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All posts in category Doris Swartz

A Letter To A Young “Bride-To-Be”

From A Wife Of 54 Years

Dearest Patricia*,

If I remember right, you were in your mid-teens when I first met you: we worked together in DVBS (Daily Vacation Bible School). I thought very highly of you then, and still do.

I saw you as a young lady who was kind and thoughtful, desiring to be a help wherever possible.

I was so pleased when I observed a friendship beginning to develop between you and your future fiancée. I quietly hoped things would work out as they eventually did. I think you will be a good wife to him, and he a good husband for you.

A marriage can be something beautiful; God planned that it should be that way. I am convinced that a husband is a gift from God. He is a treasure to be cherished and honored all the days of his life.

There are some things I have learned through my 54 years of marriage. I wish I had pages to tell you about them all, but I will just share some of what God has taught me.

To be a successful wife, you must be a “prayer warrior”. Read Phil 4:6, 7. Learn to pray, and to trust the Lord in everything: Pray as you cook, as you approach difficult tasks, as you teach and discipline your children, and in everything. Oh, what peace we have in our hearts when we learn to pray and trust.

Jesus said that without Him, we can do nothing. He speaks to us through His Word – read it daily; memorize verses and passages, especially those that are most meaningful to you. The portion of the Bible that is in your memory bank is the part of God’s Word that is always with you.

Continually practice Ephesians 4:32 in your relationship with your husband, and your children. This is a must. Somehow, in the daily grind of life, we have a tendency to forget to practice that admonition, especially at home – it is so very important.
We must remember to always practice kindness, thoughtfulness, and courtesy with each other. And don’t forget forgiveness. All of this is essential to good relationships. And, it is true, “what goes around, comes around”
Maybe you don’t need this, but I’ll add it anyway: Keep your house neat and tidy. I have learned from personal experience, that family relationships are better when things are neat than when the house is messy and disorganized.
Be careful to continue keeping yourself attractive for your husband. He will appreciate that.
Remember, you don’t always have to be right. Let your husband be the leader. He can’t be the leader if you don’t follow. And pray for him. God tells us to pray for those who are in authority over us, and surely that would include a husband.
Remember, he hasn’t walked this path before, he is just learning, even as you are. It’s okay for you to tell him how you feel about things, and what you think is right. Then leave it there, and go to your prayer closet and let the Lord guide your husband into right decisions.

In our marriage, there were times when I was sure I was right, then found that I was wrong. At those times I was glad that I had left the working out of the situation to the Lord, instead of me insisting on having my own way.

Keep your husband’s confidences private, and don’t tell others his faults. We know that no one is perfect but let other people think he is. Words are strong. If you say derogatory things about him, you will find yourself thinking less of him, and so will others. Focus on his qualities and pray about those things that you are disappointed in.

Go to Proverbs 31:10-31. This woman is my favorite woman in the Bible. It is a wise choice to follow her example.

May the Lord richly bless you and your ”soon–to–be husband”. I desire every good thing for the two of you.

D. S.

*Name has been changed to protect the guilty.

From the Editor – The previous letter was written to be placed into a keepsake scrapbook for the wedding. Select women from her church were asked to add things like favorite Bible verses, recipes, words of encouragement and things of that nature. This was the letter that Doris Swartz wrote to be placed into that scrapbook. Doris had been widowed 11 years prior to this and added to me, “Some things are learned after you lose your mate that you wish you would have understood while he was still alive”. — Mark

Other submissions from Doris Swartz:

Doris Swartz Pt. 1 – How I Traded Fear For Peace
Doris Swartz Pt. 2 – How God Led Me To Work With Children

The Backbone of a Submissive Wife… (joleneengle.com)

3 Comments

by Christians Are Us on February 5, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Doris Swartz

Tagged authority, Bible, bride, bride to be, confidence, courtesy, Doris Swartz, encouragement, family, follow, forgiveness, God, husband, Jesus, Kindness, leader, Lord, marriage, Peace, pray, relationship, scrapbook, thoughtfulness, wedding, wife to be, wish, woman, Word, young bride

Posted by Christians Are Us on February 5, 2013

https://christiansareus.com/2013/02/05/a-letter-to-a-young-bride-to-be/

Doris Swartz Pt. 1 – How I Traded Fear For Peace

HOW I TRADED FEAR FOR PEACE

I was born into a hard working farm family in the early 1930’s. My parents took my sister and me to church until a new baby was born into the family. I was six years old when she came. After that, we rarely went to church.

My parents were religious, moral, decent people. But that is a far cry from being Christian. When my Mom was deeply concerned about some circumstance in her life, she would gather us girls about her on the bed, and she would read the Bible to us. That was about the only time the Bible was taught in our home by my parents.

I appreciate one thing my Dad did though: he would turn on the radio on Sunday, (maybe not every Sunday) and we heard Bible preaching. My parents let us go to Daily Vacation Bible School, but that wasn’t every year. I don’t remember much of what I was taught there, if I was taught the Gospel message, it didn’t penetrate my understanding.

Even though there was not much Bible teaching in our home, my parents did their best to teach us to be diligent workers, to be honest, truthful, and also to fear God. Somehow, I knew about Jesus and that there was a God. I knew that He died on the cross for us. I also knew that there was a heaven and a hell. I knew that some people were not ready to meet God, and that I was one of them. I also knew that Jesus would come someday, and that it could happen at any time.

My parents did not have much Bible understanding – they probably were not taught it, though my Dad’s parents were somewhat religious. I don’t know about my Mom’s parents. I know now that being religious is not the same as having put one’s hope in Jesus for salvation, but back at that time, I thought a person had to be good and do good things in order to be saved. There were times I wondered, “Why did Jesus have to die on the cross when we had to be good in order to go to heaven”?

I was about eight when the Jews began to migrate back into their homeland. My Mom said that soon the end of the world would come. When she told me this, I knew I was not ready for Jesus to come back. I knew that I was a sinner, and that I would go to hell. That caused great anguish of soul for me. Many nights, before going to sleep, I would pray, “Jesus, please don’t come back tonight”.

About this time, when I was somewhere between 6 and 8 years old, I had a dream. In my dream, I was swinging on a tire swing hung from a tree in the orchard that was north of our house. I looked toward the east, and there was Jesus coming across the field towards me. He was coming to take me to heaven. I said to him that I hadn’t done anything; meaning that I had not done anything to make me ready for heaven. In my dream, Jesus said to me, “You don’t have to”.

I didn’t know it at that time, but that is the truth. I didn’t have to do any good thing to be ready for Jesus to take me to heaven, because Jesus did it for me. He paid for all my sins when he gave His blood as He died on the cross, taking all of my punishment for all the sins I have and will yet commit. I would only have to put my trust in Him.

I remember one night, about this same time, I came downstairs from my attic bedroom. I wanted my Mom to help me get saved. She knew what I wanted, but did not know how to help me.

Some years passed. I got married at the age of 17, and I was still burdened about my lost condition. Sometimes I would cry to my husband about it. One time he told me that he was going to hell.

He wasn’t saved either. That fear of not being saved never left me. Fear is an awful thing to live with.

On one occasion, my husband and I went to a family reunion. There was a missionary there (a third cousin), who had gone to Africa. He was the speaker at that gathering. He preached a very convicting message about salvation. But, I still didn’t know how to get saved. I still thought I had to be good – which I knew I wasn’t. I remember going to bed at night and not being able to sleep well.

Three little girls were born to our family, our first one lived only 24 hours. Still both my husband and I were in our lost condition. I remember one day as I was running to the mailbox at the roadway, a chilling thought came to me, if I don’t get saved, all my descendants will go to hell.

God has a way of working things out for His glory and our good.

A country church, about 20 miles away, had some money designated for missions. There was a man in that church who thought it would be good to start a church in Wichita, Kansas with that money. The plan was that after the church was established, the membership would be missions minded, and eventually the amount of money used to build the new church would be given to missions. That was a good plan.

So the piece of property was bought, and the work began. First, the men had to prepare the ground for the building. Then, my Dad was contacted to help because he had some heavy equipment. He told them about his daughter that lived near there. One of the men responsible for starting the new church visited me and invited us to come to their new church. I don’t remember my response, but I think I didn’t take the invitation very seriously.

Later, after the church was built, they called a young man to serve as pastor. This new church was a Bible church, there was no denominational affiliation. One evening the young pastor and his wife came to call on us and invited us to come to church.

We promised that we would come the next Sunday. But, the next Sunday our two little girls had whooping cough. We didn’t go to church. It was about six weeks later that I saw the pastor’s wife in the grocery store. I told her that we still planned to come to church. What I didn’t know was that during these weeks, the people of that church were fervently praying for us, and for our salvation.

Finally, the day came that I actually went to that little church, taking my 3 year old daughter with me. My husband stayed at home with the other little girl who was only about a year old. I think it was the second Sunday that I went to the church that I was so convicted of my need that I cried. One of the hymns sung was, “T’is so Sweet to Trust in Jesus”. I thought to my self, “Yes, it would be sweet to trust in Jesus”. After church, as I was leaving, the pastor’s wife met me and wanted to talk to me. She understood what my need was without my telling her. I didn’t want to talk to her, I gave the excuse that I needed to get my little girl home.

After lunch that day, my husband decided to take a hog to the market. That was so unlike him to do such a thing on Sunday. I had one fear that if I made this decision to become a Christian, my husband would be so displeased that he would leave me.

After the little girls had been put to bed for their afternoon nap, I made my choice. . . I knew I was a sinner, I had to be saved. I knelt beside my bed and prayed. I still didn’t know how to get saved, but I surrendered my heart to God for salvation. I prayed the only thing I knew. I asked the Lord to make me His vessel. I got up from my knees, and picked up my Bible, one that my husband had given me as a gift on our first wedding anniversary. I turned to the concordance in the back of the Bible and looked up the word, “salvation”. I found that salvation is of the Lord. I thought that maybe I was saved, but wasn’t certain. I still don’t know for sure that I was saved at that time.

Very soon after that I learned that there is only one way to be saved from the punishment we deserve for having sinned. Salvation comes only when one puts all of his trust in the Lord Jesus Christ who paid the penalty for our sin when He shed His blood, and died on the cross.

I Corinthians 15:3, 4; “. . . how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”

Whether I was saved at that time or not, God knows, but I do know this. The Lord took me at my word, that I wanted to be His vessel, and led me to understand the way of salvation in the days that followed.

The next Sunday our little family went to church. I told the pastor’s wife what I had done, about my uncertainty about my salvation, and about what I had found in the Scriptures. She said that she believed that I really was saved. On that day the pastor and his wife invited our little family to come to their house for dinner on the following Friday. I was delighted for us to accept that invitation, I had many questions that needed answers.

During that week many changes happened in my life. The next day after that prayer of surrender, I felt that my world was like an oasis after having been in the desert. My mouth got cleaned up. No more minced oaths, no foul language of any kind. My radio became “sanctified”, no more soap operas, just preaching and Christian music.

Through the preaching which I heard on the radio, many of my questions were answered. But one question was heavy on my mind, and when we were at dinner at the pastor’s home I asked, “Now that I am saved, can I lose my salvation”? I wanted to know if I had to work to keep my salvation by doing good deeds, or could I work for Jesus just to please Him. The answer was in the form of a parable. I was told that when I was saved, the heavenly Father was now my Father.

God has chosen that analogy of His relationship with His children. A man who is the father of a child, can disown the child, abandon him, or whatever, but he can never deny the fact that he is still that child’s father. That fact of fatherhood cannot be changed. Since God is my Father now, He will always be my father.

The truth that God will always be the Father of those who have trusted Jesus for their salvation, is a good analogy. However, I would rather depend on the Scriptures. These especially:

Romans 6:23; “. . . the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.“

Eternal life is life that endures forever. If I have eternal life, I can not lose it since it is eternal. If I could lose it, then obviously I never had it.

Here is another passage that showed me that our salvation is an eternal one:

I John 5:11,12; “And this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son [Jesus Christ]. He that hath the Son hath life: and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”

If you have Jesus, you have eternal life. If you don’t have eternal life it is because you do not have Jesus.

I have been a joyfully born-again Christian going on sixty years now. It has been so wonderful to be free of that awful fear that plagued me all those early years. The peace and joy that Jesus has given me has been priceless.

Dear reader, do you have this same joy and confidence? It can be yours, too.

Respectively,

Doris Swartz

©2013 Mark Davis

A Letter To A Young “Bride-To-Be”

Doris Swartz Pt. 2 – How God Led Me To Work With Children

How God Led Me To Work With Children

Immediately following my salvation experience, my pastor’s wife asked me to take her to a Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) teachers training class. We met every week during the school year. This training has been invaluable to me in my Christian walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.

This class was divided into two parts. First, we were taught how to take the Bible, and develop a good Bible lesson and we were taught how to show someone how to be saved. We memorized Bible verses so that we had Scripture in our minds to pass on to others so that they could be saved. It is the Word of God that the Holy Spirit uses to change people’s lives. We were taught to always give the salvation message in every lesson, as well as those truths that would help a saved child to grow in confidence in his/her salvation and how to live a life pleasing to God. We were taught that in every class, most likely, there are both saved and unsaved children. Each child has a need to be given those Bible truths that will help them at their point of need. The saved child needs to know how to live pleasing to his Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ. The unsaved child needs to know what Jesus has done for him so the child can put his trust in Jesus for his salvation.

The other half of the session was a Good News Club. Here, a Bible lesson was taught, and we adults were the “children” in the class. The idea was that we would go out and teach that lesson in a Good News Club in our community.

After my husband had become a born-again believer, we had a club in our home. One day, our second daughter, about 5, raised her hand at the invitation to receive Jesus, and her Daddy counseled her, and she put her trust in Jesus to save her at that time. She is a grandmother now, and dates her salvation to that day.

Because of his work, my husband was not able to be a part of a Good News Club after that year. That was sad, because it is hard to find a better team than a husband and wife as teachers in a Good News Club. Though my husband could not help, I continued teaching a club, either in our home or a friend’s home for many years. I continued to teach even after my children had grown up and left the nest.

Maybe you are wondering what a Good News Club is. Children from the neighborhood are invited to come to the home for an hour, usually immediately after school. During that hour, refreshments are given. The children are taught songs, a Bible verse to memorize which they are encouraged to recite the next week, and they are taught a Bible lesson. There are visuals for the songs, verses, and the lesson. At the end of the lesson, an invitation is given for those who want to, to come and talk to us so that we could help them make the decision to receive Jesus as their Savior. No pressure is to be put on the children; this is to be a choice they would make for themselves. These classes meet once a week through most of the school year.

In recent years, we have been allowed to hold a Good News in the school. Bible clubs are allowed with he same rules and restrictions as secular clubs have. I have been a part of a Good News Club in a local grade school for the past 5 or 6 years. Last year we averaged about 30 students, and so far this year we have had about 20.

For more information about a “Good News Club”

It has been such a privilege to be doing the work that I believe God has called me to do. My joy and delight is to teach children. It would be a great joy to teach persons of any age, but I believe God has called me to teach children. When I am in front of a class of precious boys and girls I am truly happy.

Has my life always reflected Jesus? Sorry to say, “No”. I have failed Him miserably so many times. But my Lord Jesus Christ has never failed me. He has been there in my times of need. He has answered so many of my prayers, even though I have not deserved such goodness from Him. I am so thankful for such verses as; John 6:37, “…him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” and Hebrews 13:5, “. . . I will never leave thee nor forsake thee”. I am so thankful that someone came to me with the gospel message.

What is the GOSPEL message ??

It could be that someone who reads this is in similar circumstances as I was for the first 23 years of my life . . . in confusion and fearing God’s eternal judgment. Such a person does not have to continue in that fear. I would have been spared a lot of misery if I had learned these truths as a child. The Gospel is simply the “GOOD NEWS” that God has provided the Way for us to know that we can be forgiven of our sins and to know that we will, one day, be in God’s heaven.

The following is a presentation of that wonderful gospel message: To do this, I will use the letters A through D to help with that presentation.

A. Admit . . . that you have sinned against a holy God.

God tells us that we have all sinned:

Romans 3:23 — “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

You need to know that sin has consequences, and that is death – forever separated from God.

Romans 6:23 — “For the wages of sin is death. . .”

That death is an eternal death, that the one who dies without Jesus will be in a terrible place called hell . . . forever. The Bible says that it is a place where “the fire is not quenched”. That fact is so awful that we find it hard to comprehend.

B. Believe . . . that Jesus took your place — your punishment — for sin when He died on the cross.

II Corinthians 5:21 — “For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin: that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”

We could read this verse this way:

“For He (God the Father) hath made Him (the Lord Jesus Christ) to be sin for us (you and me, the sinners), who knew no sin (Jesus is perfectly good, no sin in Him) that we might be made the righteous of God (perfectly good in God’s sight) in Him (in the Lord Jesus Christ)”.

We need to understand that Jesus died, but didn’t stay dead. He was buried and rose again.

I Corinthians 15:3,4 — “. . . how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures: and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day, according to the scriptures”.

We must understand that we cannot do anything to save ourselves, Jesus did it all for us.

Ephesians 2:8,9 — “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Because Jesus took our place – took all of our punishment for sin – we can be forgiven for all our sin.

Ephesians 1:7 — “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace”.

C. Choose, Confess (or Call) . . . upon Jesus, trusting Him, and asking Him to save you.

Romans 10:13 — “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

When we believe, then we can ask. Prayer does not save us. Prayer is the means of communication between God and us. Believing in what the Lord Jesus did for us, does.

Romans 10:9,10 — “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness: and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation”.

Another promise verse is this:

Acts 16:31 — “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved and thy house”.

Do you believe God when He says that you have sinned and that you are a sinner? Do you believe that Jesus is the Lord? Do you believe that Jesus took your punishment and completely paid your sin debt when He gave His blood and died on the cross? Do you believe that he died, was buried, and three days later rose again and is alive? Do you believe God’s promise that when you believe, you are saved simply because you believe? If your answer to all these questions is “Yes”, tell it to the Lord Jesus and ask Him to save you so that you will never be punished in hell for your sin, and that one day you will be in God’s heaven.

D. Depend . . . on God’s Word to know that you are saved. The question is, do you know for sure that you are saved? If you say, “Yes”, the next question is, “How do you know that?” You can know for sure when you depend on what God has promised.

Both Romans 10:9, 10, 13 and Acts 16:31 are promise and condition verses. That is, they give you God’s promise, and what you must do to receive that promise.

In Romans 10: 9,10,13 What is God’s promise? That you would be saved.

What is the condition you must meet so that you are saved? You must believe.

Did you do your part? If you say, “Yes, I did my part. I believed.”

Then the next question is, “Did God do his part”? Obviously, there is no doubt that God will do what He has promised. When we fulfill the condition part of the promise, then God will do the promise part. We simply trust God’s Word, that He will do everything He has promised.

If you did your part, then God kept His promise, and you are saved; all your sins, past, present, and future, are forgiven.

Colossians 2:13 — “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses”.

Forgiveness of sins is the most wonderful gift anyone could ever receive. It is also the most costly gift ever given. Jesus has commanded us to “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” There is no higher calling for us who have trusted Jesus for our salvation, than this, to show sinners how they can receive that precious gift of eternal life.

How about you, dear reader, have your sins been forgiven? It is written in II Peter 3:9, the Lord is “. . . longsuffering, not willing that any should perish.”

The Lord loves you and is not willing for you to spend eternity in hell. Today is the day of salvation. Even though God loves you, there will come a day when it is too late.

Hebrews 9:22, — “. . . it is appointed for man once to die, but after this the judgment. . .”

If there is any doubt about your salvation, please, make that choice today while there is yet time.