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Christian Motherhood and the Power of Your Daily Witness · Grace for My Home | Christian Women, Growing in Faith

• 1:13
  Audrey: Hello and welcome back to Grace for My Home.
• 1:16
  Audrey: I'm Audrey McCracken and I'm so glad to be back with you again this week.
• 1:20
  Audrey: I hope that you're doing well.
• 1:22
  Audrey: We have been so busy at the end of the school year just trying to get everybody where they need to be, and everybody graduated, and it's exciting.
• 1:31
  Audrey: And at the same time, you know, you go through all the emotions and remember kindergarten.
• 1:36
  Audrey: And now here we are 12 years later, graduating high school.
• 1:40
  Audrey: At least that's my middle son this year.
• 1:42
  Audrey: And so it's it's fun times, fun times.
• 1:46
  Audrey: I wanted to let you guys know in the show notes, there is a fun little link where you can send me a message.
• 1:54
  Audrey: It's called Fan Mail, and that's sponsored through the podcast host that I use.
• 1:59
  Audrey: And it's really cool.
• 2:00
  Audrey: You can just go there, click, and send me an instant message that comes right to me.
• 2:06
  Audrey: And I love getting your messages.
• 2:07
  Audrey: I love getting emails and all of those things.
• 2:10
  Audrey: But I do want to let you know that if you send me a message through fan mail, unless you give me your email address, I can't respond.
• 2:18
  Audrey: It is a one-way communication.
• 2:20
  Audrey: And I got some really good fan mail this week and I wanted to respond.
• 2:25
  Audrey: And I couldn't.
• 2:26
  Audrey: So I just want to let you know if you sent me a message and I didn't respond and you would like a response, just send me your email address and I'll be glad to do that.
• 2:35
  Audrey: And if you have never sent me a message, an email, a text, please do so.
• 2:40
  Audrey: I love to hear from you guys.
• 2:41
  Audrey: Let me know what you like about the show, what your favorite episodes are.
• 2:45
  Audrey: If you have any questions, I respond to all of those messages.
• 2:50
  Audrey: This week I want to talk with you about your work for the Lord and how important what you're doing as a mom, as a woman of faith, how important it is.
• 3:02
  Audrey: You know, I remember years ago when I went to a doctor's visit, and at the time I didn't have a job.
• 3:11
  Audrey: I was a stay-at-home mom.
• 3:13
  Audrey: And, you know, before that, I had had what I felt like was a pretty good job, and I was proud of that, and I like telling people what I did.
• 3:20
  Audrey: But as a stay-at-home mom, I just felt like blah, you know, who who's impressed by that?
• 3:26
  Audrey: And I remember going to the doctor and they asked you what your occupation is.
• 3:30
  Audrey: I wrote on the thing, I put mom, it's a big deal.
• 3:36
  Audrey: And I doubt anybody read it.
• 3:38
  Audrey: I don't think they actually pay attention to those things, but it was a big deal to me.
• 3:42
  Audrey: I felt I'm going to be proud of my job, my my career path as a mom.
• 3:48
  Audrey: But today I want to talk with you about our work and how important this work is.
• 3:53
  Audrey: John 6, 29.
• 3:55
  Audrey: I want to read for you John chapter 6, verse 29.
• 3:59
  Audrey: And that's what I'm taking this from today.
• 4:02
  Audrey: Actually, I'm going to back it up.
• 4:03
  Audrey: I'm going to back it up to verse 28.
• 4:06
  Audrey: It says, Therefore they said to him, talking about his followers, What shall we do so that we may work the works of God?
• 4:14
  Audrey: And Jesus answered and said to them, This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.
• 4:22
  Audrey: His followers were asking him, you know, what wonderful, great thing should we be doing because we believe in God?
• 4:31
  Audrey: And Jesus said, Here is what you should be doing.
• 4:35
  Audrey: The important thing is to believe in the one that he sent, and that is Jesus Himself.
• 4:41
  Audrey: Our work, our most important work here on earth is to believe in Jesus, is to believe that Jesus Christ came to the earth with a message that all mankind needs to hear.
• 4:54
  Audrey: And that's the real work of the kingdom, to believe in Jesus and to put your trust in him.
• 5:01
  Audrey: Everything else we do for God must flow from that.
• 5:06
  Audrey: You know, if we're doing anything else in the kingdom for any other reason, then we're we're not doing it for the right reason.
• 5:14
  Audrey: The reason that we serve God is because we believe, is because we love him and we have put our trust in him.
• 5:21
  Audrey: You know, there's it says in Acts 4.12 that no other name has been given, no other name in heaven or earth has been given by which we may be saved.
• 5:33
  Audrey: And that name is Jesus Christ.
• 5:36
  Audrey: And, you know, Jesus said, I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life, and there's no other way for a man to be saved unless he comes to through me.
• 5:49
  Audrey: And if we believe that the Bible is true and we believe that the words that Jesus spoke are true, and if we've had that life-giving, life-transforming experience with Jesus, where we have been born again by the Spirit of God, then there is nothing that we want more for our family, for our children, than that they also would walk in Christ.
• 6:15
  Audrey: You know, it is human nature to want the best for your children.
• 6:20
  Audrey: And I believe that's because God created us in his likeness.
• 6:24
  Audrey: You know, Jesus, when he was talking to his disciples about believing and about asking, he said, he told them, you know, ask and seek and knock, and you'll be rewarded.
• 6:37
  Audrey: And he said something interesting.
• 6:39
  Audrey: He said, He said, if you know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly father give good gifts to those who ask him?
• 6:49
  Audrey: See, we're we're made like him, we're made in his image, and it's in our heart to bless our children.
• 6:55
  Audrey: And when we find something good, when we find the best, we want to give that to them.
• 7:01
  Audrey: That's just natural.
• 7:02
  Audrey: And once we have tasted of Christ, and once we have had a true experience with him and we believe, there's nothing more that we want for our children than for them to walk in the truth.
• 7:14
  Audrey: But at the same time, we can't make our children believe.
• 7:19
  Audrey: We can't make anyone believe.
• 7:21
  Audrey: Jesus said in John 6.44, No man can come to me unless the Father draw him.
• 7:28
  Audrey: See, salvation is the work of the Holy Spirit.
• 7:31
  Audrey: It's God working in us to open our eyes and show us our need for him.
• 7:36
  Audrey: And then as we believe, he regenerates us.
• 7:40
  Audrey: We become new.
• 7:40
  Audrey: We become new in Christ, we become a new creature in Christ.
• 7:44
  Audrey: And we can't do that for our children.
• 7:48
  Audrey: But we can work with God.
• 7:50
  Audrey: You know, I can't make anyone believe, but I can share the truth with them so that they can believe.
• 7:56
  Audrey: You know, how will they know unless someone tells them?
• 7:59
  Audrey: I can be a witness to them and I can share with them the story of salvation and my story of salvation.
• 8:07
  Audrey: Guys, being a witness for Christ is more than sharing a message with strangers in the public square.
• 8:15
  Audrey: Now, being a witness, this the word witness in the Greek is the word martyr.
• 8:22
  Audrey: And Jesus told his disciples before he left, he said, You're gonna be witnesses for me.
• 8:27
  Audrey: And that is a legal term.
• 8:30
  Audrey: He was saying to them, You're going to witness for me.
• 8:33
  Audrey: You're going to tell people who I am, that I am the Son of God, that I am the Messiah, that I am the way to heaven, that I am the way to salvation, you're going to witness for me.
• 8:43
  Audrey: The early Christians did.
• 8:45
  Audrey: And often because of their witness, because of the way they lived, because of the way they shared Christ, they were persecuted and often killed for their faith.
• 8:56
  Audrey: So that word witness or martyr started to have the definition of someone who actually dies for their faith or for their testimony.
• 9:05
  Audrey: Because so many of those early Christians, they they didn't just say it, they lived it out, even at the threat of death, because they truly believed.
• 9:14
  Audrey: They were working the work of God.
• 9:17
  Audrey: So being a witness for Christ, you know, witnessing for Christ is so much more than the words we say.
• 9:24
  Audrey: Yes, it involves words.
• 9:26
  Audrey: How will people know unless we tell them?
• 9:28
  Audrey: But it is backed up by the power of the Holy Spirit living in us and by the life that we live.
• 9:35
  Audrey: You know that when we live a life that's contrary to the words that are coming out of our mouth, then people don't really put any weight in the things that we say because they see that we don't really believe it ourselves.
• 9:47
  Audrey: You know, if we believe something, we're living it out, you know, even imperfectly.
• 9:53
  Audrey: But if we believe it, we're striving towards becoming those things that we say we believe in and doing those things we say we believe.
• 10:02
  Audrey: And so many people believed these early Christians, not just because of the words that they said, but because they were willing to give up everything, including their life, for this message of salvation.
• 10:16
  Audrey: So that message carried weight and it got people's attention, and people were born again just from those witnesses of these people who said, Not only do I believe, but I believe to the uttermost.
• 10:27
  Audrey: I give my life for this.
• 10:30
  Audrey: That's a deep faith.
• 10:32
  Audrey: Our salvation is paid for, it's free.
• 10:35
  Audrey: Christ paid the price for our salvation.
• 10:39
  Audrey: It's free to all.
• 10:42
  Audrey: But living out our faith will cost us our life.
• 10:45
  Audrey: It'll cost us everything.
• 10:47
  Audrey: And this is not just a pulpit message.
• 10:51
  Audrey: You know, this is the gospel.
• 10:53
  Audrey: This isn't just something that happens on Sunday morning.
• 10:57
  Audrey: This is a message that's true no matter where we are, no matter our station in life, even as a parent, even as a mom, even as a student.
• 11:07
  Audrey: This is the gospel that we are all called to be witnesses of Christ.
• 11:14
  Audrey: Freely we have received, freely we have received this gift of salvation, the knowledge of Christ, this gift of being born again by the Spirit of God.
• 11:24
  Audrey: Freely we have received it, and now freely we must go and tell people so they too can receive it.
• 11:30
  Audrey: And that's also true in our homes.
• 11:32
  Audrey: It's also true in our homes.
• 11:33
  Audrey: How will our children know unless we tell them?
• 11:36
  Audrey: And so when we have found the best, and Jesus is the best, we must share that message with them.
• 11:42
  Audrey: And I believe that that's your heart.
• 11:44
  Audrey: I believe that's every Christian mom's heart is that her children would not just believe, but would live a life for Christ, who would that they would love him, that they would be willing to experience hardship in order to keep their faith, in order to know him more.
• 12:01
  Audrey: I want to tell you a story that someone shared with me.
• 12:04
  Audrey: And if you know this story, I may mess it up.
• 12:08
  Audrey: So forgive me if I do, but I'm gonna relate it to you the way it was relayed to me.
• 12:13
  Audrey: And there was there was a family who lived in Russia, and this was a Christian family.
• 12:20
  Audrey: And in Russia, as you know, it's a communist country, Christians were looked down upon.
• 12:27
  Audrey: There's a state church, and if you didn't belong to that state church, then you were considered less than.
• 12:34
  Audrey: And if you and there were things in society, in the Russian society, that were not were not open to you because you were a Christian.
• 12:43
  Audrey: In schools, children were taught that Christians were less than, they were weak because they needed a God to believe in, they were uneducated because no educated person or intelligent person would believe that there is a God.
• 13:00
  Audrey: And that's the way Christianity and Christians were painted.
• 13:05
  Audrey: Well, this family, they believed in God, they were faithful to God, and they raised their children to be to believe in God.
• 13:14
  Audrey: But as one of their daughters became older and opportunities opened up for her, she denounced her faith because holding on to her faith meant that she was going to be limited in her opportunities, especially in college.
• 13:27
  Audrey: There were doors that would be shut to her if she was a professing Christian.
• 13:31
  Audrey: And so on her visits home from college, there was a lot of tension.
• 13:38
  Audrey: And in one conversation they were having, you know, she had decided she did not believe in God, she was no longer a Christian.
• 13:45
  Audrey: She believed the things that were taught her in school, that Christians were weak, that they were cowards.
• 13:50
  Audrey: And her father asked her, Do you believe we're cowards?
• 13:57
  Audrey: And she said that question stuck with her.
• 14:01
  Audrey: Of course, she didn't let her, she didn't let on to her father that it bothered her.
• 14:05
  Audrey: She just kind of brushed him off and scoffed.
• 14:08
  Audrey: But she said when she got alone and she started thinking about that, when she got back to college, she remembered the hardships that her parents endured because of their faith.
• 14:19
  Audrey: They lived a real faith in front of her.
• 14:26
  Audrey: And their witness to their daughter, she could not shake it.
• 14:34
  Audrey: And so even though she went on with her life and tried to leave the path, the witness of Christ in her parents' lives was so deep that it brought her back.
• 14:47
  Audrey: And she came back to Christ.
• 14:51
  Audrey: And she denounced atheism and she confessed her belief in Christ, no matter the price that it cost her.
• 15:00
  Audrey: And I think that's such an encouraging message for us today.
• 15:04
  Audrey: You know, if you have one who you have taught and you have walked before that one as a Christian and you have loved them and they have walked away from the path, let me just encourage you that your witness stands firm.
• 15:18
  Audrey: And even though they may have left the path, they know where the path is because you walked with them on the path.
• 15:25
  Audrey: And there will be a day, sweet mama, when that one will return to the path.
• 15:30
  Audrey: You know, the prodigal son, it says that one day he came to his senses and said, Why am I here?
• 15:37
  Audrey: I will return to my father's house.
• 15:40
  Audrey: He knew where the father's house was.
• 15:42
  Audrey: And your precious one who you love knows where the father's house is.
• 15:47
  Audrey: And your witness is more than the words you said, but the life that you have lived.
• 15:53
  Audrey: And there is hope in that.
• 15:55
  Audrey: So the work that you're doing is so important.
• 15:58
  Audrey: The words that you're saying to your children, the moments that you're praying with them, the witness of going to church, of doing the things of God, of giving, of serving, that is your witness, that is your testimony for your children, and it matters.
• 16:16
  Audrey: The glory of God and the demonstration of his power is not limited to a pulpit or to a stadium or to a certain calling or status.
• 16:30
  Audrey: The quiet moments in your home when you are a witness for Christ to your family, those are powerful moments.
• 16:41
  Audrey: They're not seen by the world, they're not heralded as awesome and wonderful, but they're the things that matter.
• 16:51
  Audrey: That's when the roots are going down deep, and that's when the pathways in their mind is being formed, and you are making a way for them in this world, and you're making a place for them to come back to.
• 17:09
  Audrey: And today I want you to see yourself as a carrier of the gospel, as a witness for Christ, as a minister of God in your home, on your job, in the little moments that seem unimportant.
• 17:26
  Audrey: Where you find yourself, I want you to see yourself as a minister of the gospel.
• 17:32
  Audrey: And the work that you're doing is hard and holy work, and it matters for eternity.
• 17:38
  Audrey: You know, I said at the beginning of the podcast I had a job that I was very proud of, and and you know, I worked hard to rise to that position.
• 17:46
  Audrey: And and my my boss at that job had actually talked to me about him retiring, and one day, you know, I may have his position, and and he would talk with me about preparing for that.
• 17:58
  Audrey: And and there was something in me, you know, when he said that was just like, oh, that feels good, you know, it feels good, yes.
• 18:06
  Audrey: And I remember when I come home and nobody saw the work I did, and there was no room for promotion.
• 18:16
  Audrey: And the Lord reminded me, this is holy work, Audrey.
• 18:20
  Audrey: This is eternal work.
• 18:22
  Audrey: A hundred years from now, no one is going to remember that you had that promotion.
• 18:28
  Audrey: But a hundred years from now, you could still have children and grandchildren that remembered your faithfulness, or at least remembered God because of your faithfulness, and that's important work.
• 18:41
  Audrey: Saint Augustine famously said, preach the gospel at all times.
• 18:47
  Audrey: Use words when necessary.
• 18:50
  Audrey: Your life is a witness.
• 18:52
  Audrey: Your words are important, but they're not the only thing.
• 18:56
  Audrey: Your words are more powerful when they're backed by your actions.
• 19:00
  Audrey: Your life is making a difference, and it doesn't have to be flashy or showy or impressive to send the roots of faith down deep in the heart of your home and in your children's hearts.
• 19:14
  Audrey: You can't make your child believe, okay?
• 19:17
  Audrey: Don't try.
• 19:18
  Audrey: I think we do more damage when we try to make them believe.
• 19:21
  Audrey: You can't make them believe, but you can share the truth with them and show them how beautiful Jesus is and how wonderful it is to serve Him and how precious He is.
• 19:33
  Audrey: And it will come back around even if they forget.
• 19:39
  Audrey: How will your children know unless someone tells them?
• 19:42
  Audrey: And you are that someone, you are their first witness of Christ in this world.
• 19:50
  Audrey: You are a worker together with God.
• 19:53
  Audrey: Isn't that awesome?
• 19:55
  Audrey: We are working with God, we are cooperating with the Holy Spirit, we are living out our belief in front of them.
• 20:04
  Audrey: You are showing them the gospel every day in your words and in your deeds.
• 20:09
  Audrey: But you may be saying, Audrey, I don't know how to do that.
• 20:13
  Audrey: James 1.15 says, if anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives liberally to all without finding fault, and it shall be given him.
• 20:23
  Audrey: If you need wisdom and how to point your children to Christ, ask, and it will be given to you.
• 20:31
  Audrey: Jesus is the way, he's the truth, he's the life, he is our example.
• 20:35
  Audrey: Look at how he interacted with his disciples and use that for your little disciples.
• 20:42
  Audrey: Jesus loved his disciples.
• 20:48
  Audrey: He taught them the word of God, he ate with them, he cooked for them, he traveled with them, he showed them the way, he walked before them.
• 20:57
  Audrey: His whole life was an example to them.
• 21:00
  Audrey: See, when you follow Jesus while your children are following you, then you're showing them the path.
• 21:07
  Audrey: And even if you're trying to figure out the path while you go, it's okay.
• 21:10
  Audrey: Keep your eyes on Jesus.
• 21:12
  Audrey: He'll keep you on the path.
• 21:14
  Audrey: And when your children veer off the path, and they will, they will.
• 21:19
  Audrey: There's we all have seasons when when we when we lose our way.
• 21:23
  Audrey: When they veer off the path, they will remember the path because you taught it to them.
• 21:31
  Audrey: They will be like that prodigal and say, I will go back to my father's house.
• 21:37
  Audrey: You're doing holy and hard work, precious one.
• 21:41
  Audrey: I know.
• 21:42
  Audrey: I know it can be discouraging.
• 21:44
  Audrey: Good job.
• 21:44
  Audrey: Keep up the good work.
• 21:46
  Audrey: You can do this.
• 21:47
  Audrey: You're not doing it alone.
• 21:49
  Audrey: God has a good plan for you and for your family.
• 21:52
  Audrey: I hope this message has been encouraging to you.
• 21:55
  Audrey: I hope that it helps you go the next mile.
• 21:58
  Audrey: And I hope that you have an awesome week.
• 22:01
  Audrey: Before you go, I'd like to pray for you.
• 22:04
  Audrey: Father, I thank you for my friend.
• 22:06
  Audrey: I thank you that you are doing the work in her and through her in her home.
• 22:12
  Audrey: That God, she cannot make anyone believe, but she can walk with them and show them the way and point them in your direction and tell them the truth.
• 22:22
  Audrey: And the power of the Holy Spirit living in her will do his work.
• 22:27
  Audrey: I pray, Lord, that you would grab a hold of the hearts of our children, no matter how little or big, and you would bring them to you.
• 22:36
  Audrey: I pray, God, for faith in the hearts of our children.
• 22:39
  Audrey: And I pray, oh God, that nothing in this world would be as attractive to them as you.
• 22:45
  Audrey: In Jesus' name.
• 22:47
  Audrey: Amen.