October 2, 2009 "Pastor Appreciation Month"
TRIUMPHANT VICTORIOUS REMINDERS
Inspired by the Holy Spirit
Written By: Teresa Criswell
This month, the month of October is 'Pastor Appreciation Month'.
Many who read this, may go to church and many may not. Either way I just want to share with you that the pastors have been placed on my heart this morning.
There is an attack on the office of the pastors, in ways we could never imagine. Many within the 'church' are part of the attacks and many have been disgusted observers of the attacks.
Many have left because other people have left. Some have left because they felt they knew more than the pastor. Some have left the church because they took on an offense.
However, some have left the church because the pastors were being seduced away from truth. Some have left because they were ex-communicated. Some have left because they were given an ultimatum. The list goes on and on. To those that have been mistreated intentionally, I say, I am truly sorry and I pray you will allow the grace of God to abound in your life. God bless you as you have gone through great sadness. However, you must know that God wants to take from that sadness and bring you into His great joy which is our strength.
I have been greatly blessed with wonderful pastors. I must tell you that I have not yet met wonderful pastors like Pastors Dominic and Amira Russo in Oakland Township, Michigan. I still consider them my pastors; geography doesn't determine who they are or are not in my life. I am honored to call them pastors as they love God's people and they love the souls that have not yet allowed Christ to rescue their lives.
I also honor Pastors Bruce and Nicole Wangler in Winterset, Iowa. What great teachers of the Word, yet many have rejected them because of 'here say' and just plain lies. I heard the lies throughout the small community. The lies kept people from experiencing such great treasures of truth from the Lord.
And last but definitely not least, Pastors Stephen and Kim Behrman my local pastors here in Texas. I am so blessed and honored to call them my pastors. I am so blessed to have found such hidden treasures from the Lord. They are truly pastors that teach truth, teach from the Word of God and teach us how to apply it. Their submission to the Holy Spirit allows the Spirit of God to give us that great desire to search the Truth out ourselves. We are challenged to not take their word for it, but to truly be captivated by the heart of Almighty God and take His Word for it. This is nothing short of amazing and awesome! Pastors like the ones I have mentioned are led of the Holy Spirit and I know this because of the results. The result is that it ignites my spirit to pursue the heart of God in ways I could never imagine.
I close today's reminder with a great Honor Video I received via email today. It is from some dear people that I am honored to know. Their names, John and Lisa Bevere. Their hearts reveal a glimpse of the love of God. Be blessed as you watch the video, by clicking on the link below:
http://www.messengerinternational.org/Display.asp?Page=pastorsappreciation1
I pray you are blessed and encouraged by their words. The video is to pastors, however we can also receive it for our own lives. Let us go in His awesome power and be 'gate keepers' of truth for God's glory!
Inspired by the Holy Spirit
Written By: Teresa Criswell
This month, the month of October is 'Pastor Appreciation Month'.
Many who read this, may go to church and many may not. Either way I just want to share with you that the pastors have been placed on my heart this morning.
There is an attack on the office of the pastors, in ways we could never imagine. Many within the 'church' are part of the attacks and many have been disgusted observers of the attacks.
Many have left because other people have left. Some have left because they felt they knew more than the pastor. Some have left the church because they took on an offense.
However, some have left the church because the pastors were being seduced away from truth. Some have left because they were ex-communicated. Some have left because they were given an ultimatum. The list goes on and on. To those that have been mistreated intentionally, I say, I am truly sorry and I pray you will allow the grace of God to abound in your life. God bless you as you have gone through great sadness. However, you must know that God wants to take from that sadness and bring you into His great joy which is our strength.
I have been greatly blessed with wonderful pastors. I must tell you that I have not yet met wonderful pastors like Pastors Dominic and Amira Russo in Oakland Township, Michigan. I still consider them my pastors; geography doesn't determine who they are or are not in my life. I am honored to call them pastors as they love God's people and they love the souls that have not yet allowed Christ to rescue their lives.
I also honor Pastors Bruce and Nicole Wangler in Winterset, Iowa. What great teachers of the Word, yet many have rejected them because of 'here say' and just plain lies. I heard the lies throughout the small community. The lies kept people from experiencing such great treasures of truth from the Lord.
And last but definitely not least, Pastors Stephen and Kim Behrman my local pastors here in Texas. I am so blessed and honored to call them my pastors. I am so blessed to have found such hidden treasures from the Lord. They are truly pastors that teach truth, teach from the Word of God and teach us how to apply it. Their submission to the Holy Spirit allows the Spirit of God to give us that great desire to search the Truth out ourselves. We are challenged to not take their word for it, but to truly be captivated by the heart of Almighty God and take His Word for it. This is nothing short of amazing and awesome! Pastors like the ones I have mentioned are led of the Holy Spirit and I know this because of the results. The result is that it ignites my spirit to pursue the heart of God in ways I could never imagine.
I close today's reminder with a great Honor Video I received via email today. It is from some dear people that I am honored to know. Their names, John and Lisa Bevere. Their hearts reveal a glimpse of the love of God. Be blessed as you watch the video, by clicking on the link below:
http://www.messengerinternational.org/Display.asp?Page=pastorsappreciation1
I pray you are blessed and encouraged by their words. The video is to pastors, however we can also receive it for our own lives. Let us go in His awesome power and be 'gate keepers' of truth for God's glory!
Thank you so much for stopping by my blog and for referencing one of your posts on joy & strength. I just read it, and it definitely put some things in perspective for me. :)
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that October was Pastor Appreciation month, but it's kind of funny because just this week I have started praying for our Pastor and all of our church leadership.
I look forward to reading more of your posts!