Dear Pastor's Wife / Mrs Vicky Mutchler

 

Mrs Vicky Mutchler

Pastor's Wife

Grandview Baptist Church

Beavercreek, OR

 

 

 

Dear Pastor’s wife,

Does this scenario sound familiar?

Husband: “Honey, I got you a job today.”

Wife: “Really? Okay, but I wasn’t looking for a job. I have plenty to do here running the household and raising the kids. That was our plan, right? Me stay home with the kids so you could fully dedicate yourself to the ministry.”

Husband: “Yeah, yeah. But I really need you take this job for me.”

Wife: “Well, okay, just tell me what to do and when it needs to be done by, and I will do everything I can to make it happen.”

Husband: “Well, right now there are no specific responsibilities. Basically, it’s just doing anything at church that no one else steps up to do or wants to do.”

Wife: “Oh my, that is a tall order. Okay, I’ll do it. I guess we could use the extra money anyway. Things are always tight around here on a pastor’s salary.

Husband: “Well, actually honey, there is no salary . . .”

I think there is a lot that has been added to “our job descriptions” (no added pay...of course there was no pay to add to!)

We have believed lies that have been handed down as fact….

FALSE: As the Pastors wife I must be what the people need. (or expect)

TRUTH: I am who I am. I am qualified because I have my name on a marriage license with their Pastor!

FALSE: I must live in a glass house with spectators.

TRUTH: Every family is under the scrutiny of others. Live in a glass house...dress in basement! Or close the curtains.

FALSE: I will never have normal hours with my husband a pastor!

TRUTH: Pastor’s are busy but so are: Policemen, EMT’s, Doctors….many are on call 24/7. Look at the flexibility offered as well!

Remember you are to learn from every situation. Be a cheerleader. Love your husband! Be yourself, but push yourself to be more like Jesus everyday!

The ministry is a great job with an opportunity to minister to great people. Remember ...you attract what you are! So— stop whining, start praising!  Stop complaining, start thanking! Stop taking, start giving! Stop talking, start doing!

Thank you for all you do for the cause of Christ!

Love you,

Mrs. VIcky

 

Mrs. Vicky


How Deep is Your Love? / Mrs Mary Frost

 

Mrs Mary Frost

Assistant Pastor's Wife

Grandview Baptist Church

Beavercreek, OR

 

 

"How Deep is Your Love?"


This past month, my Pastor along with other staff men, have preached a sermon series, "How deep is your love?".  They've used the verse from Mark, "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul,  and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength."  This series has really motivated me to ask myself, "How deep IS my love for God?" and even a step further, "Have I showed God how deep my love for Him really is?"
I was reminded of this thought again as I was home with my 3 year old son, Tyler.  T-man, as I lovingly refer to him, inherited his daddy's love for all sports.  There isn't a sport's ball that T-man doesn't love.  Currently, he's really "into" the sport of  basketball.  Not a day goes by that I don't hear him bouncing his basketball down the hall and shooting into the small hoop on his door. Without fail, Tyler will change into his basketball clothes (shorts and t-shirt) run to find me and ask me to watch his basketball game in which I am to sit on the side-line and cheer for him.  Of course, I eat up this time with him!  On one particular day, the usual occurred.  My son ran downstairs in his little red shorts and basketball t-shirt and told me that it was, in fact, time for his basketball game.  My first thought was, "I'm in the middle of something... I don't have time!" But none the less, I put down what I was working on and went to sit at my post to watch him play. 
 I have to tell you, I felt proud of myself... Proud that I made the right decision. I mean, what have I learned in all these parenting books? Kids spell LOVE as T-I-M-E! But as I sat there congratulating myself, I felt a pain in my heart as if God was saying, "I spell LOVE  the same way, Mary,  T-I-M-E"  
I was reminded of the familiar story in Luke 10 where we find  Martha busily serving Jesus and the other guests in her home while Mary is sitting at the feet of Jesus.  If we could get a glimpse into the heart of each of these ladies, I honestly believe that both ladies thought they  were showing Jesus their love for Him. Martha showed her love by serving , and Mary showed her love by listening. None of us could blame Martha for her frustration at Mary, but notice  Jesus' perspective of the situation.  Jesus said of Mary that she  "hath chosen that good part..."  In my life, I can identify seasons where I lean toward being  Martha, and others where I lean toward being Mary.  Yet I'm reminded by this story that my service for God cannot replace my time with God!  
So I must ask myself, "How much do I really sit at the feet of Jesus, or do I run past Him each day just to cross off my list that I've been" with" Him? Do I really listen to Him as much as I talk to Him about all my requests? There is a phrase I hear all the time in regards to personal time with God.  The phrase is, "It's not quantity but quality." Do I spend quality time with God?   Do I give time to God to allow Him to talk to me, work on me, and mold me to be more like Him? 
I like what Jesus said at the end of the verse, "...which shall not be taken away from her." The blessings that Mary received that day by choosing to sit at the feet of Jesus were something that changed her life.  Jesus was able to impact her life in great ways because she chose to love Jesus with her time at His feet.  What blessing did God have waiting for you today when you met with Him? He loves to love on you when you choose to love Him with your time at His feet!

It's All About Perspective / Mrs Robyn Bachman

 

Mrs Robyn Bachman

 

 

 "It's All About Perspective"

 

Recently, I posted on Facebook how much I dislike change.  I have to admit, to some small extent, I was  feeling sorry for myself.   You see during all my years growing up, we moved often due to my dad being in the military.  Then, upon graduating college and marrying, God has seen fit to move my husband and I several times to different ministries for certain "seasons", as I like to call them.  Each and every place I have lived I can see how God used it to help me grow and learn lessons that were vital in my life.  Plus, I have gained so many friends across the country that I will have for a lifetime. 

Today I celebrated my  47th birthday and, if I am honest,  I have to say that as I am growing older, I am still not very fond of change; but, recently,  I have begun to look at the changes in life with new PERSPECTIVE.  In fact, to be really honest, God has convicted me about this matter of my perspective.  You see the Bible is clear that God never changes and I ought to be able to rest in that and know that everything that happens in my life is intended for His good and His glory.  When I spend all my time focused on the changes, it is so easy to lose sight of what really matters...it is so easy to lose perspective... God's perspective.  After all, isn't that how we are to view this life?  I Cor. 13:12 reminds us that "we see through a glass darkly....but then shall I know..."  One day all the changes, whether sickness, loss, hurt, burdens, trials, or even the good, will be revealed for what God intended them to be in our lives. We will understand, but until then we must  look at ALL we go through in the perspective of God rather than our own.

Perspective is defined as:  the state of one's ideas, the facts known to one, etc.; the faculty of seeing all the relevant data; a mental view or prospect.   What stands out to me are the words, "one's ideas" because my thoughts and ideas should be derived from following after God. Perhaps that is why I lose perspective when things come that I can't understand or don't like.

We are familiar with the story of Job. Satan came and tempted him, Job lost much, his friends turned on him, his wife told him to curse God and die and he lost his children...Job had to endure so much, by our standards.  Yet, if you look at Job 1:21, 22 you will find Job saying, "And said, Naked came I out of my  mother's womb and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.  In all this Job sinned not, not charged God foolishly."  WOW!! Job didn't sin against God for what he was facing and, to top it all off, he didn't question God.  I don't know about you, but that is really hard.  However, the fact that God shares this in His Word tells me that this is not only the right response or perspective we should have in life, but that it is possible.

So, I sat and thought about how I could better accomplish having the right perspective, even when facing change.  Here is what God shared with me; as well as, the results that can come when we do these things... these are things we all know, but good reminders:

 

1. Spend much time in God's Word...daily reading and meditating.    

**This will FIX our hearts on God!   Ps. 63:1 and Joshua 1:8

2. Spend more time praying and listening to the voice of God. 

** This will FREE our souls from undo cares.       Ps. 5:3 and Ps. 55:2

3.  Spend many moments of the day focused on others.   

** This FOCUSES us on what really matters  most.      Gal. 6:22 and  Luke 10:33, 34

 

So, may I encourage you as I was encouraged...no matter what we are going through He is there and if we will look at the circumstances through His perspective it will help us when we don't see a way out because we will realize He is already in our tomorrow and He truly does know what we  are going through.  

Reminds me of the song "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus" where we find  the words,   "And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace."   So, when things seem to be overwhelming, view it in His light and remember, our life truly is ALL about PERSPECTIVE...HIS.  

Fruit of the Spirit / Mrs Linda Vaprezsan

 

Mrs. Linda Vaprezsan

Pastor's Wife

Metro Baptist Church

Belleville, MI

 

 

FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT

The Fruit of God’s Character

I long to prosper in your fruit

More than the wealth of the land.

What the world offers, matters not,

It’s all like crumbling sand

It has no substance for sustaining life

Of eternal value, I mean

Its only use is for the temporal

In fulfilling worldly dreams

But one day soon it will all be gone 

As if it had never been

And when we’re standing with it all,

What in us will be seen?

For worldly wealth has no real value.

Nor character to strive for.

For we are nothing when all is revealed

If we lack the fruit of the Lord

I’d rather have the qualities of God.

The fruit of His Spirit inside,

For it’s His character that will remain

When we enter eternal life.

By M.S. Lowndes

Galatians 5:22-23 – “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance:  against such there is no law.”

As I was preparing this devotional, I thought about all of these attributes.  Without quickly counting, how many fruit are there of the Spirit?  Take a guess and then count to see if you got it right.  If you counted nine you are not exactly right.  

Did you realize that there is only ONE fruit of the Spirit?  I know you are thinking just one?  In Greek the word for “fruit” is “karpos” and it is in the singular.  So therefore if you read this verse thinking of it as singular, it would read that all of these attributes listed are one group that go together as a unit.  

We can’t pick or choose, rather, the fruit of the Spirit is one nine fold “fruit” that characterizes all who truly walk in the Holy Spirit.  Collectively, these are the fruits that all Christians should be producing in their new lives with Jesus Christ.

After I had prepared this part of the devotional for our Mother/Daughter/Friend evening, a lady who seen our advertisement for the event, asked if we could put an “S” on the poster?  I guess she felt it was incorrect.  Our secretary asked her if she had read the scripture and that the scripture is singular.  I know myself that I have caught myself saying Fruits of the Spirit.

Notice that the fruit of the Spirit is just that, of the Spirit.  It is not your fruit, but the fruit of the Spirit of God.  This is because God is love and He lives in us.  This means that it is the work of God the Holy Spirit in you to bear this fruit.  Of course, you cooperate with God in bearing this fruit and you absolutely need to seek to develop it, but in Philippians 2:13 it says, “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”

We know that it is God’s good pleasure that you love and bear the fruit of love.

If it is all one fruit, then all the nine things listed in the verses are already ours in the Spirit of God.  In other words, all nine things are really one thing that you have available to you because the Holy Spirit indwells in you.  

If you love, then will you not have joy?  If you love, will you not also have peace?  If you love, will you not also be gentle or longsuffering, be meek and have self-control (temperance)?  It could easily be said that love is the tree that bears the fruit of joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.  If you have the love of God in your heart because you have trusted Christ as your Savior then all the other attributes are yours too.  You just need to develop them.

Let’s take a look at each fruit along with their opposites.

1. Love (What a warm feeling.)  The opposite of that is hate.  (That should make us feel dirty and ugly on the inside.)

2. Joy (isn’t that a great feeling?) The opposite of that is fear.  (That sure isn’t a great feeling.)

3. Peace (I love the sound of that.)  The opposite of that is confusion.  (None of us like confusion in our lives.)

4. Longsuffering (This one is hard because it means patience.)  The opposite of that is anger.  (Anger separates us from the Lord, how sad is that?)

5. Goodness (This should make us smile.)  The opposite of that is being insensitive to others. (And that should make us sad.)

6. Gentleness (It is wonderful when we see someone being gentle.)  The opposite of that is demanding.  (When someone is demanding it makes us want to stay far away from that person.)

7. Faith (This helps others trust us.)  The opposite of that is hypocrisy.  (We say one thing and do another.  How could anyone have faith in us?)

8. Meekness (Quiet) The opposite of that is loud and annoying. (People don’t like to be around that type of person.)

9. Temperance (having self-control, making sure we don’t let ourselves just do whatever we want to.) The opposite of that is egotism.  (This is when we do whatever we want no matter who we hurt along the way.)

When you examine yourself you might notice that some of the fruit (speaking of individual aspects of love here) are not all that well developed.  You might be kind and good, but need to work on your patience.  You might have great joy and peace but need work on self-control or temperance and gentleness.  None of us are perfect, and we all have areas of improvement.  But, all Christians have the Spirit of God therefore; they have the fruit of the Spirit of God in them.  It is there, if only in developing form, it is there.

The most important thing is that the fruit of the Spirit of God is in you because, if you are born again, you have been bought with a price.  You have been redeemed by the blood of Christ, God in flesh, who died on the cross for your sins.  It is only because of what Jesus did that you can ever hope to be good, or gentle, or kind, or patient, or loving, or anything.  You cannot truly live these things without the Spirit of God in you.

It is by faith that you walk before God.  It is by faith that you seek the Lord and seek to manifest the love of His Spirit in you.  It is important because the unbelievers need to see those graces working in you.  They are an evidence of your conversion and a testimony of God’s indwelling.

Ask yourself, if you are loving, or trying to show love not only to God but also to people.  Then, go back and count the fruit again.  When you get to each one, stop and ask the Lord to develop that in your heart.  By working on each “fruit” listed, can we develop the FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT in our lives.