God's Call

From the time he was in high school, my husband Dick wanted to be a pastor. However, the idea of all the schooling involved was a huge deterrent and he enlisted in the Air Force instead, hoping to be trained as a chaplain’s assistant. Somehow that never materialized and he became an Arabic linguist instead.

However, the Lord kept tugging on his heart. Dick went to work full-time for the National Guard after his four years in the Air Force. We joined a local United Methodist Church and led the youth fellowship. Within a year the leadership in the church recognized God’s call on Dick’s life. He was encouraged to take a lay speaker’s course and was appointed to speak at a church every other week.

At the end of a year, Dick was asked to quit his job and begin the process for ordination. In the UMC, that meant college, seminary, and a three-year internship—all while serving as a student pastor to at least two churches and sometimes three.

Although the educational requirements were daunting, the real challenge was trying to pastor while not knowing Jesus as Savior! Our relationship with God was distant and based on our efforts to be good enough. But God was at work! During our first pastorate, He led us to a couple who helped us understand salvation by faith in Jesus alone. (read the full story here) It was the pivotal point in our lives as we truly understood the sacrifice Jesus made to forgive our sins. We spent the next 47 years in pastoral ministry within the United Methodist Church.

After Dick retired, doctrinal changes within the UMC led him to resign his ministerial credentials. We joined Greencastle Baptist Church and began serving as laity. However, once again, the church leadership recognized God wasn’t finished calling Dick Williams and asked him to consider ordination.

Dick meets with the ordination board this Saturday. Your prayers are greatly appreciated as we begin this next step on our journey.

We never know how and where God will use us as His followers. May we all stay open to His call!

Be encouraged!

©2026 Pamela D. Williams

A Lamp and Light

"You must pay close attention to what the prophets wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts. Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God." (2 Peter 1:19-21)

How do you feel about the Bible—does it confuse you? Comfort you? Do you want to understand it better? Peter’s words encourage us to truly believe God’s Word, for it IS from Him! Though men may have written the words down, the messages in those words come from the LORD Himself!

Psalm 119 proclaims God's Word as the ultimate source of life, wisdom, guidance, and joy, urging us to meditate on it, obey it, and find our hope in it, even amidst suffering. It highlights that a life centered on living out God's Word leads to blessings, holiness, and a clear path through life's challenges. Sometimes, though, those words can be confusing or hard to grasp. If we want to understand it better, where can we find help?

First and foremost, we can pray, asking God for understanding and for guidance in applying His Word to our lives. (Psalm 119:18, 27) We can also talk with mature Christians who have studied God’s Word and who do their best to live by it. Proverbs 27:17) We can read commentaries and other study helps written by Biblically sound teachers to research the passage of Scripture that we have questions about. (Proverbs 15:22)

God wants us to read His Word daily. He will help us understand His Word. He will show us to apply it to our lives. “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” (Hebrews 4:12)

Be encouraged!

©2026 Pamela D. Williams