HURRY UP! and WAIT

Have you heard the expression, "Hurry up, and Wait"?  An example would be when we've rushed to be on time for an appointment, only to sit and wait to actually see the person we were scheduled to meet. Usually our level of frustration coincides with the length of time we are expected to wait! I don't usually mind waiting if I have a book to read or a Sudoku puzzle, otherwise, waiting is a challenge! 

It is no secret that we are an impatient people. We are so accustom to the fastest pace possible- fast food, fast transportation, high speed internet connections, immediate care medical facilities, microwave ovens, etc.  Many people feel that ANY wait time is wasted time. It's hard to imagine that wait time is designed by the Lord and is vital if our primary desire is to follow Him.

The Lord is faithful to hear and answer the prayers of His children.  His answers will be either YES, NO or WAIT.  As a believer, the Lord will put us in His divine "waiting room".  Rather than becoming impatient, the Holy Spirit will guide us to His Word for the instruction we need on how to wait on Him.  The Lord is aware that we do not like to wait, so, in His wisdom He gave us His Word to guide us. The Lord also knew we would need help in understanding the purpose in waiting on Him to answer our prayers. 


Isaiah 8:17a, "And I will wait upon the Lord..."

...FOR POWER FROM ON HIGH.

Luke 24:49, And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but tarry (wait) ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high."

Any promise from the Lord is worth waiting for.  

Would you like to have the power of the Lord in your life?  Wait for it! 

Lamentations 3:25,26 "The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him.  It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord."

The Lord's goodness is promised to those that not only place their hope in the Lord, 
but quietly wait for Him to do His will. 

...FOR INSTRUCTION TO PROCEED.

Psalm 25:5, "Lead me in Thy truth, and teach me; for Thou art the God of my salvation; on Thee do I wait all the day."

If we attempt to go ahead of the Lord we are in danger of promoting our own will before the will of the Lord.  
The Lord's timing is very different from ours.  

He knows all there is to know about everything from the beginning to the end.  

Trusting the Lord's timing will always place us in the center of His will.

The Lord speaks to us through prayer and reading His Word, therefore,
wait time is never idle time

...FOR DELIVERANCE FROM DIFFICULTIES

Proverbs 20:22, " Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the Lord, and He shall save thee."

Psalm 130:5-6, "I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in His word do I hope.  My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning; I say, more than they that watch for the morning."

Micah 7:7, "Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me."

Because the Lord knows everything, He knows the difficulties and stresses that come into our lives from time to time.  To me, the hardest time in life is waiting and watching for the Lord to intervene in difficult times.  We want relief as quickly as possible.  It's hard to understand why we must wait for the answers when we have earnestly and sincerely prayed for deliverance.  It's in these times that our faith is tested and we need those prayer warriors in our lives to pray with us.  The one thing we can hold to is that the Lord loves us and cares more for us than anyone else.  We are never alone in our difficulty.  He will always see us through the pain and bring us to a brighter day.

...FOR BLESSINGS TO COME.

Isaiah 30:18, "And therefore will the Lord wait, that He may be gracious unto you, and therefore will He be exalted, that He may have mercy upon you; for the Lord is a God of judgment:  blessed are all they that wait for Him."

Hosea 12:6, "Therefore turn thou to thy God; keep mercy and judgment and wait on thy God continually."

I Thessalonians 1:10, "And to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come."

Waiting on the Lord is always rewarded.  
The assurance of every believer is that the God we serve is the God alone.  
It is in His power that we live and breathe and have our being (Acts 17:28).  
The Lord is our only source for true blessings, and those blessings are always worth the wait.

...for power from on high,
...for instruction to proceed,
...for deliverance from difficulties,
...and for His blessings to come.

My prayer is that the Lord will grant you His mercy and grace if you are in a "waiting room" for answers to your prayers.

`Blessings, Pamelyn

Tabitha, aka Dorcas

The Bible gives us a clear portrait of a Godly woman in Acts 9:36-43.  Her Hebrew name was Tabitha, but she was also known by her name in Greek, Dorcas.  Both names mean a gazelle, or graceful creature. The Bible tells us she lived in the seacoast town of Joppa,  she was a certain disciple of Jesus, and she was full of good works and almsdeeds.  Did you notice that her physical appearance is omitted from her description in the scriptures?  The Lord always places emphasis on the inner person rather than the outward appearance.

Tabitha is distinguished in the Bible for her acts of kindness to the poor.  Not only did she give charity (alms), she was a great doer of charitable works (almsdeeds).  Naturally, the people of Joppa were devastated when this great lady became sick and died. They sent two men to a nearby town to bring the Apostle Peter in hopes God would raise her from the dead.  When Peter arrived he was shown to the room where the body of Tabitha lay. The poor widows that Tabitha had cared for were now weeping and heartbroken over the loss of this dear woman.  They began showing Peter the clothing that Tabitha had made for them.  As the man of God, Peter used this opportunity to further the cause of Christ in that place.  Peter believed in the God that had power over life and death.  He put the weeping widows out of the room, knelt down and prayed for God to intervene. Aloud Peter said, "Tabitha, arise".  She opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up!  Peter then led her from that cold room of mourning  into the warm and loving arms of the widows and saints that had been so grieved at her passing. But verse 42 reveals the true reason Tabitha was raised from death:  "And it was known throughout all Joppa; and many believed in the Lord."  Tabitha honored God in every aspect of her life and God honored her by lengthening her life.  Her life and her arising from death were instrumental in bringing many lost people to salvation in her hometown.

There are so many lessons to be learned from the story of Tabitha; however, I want to focus on how she used her talents to honor the Lord.  

The Lord bestows talents to every one of His children.  

If you are a child of God, you have at least one talent that is unique to you.  Finding that talent and then using it in His service is where the real blessings of life come.  You see, God gives the talent and then leaves it up to us whether we use it for His honor and glory.   The Bible teaches that the more you use the talent God gives, the more you will receive.  In the reverse, not using the talent God gives will result in the loss of that talent. (Matthew 25:14-29).

The proper use of one's talents pleases the Lord.   

Talents must be used for God's glory and the benefit of others in order to please the Lord.  At the heart of this story, Tabitha pleased the Lord by using her sewing talent for the benefit of those less fortunate than herself. It's possible she could have made a very good living for herself as a seamstress. However, she chose to give her garments to the poor and depend on God to supply her needs. 

Using one's talents reveals a servant's heart.

The Lord uses those of His children that are willing to do what they can for others.  The Lord doesn't expect anyone to do more than they are capable of doing.  However, a servant's heart will go the extra mile to help others with faith in the Lord that He will supply whatever is necessary to accomplish the task.  I picture Tabitha as a busy woman, always looking for ways to use her talent. I see her as anything but an idler or time-waster!  (Something I could use some help with!) 

The Lord can use simple talents to do great things in His name.

The wonderful lesson about Tabitha is that I don't believe she ever expected any praise for herself.  The talents shared by an humble person are always noticed by the Lord and rewarded. May the Lord bless you abundantly as you look for ways to encourage others by sharing with them a talent God has given you.                                                                                  

   ~Blessings, Pamelyn

Priority One: JESUS

    

   What's the first thing you do when you open your eyes from sleep each morning; before your feet hit the floor and the demands of the day take control of your thoughts?  Do you thank JESUS for the night's rest and the new day?  I've never been much of a morning person but I've been trying to make a conscious effort to give JESUS my first thought every morning.  It is a work in progress.... 

Consider Matthew 6:31-34

Therefore take no thought, saying, 

What shall we eat? or, 

What shall we drink? or, 

Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

( For after all these things do the Gentiles seek: ) 

for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, 

and His righteousness; 

and all these things shall be added unto you.

     These verses are part of a sermon Jesus preached to His followers during His earthly ministry.  His message is as needful today as it was 2,000 or more years ago.  It's all about JESUS being in the place He deserves, which is ahead of everything else, as Priority One.

     To understand more of what Jesus is teaching consider the preceding verses, in particular verses 24-30.  The clear truth is that we cannot serve the Master of the universe and the master of material possessions.  We are told to take a lesson from the birds and the lilies.  Neither of God's creations worry about buying and storing food or provisions nor how they look to others.  God has placed within all His created beings the need to depend on Him to sustain their life.  Birds and lilies exhibit total dependence on the One that created them.  Of all the created beings, only humans feel the need to deny their dependence on His glorious care.  It's simple logic that if God shows such great care for birds and lilies, how much more care will He bestow on His dear children!

     God, in His infinite wisdom and love, gave humans something He did not give the birds and lilies ~ the capacity and freedom to make good, as well as bad, choices. Because all of our choices have consequences, the very first good choice a person should make is to accept the free gift of salvation by the blood of Jesus.  This choice ensures that we can please the Lord with our service, as well as have an eternal home in heaven with our Lord and Savior.  Once saved, the child of God does not lose the capacity nor the freedom to make good and bad choices.  The choices we make do not take away the salvation of our soul; however, they do affect our relationship with our heavenly Father.  As a child of God, it is important to ask ourselves:  

Is God the Master of my universe? 

 Do I give Him complete control of my life?

  

Are my decisions based on His will and not mine? 

Is Jesus my priority?   

     Remember, God leads His children in a path that is in our best interest and for our good.   Making a conscious effort to be grateful for all the blessings He gives, reading His Word daily and praying to Him about every decision and choice we make will help us keep JESUS as Priority One in our lives.

~Blessings, Pamelyn

JUNE 30, 1963 ~ MARKING A MILESTONE

Circa 1963-64

One of the things that makes a family special to each other is their family history and the milestones that are important to them.   To most people, June 30th, 1963 was probably an ordinary day, but to our family it meant the beginning of many blessings.

Last Sunday, June 30th, marked the 50th year anniversary of my Dad surrendering to preach.   In 1963 my parents had been married 6-1/2 years and had 3 children.   June 30th of that year fell on a Sunday and we were in services at a Baptist church on the west coast of South Florida.  During the invitation of that service my Mom was saved and later that afternoon my Dad answered the call to surrender his life to preach.  I was 5-1/2 years old at the time and my only remembrance is a lot of crying going on with my parents.  However, I was OK with the emotional upheaval because in spite of the tears it seemed to me to be a happy time.  All in one day my Dad's career changed and we began making plans to move so Dad could enroll in Seminary.  I've always loved the fact that my Dad and I started the first grade together ~ he in Seminary and me in public school.  My Dad has been the Pastor of 6 churches in Florida, Alabama and Georgia.  Dad will never consider himself “retired” from preaching God's Word; however, he retired from pastoring in June 2008 due to health concerns. 

God has richly blessed our family.  My Dad's surrender to the Lord's call made a difference in my life. The years were not always easy for my parents but God always saw fit to provide for our family in tremendous ways.  (He still does, by the way!)  Whenever there was a need, God never failed to supply!  

I don't want to leave our Mom out of this tribute.  A lot of times the Preacher's Wife is the unsung hero of the story.  I think back on the fact that my Mom became a preacher's wife on the same day she got saved.  She truly had no time to sit and ponder the changes about to take place in her life.  She will tell you that only the grace of God helped her through those times when she felt overwhelmed.  

I am so very proud of my parents for the total commitment and sacrifices they made 50 years ago.   I am so blessed to have grown up in a Christian home and to be a PK (preacher's kid).  Dad and Mom have slowed down a bit in recent years  - he will be 78 in September and she will be 75 in August, but they continue to serve the Lord as they committed to do all those years ago.  I am so thankful to the Lord for calling my Dad to be a preacher of the gospel.  

Blessings, Pamelyn

"Preach the Word;  

be instant in season, out of season; reprove, 

rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine."  

II Timothy 4:2