Finding Our Faith నమూనా

Cherish your heartfelt faith by  Rev. Mark Bartsch Most all of us remember our mothers very well. You and I remember the curious things our mothers said, perhaps their unique laughs, and their sense of humor, or lack thereof. My mother loved her cats, my sisters love their cats, and two of my daughters love their cats, too. There seems to be a definite pattern that these women are following. My mother died 20 years ago, but her example carries on through our family. Mother was the one who kept the rules, and I am one who keeps the rules. If the speed limit sign on the highway was marked “55 miles per hour,” my mother drove 55 miles per hour. I do the same. If a sign was posted in the hospital that said, “No visitors under the age of 12,” my mother followed that rule to the letter. If an event was scheduled to start at 1:30 PM, Mother would be there with plenty of time. Never were we late for the church service on Sunday morning. The apostle Paul considered Timothy to be his son in faith, someone for whom he cared deeply. Paul also knew that Timothy placed his faith in Jesus, his Savior. Paul had that same faith. Paul wrote to Timothy in his first letter: “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called.” Paul saw that Timothy’s sincere faith first lived in his grandmother, Lois, and in his mother, Eunice. That faith would help him through trials and sorrows and would lead him to rejoice in the forgiveness of sins and in eternal life in Jesus. Cherish your heartfelt faith . My mother had a deep, sincere faith in Jesus, her Savior. She passed that example on to me. She made sure that I was baptized and then brought up in the true faith. Our mother and father made sure that our whole family faithfully attended church services, and we have served in many ways at church and in the community. Cherish your heartfelt faith. I pray that you have a wonderful example of faith to follow in your family, from your mother, your father, your grandparents, or your siblings. I pray that you also believe in and rejoice in the forgiveness of sins and in eternal life in Jesus, your dear Savior. Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, we thank you for bringing wonderful examples of faith and love into our lives from mothers, fathers, and other family members. We ask you to help us to cherish and hold dear the faith you have given us through the Holy Spirit. We pray that our faith will grow stronger day by day as we look one day to eternal life. In your name we pray. Amen.