For Ladies


Stunted Potential


Clista Heintzman


When God designed the church, he decided that men should fill the leading roles. He commanded that wives be loving and supportive to their husbands. He directed that children be brought up in the “nurture and admonition of the Lord.”


Men are to fill the positions of preacher, elder, and deacon. The church desperately needs men who will decide and desire to live pure, godly lives and give their time and energy to building up the church and making it grow. Many men have the potential to grow and be fruitful in leadership positions, but often, their potentials are never tapped or encouraged to be put to use in the kingdom in these ways.


Children have the potential to be molded and taught what is right. They have a natural desire to please when young. Many, though, are being taught to be lukewarm and indifferent concerning spiritual things by a lack of interest in spiritual things on their parents’ part.


Did you know that you as a wife and mother play a crucial role in how involved your family becomes in the service of Christ? I believe we grossly underestimate our influence and fail to see what great results our families’ efforts could bring about for the kingdom if only our interests and energy were geared toward spiritual things as they should be.


What could happen in our family’s spiritual lives if we took a genuine interest in preparing to be at worship services whether it was a Sunday morning or an evening worship? What if we made a special effort each day to open the Bible and teach something or read something from it to our children? What if we earnestly looked for ways to be of service each week to do something for someone less fortunate in the body of Christ or to study the word ourselves enough to be able to teach someone the gospel? What if we put church services first and let sporting events, sleepovers, and parties take a “backseat”? Would our children be in Bible classes more often? Would our husbands be more likely to bring the family to services and prepare themselves to take on more leadership roles such as elder or deacon? Would our relationships in our homes be better? Would our children more likely grow up to be faithful members of the church?


We have to literally open our spiritual eyes. Heaven and hell are real, and what we are doing now is preparing us for one or the other place. We need to have a similar attitude to the apostle Paul when he said “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:2) Do not let “the god of this age” blind you to what really matters. (2 Corinthians 4:4) The salvation of our souls and the growth and building up of the body of Christ are of utmost importance.


Live up to your potential and in doing so encourage and allow your family to do the same thing. –3049 Tyler Hwy., Sistersville, WV 26175.



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