When God Calls Again, What Then?
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Chapter 1 Abraham In every call from the Lord, there are things that are similar but the call is designed for each individual. Here are some things that involved this call. 1. He was to leave home, family and familiar surroundings. 2. His age was not a factor. 3. He had to change direction. The famine was sent as a trial of Abraham’s faith. He must go to Egypt. 4. When he was sidetracked he had to go back to the place he had last sought God. (Gen. 13: 1, 3-4) Notice in Genesis 12: the call itself. 1. It was the result of the grace of God. So is our salvation. 2. It was a divine call – vs. 2, 3. 3. It was a personal call. Every call falls into this category. 4. It was a call of separation. This separates the weak from the strong. 5. The Lord’s call always means some degree of sacrifice. 6. These calls also bring a time of testing. The famine was only a test. 7. These calls can take us to Egypt, and can bring failure – not God’s but ours. Again please understand that when God calls there is a sacrifice. For Abraham he left all that he knew and went to a place that was unknown to him. In 1958, I had returned to John Brown University, in Siloam Springs Arkansas, to begin my second year. I had come back a few days early and was just enjoying seeing everyone as they came back. A fellow student came into my room and said his mother called him to preach and he was supposed to be at Calvary Baptist Church the next Sunday to preach. He did not want to preach and asked if I would take his place. I did. God called me to preach to that church for the next two years. It was a big undertaking for me and I soon realized how little I knew and really began to depend on the Lord. I look back on those days and wonder how those fine folks stood me as there preacher. For me it was a great learning experience and was the beginning of a calling that will last until he calls me home. This call did involve a sacrifice. I came from Georgia to Arkansas. God always gives more than expected. I met my wife, Loyce, while I was pastor at Calvary Baptist Church. She was not a member of Calvary but came to a youth activity. I stayed in Arkansas and currently have been pastor in my present church for thirty-six years. I am an only child so my parents lost the opportunity to visit their son at a moment’s notice but God blessed them as they did not ever question my calling in Arkansas
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About the Book
Did you take the right turn? Only you can answer that question. This book is about the journey taken, which many people will also take during their lifetime. The question in life is, “Who am I, and where am I going?” The apostle Paul made many journeys but did not always make the right turn. In all of his adversity, God still produced His divine will. So if we made the wrong turn, God would still have accomplished His will in spite of me. The question for all of us is are we willing to get out of our comfort zone. Is it our way or God’s way? When we end this life, will He say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant”?
About the Author
Richard was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. He attended John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas for three years. He transferred to Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, where he completed his degree in religion. He served as a pastor from 1958 to 2009. Richard has traveled overseas, where an orphanage is now in progress, and hopes to be completed in early 2014. He has been married for fifty-three years to Loyce. They have three children and seven grandchildren.