They need room to grow. Unless they grow, they are not likely to survive for very long. We must do all that we can to help new converts to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of the Lord (2 Peter 3:18).

New plants require lots of water. For example, the watering instructions for a small tree suggest five gallons of water at the time of planting. Then, every day, for the next two months, the instructions suggest a gallon and a half of water. After two months, the watering decreases to a gallon and a half of water every two to three days. That is still a lot of water. That is still a lot of work. Without regular watering, the new plant is not likely to survive. In like manner, new converts require lots of watering. Paul understood this. To the saints at Corinth, Paul wrote, “Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor” (1 Corinthians 3:5-8). As you know, Paul planted many churches. He made it a point to go back and visit (water) them. Luke records, “And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed” (Acts 14:21-23).

New plants must be placed where they can thrive. Some plants need full sunlight, others . need partial sunlight, and a few need full shade. To thrive, and possibly to survive, plants need the right amount of sun. In like manner, new converts are placed in different places by God. Some need more light than others. We read, “But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased…but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it” (1 Corinthians 12:18, 24).

As you know, we have several new converts at Bridgewater. Let’s make sure that we give them the space, the water, and the sun that they need to grow.

A Rolling Stop

Wade Webster

Have you ever seen someone do “a rolling stop?” A rolling stop is when a person does not come to a complete stop at a stop sign before preceding through an intersection. Of course, there really is no such thing as “a rolling stop.” If a person is rolling, they haven’t stopped. They have merely slowed down.

Have you ever thought about “a rolling stop” spiritually? I am convinced that many live the same way that they drive. They never really stop like God commands them to do in His word. They merely do “a rolling stop.”

Pharaoh did “a rolling stop.” Time after time, plague after plague, we think that Pharaoh has finally learned his lesson and is going to let God’s people go. However, he never really stops. After the frogs are removed, we read, “But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and did not heed them, as the LORD had said” (Exodus 8:15). Ultimately, “a rolling stop” will cost him his life. As you recall, after the death of his firstborn son, he lets the Israelites go. However, he changes his mind and pursues after them. When he intersects with God on the highway that God has made through the sea for His people, he will come to a complete and final stop (Exodus 14:5, 23-31).

The drunkard of Proverbs 23 likely did “a rolling stop.” When the adverse effects of alcohol arrive the drinker usually regrets their actions. They are often ashamed of how they acted when they were under its influence. They usually have thoughts of stopping when things get bad. However, when the effects of the alcohol wear off, they will seek it again. We read, “Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who linger long at the wine, Those who go in search of mixed wine. Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it swirls around smoothly; At the last it bites like a serpent, And stings like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things, And your heart will utter perverse things. Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, Or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying: They have struck me, but I was not hurt; They have beaten me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?” (Proverbs 23:29-35).

Some of the early Christians did “a rolling stop.” They escaped the pollutions of the world, but soon were entangled again. They obeyed the truth, but soon were blinded by error again. There was little to no stoppage of their old life. We read, “For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.” (2 Peter 2:18-22). In like manner, Paul marveled at how soon some were removed from the grace of Christ to another gospel (Galatians 1:6-7).

When it comes to sin, God.doesn’t just want men to do “a rolling stop.” He doesn’t just want them to merely slow down their sinning. He wants them to come to a complete stop. Do you remember the woman that was taken in the act of adultery and thrown at the feet of Jesus? Do you remember what Jesus told her? “Go and sin no more” (John 8:11). Did you catch the last two words? No more. You think that Jesus would have been satisfied with this woman doing “a rolling stop?” What if she had brought her adultery almost to a stop? What if she only occasionally gave in to lust or loneliness? What if she was more discreet in the future? Do you think that Jesus would have been okay with it? I don’t believe that He would have. What about the lame man that Jesus healed by the pool of Bethesda? Jesus gave almost the same instructions to him that He gave to the adulterous woman that we just considered. We read, “Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.” (John 5:14). We don’t know what the man had done, but he wasn’t to do it or anything like it again. If he did something worse than a thirty-eight year problem that he had just battled. God wants more than “a rolling stop.”