Pastors’ wives hear from Donna Gaines

INDIANAPOLIS (BP)—Jesus died so believers could have abundant life regardless of their circumstances, Donna Gaines of Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Tenn., said during the Pastors’ Wives Session of the SBC Pastors’ Conference June 9 in Indianapolis.

Before an audience of about 600 women, Gaines pointed to Genesis 2 for a picture of “life as it was meant to be.”

Gaines, whose husband Steve is pastor of the Memphis-area church, compared the disobedience described in Genesis 3 to “times when Christians fail to take God at His word and take matters into their own hands in order to relieve difficult circumstances.”

Separation, fear and shame replace God’s plan for intimacy, security and innocence, she said.

From 1 Corinthians 2:9-16, Gaines described how the same Spirit of God who knows the very thoughts of God desires an intimate relationship with believers.

“It takes time and discipline for us to grow in Jesus,” she said, men­tioning a collection of resources she described as her survival kit. Gaines advised women to read through the Bible systematically, record in a journal the impressions God provides, meditate on God’s Word and find encouragement from devotional books and music.

“This is where you spend your time if you have an appointment with God every day,” she said. “He called you and now it’s up to you to pursue Him.”

For more information, visit www.contagiousjoy4him.com.