Archive - Ladies in Ministry RSS Feed

A mother’s prayers!

October 27, 2011 in Ladies in Ministry with 0 Comments

How I challenge the ladies of Vision and our missionary wives to take to heart this most beautiful story. You can be a blessing beyond anything you imagine right here. Raising godly children is one of the greatest possible ministries any of us could ever have!

Well do I remember hearing my father speak of an incident that greatly impressed him. He used to be frequently away from home preaching, and at one time, as he was on his way to a service, he feared that he was neglecting his own family while caring for the souls of others. He therefore turned back, and went to his home.

On arriving there, he was surprised to find no one in the lower rooms of the house; but, on ascending the stairs, he heard a sound as of someone engaged in prayer. On listening at the bedroom door, he discovered that it was my mother, pleading most earnestly for the salvation of all her children, and specially praying for Charles, her first-born and strong-willed son.

My father felt that he might safely go about his Master’s business while his dear wife was caring so well for the spiritual interests of the boys and girls at home, so he did not disturb her, but proceeded at once to fulfil his preaching engagement.

Spurgeon, C. H. (2009). C. H. Spurgeon’s Autobiography, Compiled from his diary, letters, and records, by his wife and his private secretary: Volume 1, 1834-1854 (69). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

A Word to Moms

October 20, 2011 in Ladies in Ministry with 0 Comments

As I am rereading the Autobiography of Charles Spurgeon I came across this story again. It is some wonderful advice for a mother to take into account today.

Not the part about staying out of church on Sunday evening, of course, but we would do well to follow her example.

Children are often very reticent to their parents. Often and often have I spoken with young lads about their souls, and they have told me they could not talk to their fathers upon such matters. I know it was so with me. When I was under concern of soul, the last persons I should have elected to speak to upon religion would have been my parents,—not through want of love to them, nor absence of love on their part; but so it was. A strange feeling of diffidence pervades a seeking soul, and drives it from its friends.

Yet I cannot tell how much I owe to the solemn words of my good mother. It was the custom, on Sunday evenings, while we were yet little children, for her to stay at home with us, and then we sat round the table, and read verse by verse, and she explained the Scripture to us.

After that was done, then came the time of pleading; there was a little piece of Alleine’s Alarm, or of Baxter’s Call to the Unconverted, and this was read with pointed observations made to each of us as we sat round the table; and the question was asked, how long it would be before we would think about our state, how long before we would seek the Lord.

Then came a mother’s prayer, and some of the words of that prayer we shall never forget, even when our hair is grey. I remember, on one occasion, her praying thus: “Now, Lord, if my children go on in their sins, it will not be from ignorance that they perish, and my soul must bear a swift witness against them at the day of judgment if they lay not hold of Christ.”

That thought of a mother’s bearing swift witness against me, pierced my conscience, and stirred my heart. When I was a child, if I had done anything wrong, I did not need anybody to tell me of it; I told myself of it, and I have cried myself to sleep many a time with the consciousness that I had done wrong; and when I came to know the Lord, I felt very grateful to Him because He had given me a tender conscience.

Spurgeon, C. H. (2009). C. H. Spurgeon’s Autobiography, Compiled from his diary, letters, and records, by his wife and his private secretary: Volume 1, 1834-1854 (68). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

Check out bcwe.org

Meet Mrs. Ann Judson

October 7, 2011 in Ladies in Ministry, Reading Notes with 0 Comments

  • Judson, Mrs. Ann Hasseltine, the first wife of Dr. Judson, was born in Bradford, Mass., Dec. 22, 1789.
  • Her conversion took place when she was not far from seventeen years of age.
  • The interest which she exhibited for religious reading of the most elevated character was remarkable in a person comparatively so young.
  • At the meeting of the Massachusetts Congregational Association at Bradford in June, 1810, Mr. Judson met his future wife. His persuasive words induced her to consent to share the fortunes of his missionary life, as well as to be the first American woman who “resolved to leave her friends and country to bear the gospel to the heathen in foreign climes.”
  • She was married to Mr. Judson Feb. 5, 1812.
  • On the outward voyage to Calcutta she changed—as did her husband—her views on the mode and subjects of baptism, and was baptized with her husband by Rev. Mr. Ward.
  • With the same fidelity and patience which characterized her husband, she applied herself to learning the language, and at the close of 1815 she states that she can both read and write it with a good degree of ease.
  • She was the efficient helper of Dr. Judson for several years, when she was compelled by her failing health to return to her native land
  • On the 21st of June, 1823, she embarked on her return voyage to Calcutta, having as her companions Rev. Jonathan Wade and his wife, and arrived at Rangoon on the 5th of the following December.
  • Early in the month of October, 1826, she was stricken with the fever which finally proved fatal, and died the 24th.
  • The sad event was followed in a few months by the death of “little Maria,” and together they were buried under the “Hopia” tree at Amherst.

Roger William Heritage Archives Editors. (2003; 2003). Baptist Biographies. Roger Williams Heritage Archives.

Check out bcwe.org

She died for living out her faith!

August 31, 2011 in Ladies in Ministry, Persecution, Reading Notes with 0 Comments

This is a wild story of a woman that so served God that she was killed for being kind! Ladies read and be blessed!

GAUNT, MRS. ELIZABETH

Gaunt, Mrs. Elizabeth, lived in London, England, in the dark days of wicked King James II. Mrs. Gaunt was a member of a Baptist church, and a lady of great benevolence.

She was accustomed to visit the jails, and to relieve the wants of the victims of persecution of every oppressed denomination. Her reputation for generous acts was the cause of her martyrdom.

The cruel king was greatly enraged that rebels against his authority should meet with a protecting roof and a little food from any of his subjects; and he resolved to be more severe to those who showed kindness to his outlawed enemies than to the traitors themselves.

A rebel named Burton, hearing of the charitable deeds of Mrs. Gaunt, sought and found shelter and food in her house; but, learning the anger of the king against those who treated his enemies with humanity, with a depth of baseness seldom exhibited by the most abandoned of our race, he went and denounced Mrs. Gaunt to the authorities.

She was seized and tried, and without the required number of witnesses was illegally condemned, and cruelly burned to death. She placed the straw around her at the stake so that she would be speedily reduced to ashes, and she behaved so gently, and yet so courageously, that “all the spectators were melted into tears.”

According to Bishop Burnet, she said to the spectators “that charity was a part of her religion, as well as faith. This, at worst, was the feeding of an enemy; so she hoped she had her reward with him for whose sake she did this service, how unworthy soever the person was that made so ill a return for it.

She rejoiced that God had honored her to be the first that suffered by fire in this reign; and that her suffering was a martyrdom for that religion which was all love.” She perished at Tyburn, Oct. 23, 1685.

No doubt her holy blood was one of the powerful causes which summoned down the vengeance of heaven on the guilty king, and which sent him from his throne and country a crownless and cowardly fugitive. A writer familiar with the character of Mrs. Gaunt says, “She stood most deservedly entitled to an eternal monument of honor in the hearts of all sincere lovers of the Reformed religion.

All true Christians, though in some things differing in persuasion from her, found in her a universal charity and sincere friendship, as is well known to many here, and also to a multitude of the Scotch nation, ministers and others, who, for conscience’ sake, were thrust into exile by the rage of bishops. She dedicated herself with unwearied industry to provide for their support, and therein I do incline to think she outstripped every individual, if not the whole body of Protestants, in this great city [London].

Hereby she was exposed to the implacable fury of the bloody Papists, and of those blind tools who co-operated to promote their accursed designs; and so there appeared little difficulty to procure a jury, as there were well-prepared judges, to make her a sacrifice, as a traitor, to holy church.”

Treacherous Burton must have set a high estimate upon the value of her life, when he was ready to offer this noble woman as a burned sacrifice for it. But long since in the eternal world he has learned that the preservation of the most precious life on earth is not worth one wicked act.

Roger William Heritage Archives Editors. (2003; 2003). Baptist Biographies. Roger Williams Heritage Archives.

Check out bcwe.org

The Author of our Stories!

August 2, 2011 in Discipleship, Ladies in Ministry, Reading Notes with 0 Comments

The following blog was written just 10 days before the Lord called this dear lady home in a horrible car accident. She was Gene Womack’s sister. My wife had been in her Sunday School class at Northside Baptist Church and said that she was a great Bible teacher.

She had a great testimony. I marveled at her funeral and all the testimonies of how God worked in her life and through her. She is a model to be followed.

Watch as you read this and consider how God was preparing her for her home going! What a blessing this lady was!

Source

How many of you have ever read a good book or watched a movie and were disappointed with its ending? I think of one of which we all are familiar- Gone With The Wind- and we probably would not have let Bonnie Blue fall off the horse and die; and depending on our personalities, some of us would have wished Rhett had stayed with the pouty Scarlett, others were happy that she got what she deserved. Yes, if we could have reviewed and edited, we would have ruined Margaret Mitchell’s bestseller!

Today, I write to encourage myself and, hopefully, you, in the truth that God is the Author of our stories and He is too wise to try to edit. I will not and cannot explain the theological concept of His sovereignty and our free will but I do believe them both because the Bible teaches both and I believe that He is in every detail of our story. I know that isn’t easy to accept but when we do, we find ourselves at rest as never before. I don’t write today as one who has mastered being the pliable clay in the all-wise Potter’s hands but as one who, like you, is learning to be still and learning (emphasis on learning) to refrain from resisting while trusting that His ordained purpose for me is perfect. Yes, like you also, that is easier on the good days, when the sun is shining, not so easy when the black clouds are forming on the horizon. On those particular days, I find myself asking like the Psalmist-”Why are thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me?” Then I begin to praise Him for His goodness toward me and soon, I am asking the same question again. You relate, right?

Think with me that if Joseph could have rewritten his story, maybe he would have left out the chapter entitled- “Betrayed and Sold by Jealous Brothers.” Maybe Naomi, Orpah, and Ruth would have kept their husbands alive and we would have missed the beautiful love story or Boaz and Ruth who became the great grandparents of the great king of Israel, David. If David had not been on the run for his life from Saul, we would not be challenged by some great psalms that he wrote which encourage us that we can go on too. Esther would have rather stayed with Mordecai but found herself in the king’s palace and realized that she was there “for such a time as this.” The Bible is filled with these kind of stories, all of which God authored. In the N.T. Testament, we see many of our most beloved epistles written by the Apostle Paul from a prison cell, not exactly the location we would have chosen. It’s from his pen in the Book of Romans that he reminds us that “all things work together for good to them who love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” It doesn’t say all things are good but all things work for our good, dear Child of God. No, we don’t understand and won’t, fully, here. I have bought many little palettes of paint for the grandchildren for inside activities at our house. Rarely, do they include the color black and never have I seen gray in the mix but the artist in his masterpieces will often use those shades as a backdrop and the vibrant hues become brighter because of it. It’s why the jeweler who wants the sale places that diamond ring in a box of black velvet. The brilliance is glorious against the background. I do not understand cancer in kids- I pray for an 18-mo. old named Andrew with stage IV neuroblastoma. He is in Ireland with his parents who, I believe, are missionaries. Each day as his daddy updates on FB his blood transfusion and chemos and sleepless nights, I weep with them but rejoice at his little smile in extreme adversity and his parents’ thanksgiving for a Christian doctor and caring nurses.

My children in the ministry got a much needed vacation this week but Jeff has been crippled in much of it because of the painful condition of gout. I wonder why this would happen because he so diligently serves and desired some time with his precious three. I have prayed for them and have trusted that God knows exactly what is going on. “Deborah”, you might say, “Do you think God is in vacations gone awry?” I am learning that God is sovereign or He is not. It can’t be both ways so yes, He wasn’t taken aback by this mishap. One of my dearest friends, a sweet lady who shared discipleship classes with me, is on her way to Wisconsin today to see a specialist concerning “possible” pancreatic cancer. She kids with me on my birthday that I am older than her, from September to November and as she goes, she leaves behind in a hospital an aged mother who is recovering from bypass surgery. My friend retired from work to take care of her elderly parents and now she is too ill to to do so. I am sure she has questions. Would you join me in prayer for her? Do we understand? No! Do we trust God Who does understand fully? Yes! We trust His wisdom and His grace and His love for His children. Does He work all things out for good and His glory? Help us, Lord, to trust in You and Your truth! I posted a song last time that I blogged called Blessings. (Please listen to it if you are a fellow struggler today.)There is a particular line that ministers to my heart this morning. “What if the trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?” It meant even more when I read that the young woman wrote the song after hearing that her husband had been diagnosed with a brain tumor. I began with our desire to rewrite sections of stories because we think that we have a better grasp on the outcome. But let us be reminded and reassured today that God’s story ends perfectly. The ending is really our beginning and from Heaven one day, we will say Amen and amen to His story and our chosen role in it. I am just thankful this morning that He gave me a part, aren’t you?

Praying for perseverance for you and desiring your like-minded prayer for me, Pilgrim! These temporary trials serve to remind us that this is not our home. Hallelujah!!

- Deborah

Check out bcwe.org

Page 1 of 212»