Chosen for the altar: A manual for the future pastor's wife

By Tania Rubim

She's always at her husband's side. Even though she is the centre of attention. The details about her life and the position she holds are always a source of curiosity. But what does it mean to be a pastor's wife? What challenges does she have to face? How did she join this ministry and become a helper of a man of God? What does a young woman have to take into consideration when she plans to marry a pastor? In this book, Tania Rubim writes about facing the challenges of joining this ministry. "Chosen for the Altar - A Manual for the Future Pastor's Wife" clarifies misconceptions, and at the same time gives encouragement to young girls who dream of serving God on the Altar, but fear that it is something impossible to achieve.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Unipro
• Release date: Feb 2, 2018
• ISBN: 9788571408821

Book preview

persevering.

Introduction

  When I started attending the church at the age of 16, it never crossed my mind that one day I would serve God on the Altar.

To be honest, in the beginning, I didn’t even want to become an assistant. All I wanted was to study and I didn’t want anything to wreck my plans.

But as time passed and I was converted, those thoughts began to change, and the things that used to be so important in the beginning no longer made sense to me.

God began to mould and prepare me to fulfil His plan, and I allowed the Holy Spirit to guide me.

After I had my encounter with God, a desire was born in my heart to help others. I wanted them to know what I had received. It was at that moment that my journey of faith truly began.

I was inspired to write about this subject when I started noticing many young girls in the church whose dream was to serve God on the Altar full-time, leaving behind their home, parents, career, studies, etc. Some of them would keep it a secret, since for them it seemed to be an impossible dream, as they considered themselves incapable of such a big responsibility.

I soon realised that some of those girls didn’t have the foggiest idea of what it meant to do the Work of God. So I decided to write a book to clarify their questions and to share some of my experiences.

I hope that, through this book, I can reach many girls and help dispel any doubts or fear that might exist in their hearts.

May God use me as a tool to help all those who have a fervent desire to serve Him and to contribute to the growth of His Kingdom by denying themselves.

This book was especially written for those with a dream to serve God on the Altar in mind.

With love,

Tania Rubim

Chapter

one

The new birth

  To serve God on the Altar is a glorious experience, but there are people who have many doubts about it; they’re not sure if God has called them to serve Him on the Altar or if it’s just their emotions.

But what does the Altar represent?

There are many passages in the Bible that talk about men of God who built an altar to the Lord. It was a way of worshipping God, making covenants with Him, celebrating those covenants, or building landmarks to remind future generations of the great wonders the Lord performed among His people. From a spiritual point of view, the Altar represents a place where sacrifice is made. It’s on the Altar that we sacrifice our own will and make ourselves servants.

Through this, we understand that the Altar is a holy place, dedicated to God, where a person commits their entire life to Him and lives a life of righteousness and self-denial, dedicated to doing the will of God.

To begin with, let’s talk about the new birth—a truly fundamental requirement for anyone who desires to serve God on the Altar and help those who are suffering.

We can’t mistake blessings for the new birth. Blessings come through faith, and don’t require being born of God to receive them. Anyone who puts their faith into practice will reap its benefits.

I remember when I came to the church and began reading and learning the Word of God in the services, my eyes were opened and I immediately accepted the Word and was converted by it. I saw some miracles happen in my life, but my encounter with God only happened almost two years later.

New birth happens inside of us. When you truly change inside and become strong, there is no fear or doubt, sadness or accusations. The Holy Spirit is with you, and no one can take that away from you, because only you know who you were before and who you have become.

It’s such a remarkable moment that you change completely. You are no longer the same person. It’s as if that was the first day you started to live, and your past is erased.

But don’t be deceived—if you have been blessed, and have even made changes, but still have the same old thoughts, attitudes, evil desires, and sadness, then the new birth has not happened yet.

A person who is not born of God is not spiritually equipped to serve Him on the Altar. He or she will not be able to endure the fire of the Work of God.

Here we see how important it is for a servant to be born of God. How many people have we seen fall away, abandoning their faith, and even bringing shame to the name of Jesus, because they thought they had the Holy Spirit when in fact they didn’t? When they go through dry spells and difficulties, they feel like giving up and leaving everything behind.

That’s why we often hear people say, The Work of God is not what I pictured; I thought it would be different. It’s not for me.

Whoever says that clearly doesn’t have the calling to serve on the Altar. Maybe they thought it would please their flesh. Most likely, they never knew the meaning of the term self-denial, which is why they’re unhappy and unfulfilled.

Those who are called to serve on the Altar are aware that they no longer own their lives. They live for winning souls, to serve God. Whoever is unwilling to do that cannot serve on the Altar.

If you have a desire to serve God on the Altar but haven’t yet had this personal encounter with Him, don’t waste another moment. Start to seek Him more, and abandon the things that displease Him and block your new birth from happening.

Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.’ John 3.5

I want to receive the Holy Spirit

These steps are for you to do your best. More than anyone else, God wants you to receive the Holy Spirit.

1. Abandon everything that displeases God and that contradicts His Word.

2. Forget your past. Don’t condemn yourself for the mistakes you made and don’t think that you are not worthy.

3. Repent and decide to get baptised in water so that you can start a new life with God.

4. Distance yourself from people who might harm your faith or influence you in a negative way, who could lead you to do or say things that are against God’s will.

5. Stay close to people who share the same faith, who will help you spiritually as much as possible.

6. Seek Him without ceasing. Show God that He is first in your life and that you desire to receive the Holy Spirit more than anything else.

7. Make spiritual challenges for this to happen, such as fast or pray during the night. Do things to show God that you truly want an encounter with Him.

8. It’s crucial to surrender yourself to God, even if this means leaving everything in this world behind—your own will, traditions, fleshly desires— everything that may interfere with your relationship with God.

Who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2 Corinthians 3.6

Spiritual deserts

What else is a desert but an arid, desolate, unattractive, hostile place?

If you are going through a huge struggle and feel lonely, abandoned and forgotten by God, know that you are crossing through your desert.

This is exactly how we feel when we are in a desert—no one can help us, our prayers don’t seem to be answered, and all we can do is ask, God, where are You? Why don’t You don’t answer me?

But the desert is not a place to talk; it’s a place to listen to what God has to tell us. He takes us through deserts because there, all our attention is on Him.

Every man and woman of God goes through spiritual deserts. I’m not saying that these deserts are either formidable or pleasurable, but they are undeniably necessary.

Each spiritual desert serves a purpose. Not all of us go through the same ones, but God adapts them according to His servants’ needs, to mould their character and make them reach a higher level of spirituality and dependence on Him.

A person who is of God but has never been through a desert has never experienced the baptism of fire. This painful experience makes us grow spiritually, matures us, and even strengthens our faith. Spiritual deserts teach us to be humble, to understand people around us better, and to not be quick to judge.

We’ve noticed that people who have not yet faced spiritual battles are prone to be selfish, egocentric and criticise others very easily. How can we understand the pain of others if our lives are always a bed of roses?

This was my first experience, which at the time was like crossing a desert.

I’d been in the Work of God for eight months when my husband was chosen to preach the Word of God in the United States.