II Timothy 1:6-7, 9 – Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou
stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For
God hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a
sound mind. Who hath saved us, and called us with an Holy calling, not
according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was
given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
When the good Lord gave me this word
about three weeks ago I got so excited and nervous because He gave this to me
as an encouragement but he wanted me to include some things in my life. I’m not
telling this to put down any domination but to show how God will use a willing
vessel, no matter how you are raised. My daddy was raised as a Baptist and my
mother a Pentecostal so they had some differences concerning the word. So I
call myself a Bapi-costal which I feel explains how I got the best of both
sides.
I was very blessed to be raised in church
for when papa completely gave his life to Jesus I was only 1 year old so I did
not know him any other way. My mother has spoken of how he kept of bottle under
the edge of the bed for he had to have a drink of liquor before he could even
get out of bed. He never cried or showed weakness in any way, he was considered
as a mean marine in his youth.
When the Lord reached down and papa
gave into God completely he made a 180° turn around in his life; in every area.
He immediately laid down the cigarettes and quit smoking and drinking and never
had the desire to them back up again. Mother mentioned how he spent every
waking moment he could with his face in the Bible. He could not seem to get
enough of the word of God; mother finally explained to him not to forget his
family while he was learning.
His daughters had to be fully
clothed, no make-up, no earrings, no cutting hair, and there were times when
mother had to talk to him to help him bend a little. He took God’s word and
God’s house very serious and he did not like to negotiate in these areas very
often. My sister had very thick hair and she complained all the time about it
and wanted to cut it, when mother convinced papa to let her cut it he cried.
But as it turned out she complained because it was so short she couldn’t do
anything with it and she never cut it again till her health got so bad she
could not take care of it.
He did learn to mellow out a little and
learned when to give in and when to stand firm. When all us kids would get up
and sing in church we couldn’t look at papa for if we did we would see him
crying and we would begin to cry and then there was no singing just blubbering.
It seemed he could now cry very easily for he was so humble yet he knew when he
had to be strong. My daddy was slightly over 6 feet, strong in statue, had a
strong loud commanding voice. There was a time when we were small and papa was
preaching a revival but mother was sick so he took all four of us and put us on
the front pew. We thought we had it made momma wasn’t there, papa was preaching
so we began to act up in the church, well he suddenly stopped preaching came
down and tore our fannies up and went right back to preaching like he never
missed a beat. I also remember one night in church when I was still a teenager
a woman in the back of the church stood up and attempted to correct papa when
he was preaching in the little church he was pastoring at the time and papa
quit preaching and pointed his finger at her and with a strong and commanding
voice said very clearly and boldly, “woman, sit down and be quiet.”
My sister was always the dainty one
that loved to dress up and dance, so she was daddy’s girl. I was always the one
that went fishing and hung outside with him all the time so I was his buddy.
Because my sister was the oldest daughter my mother taught her how to cook and
drive for it only seemed logical that she would marry before me. As it turned
out my sister never married, she became a minister, and before her health began
to fail she was an assistant pastor for the church we attended at the time.
When I began to realize just how
much I meant to papa was when I got married for he cried all the way down the aisle
on my wedding day and when I began to have trouble in my marriage I would call
home looking for encouragement and a shoulder for strength but he couldn’t talk
to me but I could hear him crying in the background. When I finally asked to
come home mother told me papa had been waiting for me to ask.
When papa went home to be with Jesus
in May 1993 I lived in Mississippi at the time and worked nights, my older boys
had already left for school so I was home alone. I usually prayed and studied a
little before I would lay down to sleep and while I was studying mother called.
She said she tried to reach someone in the church so I would not be alone but
she couldn’t reach anyone. As she gave me the news I dropped to my kitchen
floor and began to weep so hard. Papa was the first in our immediate family to
go home to be with Jesus. Suddenly that kitchen was filled with so much bright
light it almost blinded me. I began to feel the arms of my Jesus wrap around me
and I wept on His shoulder for long time; this was when I became Daddy’s Girl.
Jesus has been the one that I have
learned to lean on, to trust in, to take my troubles to, and He has brought me
through so much. There has been times when I failed Him and even backed up a
bit but He has never failed me and He never gave up on me either. I believe it
has been these last ten years that I have really had to learned to lean on Him
more and more. My baby brother and my sister passed away, and then mother got
married again. We lost our home in Louisiana and had to sell or give away a lot
of things so we could move to Georgia.
But all this was bringing me closer and
closer to my Jesus, my spiritual life was becoming on a more personal level.
I’m more determined now than ever to become stronger in His word and I cannot
seem to get enough of Him; I keep wanting more and more… I never seem to fill
up or get full; my cup seems to get bigger so it never gets full enough. As it
says in Matthew 5:6 Blessed
are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. As Pastor Sean quotes all the time II timothy 1:7 states that For
God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a
sound mind. God will give us the strength we need when we need it and if
we can just only trust in Him to bring us through, it will be done in a manner
that will give God the glory leaving no room for doubt as to who brought it
about.
He has brought me
through so much in my life-time that I don’t even know how to thank him for it
all except by giving my life to Him completely as papa did in 1960. Some of the
things He has brought me through (this is just to name a few) are two bad
marriages, 3 deaths in the immediate family, almost splitting me and children
up, the loss of our homestead, kept me from having to live on the streets, I
have even been brought back from death’s door several times in my life the
first time was when I was only two weeks old with the whooping cough that papa
brought home and one time Satan literally run slap over me on the interstate
(it was a little red car that no-body could find once it got out of my sight
and there were witnesses too).
He even brought me
through a pregnancy that man said could kill me and the babies; they even said
they would never go to school or be normal because they would have down
syndrome; yet here we are today with two beautiful children growing into strong
normal young adults. I haven’t been able to go to work since I completed my
college degree but now my youngest son at the age of 16 has gone to work and is
proud to help take care of mom and his twin sister. He filled our bellies when
we were hunger yet we did not eat anything, remember this is just to name a few
of the many miracles and blessings that Jesus “My Daddy” has brought me through
in my short lifetime.
There is just so much
happening but God is still there in the midst of it all saying hold on, I’ve
got it all under control. It says in Isaiah 40:31 But
they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall
mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint. Sometimes it takes praying all through the night yet
sometimes you will find peace in only a moment. But it’s our earnest and
fervent prayers that will wake up the master and that’s when He says, “Peace Be
Still” just as he did for the disciples in the raging storm. Peter walked on
the water (Matthew 14:28 – 31) until he took his eyes off Jesus and saw the raging storm
about him. But that wasn’t all for when Peter cried out for help Jesus reached
down and pulled him back up and they walked back to the boat together. He will
do the same for us, we are human and will make mistakes but we cannot give up
or give in for all is not lost if we will just call out to Him, He will answer
and we too can walk back to the boat with Jesus.
Jesus in his
short ministry while he walked among us on this earth had only us on his mind.
He did not condemn Mary Magdalene when she was brought before him for her sins
but (Luke 8:2) instead he healed her and cast the evil spirits out of her
body and even on his resurrection day it was (Mark 16:9) Mary
Magdalene that he appeared and spoke to Jesus first. She was there when she died on the cross
standing with Mary his mother. Some the last words Jesus spoke when hanging on
that cross was for his mother. It states in John 19:26
– 27 When Jesus therefore saw His mother and the
disciple standing by whom He loved, He said unto His mother, “Woman, behold thy
son!” Then said He to the disciple, “Behold thy mother!” And from that hour,
that disciple took her unto his own home. Even in death Jesus wanted to take care of his mother too.
Even in the
times when I was backing up instead of holding on and moving forward, Jesus “My
Daddy” has been there; he is my savior, he is becoming my everything and
without Him I would not be here today. He has kept a roof over my head, food on
my table, clothes for me to wear, and a love that goes far beyond any words can
explain, for I know beyond any doubt that this man who put up with the beatings,
the crown of thorns, the pain of dragging that old cross down that lonely road
to a hill and allowed them to put those awful big nails in his hands and feet.
Those nails were not little that would heal in a short time but they left a
permanent large hole possibly the size of a nickel or quarter in his hands and feet
which is why he told Thomas to put his fingers in his hands and side (John 20:26 –
27).
Jesus gave
the disciples the “Great Commission” and it is meant for us today too. In Matthew 28:18
– 20 it states that And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, “All
power is given unto me in Heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded
you. And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” Amen. This is our commission
and what we do with it will depend on our judgment when we stand before God on
judgment day.
You see although a child
does need to know that their father is there to lean and depend on for physical
needs such as a home, food, clothing, support, and strength but it’s the mother
that a child will remember the little things such as she held him when he
scraped his knee, took care of him when was sick, and the many times she tucked
him in bed and kissed him good night. We have all heard the stories where a
young man or young lady is out doing some sort of sport while mom and dad are
sitting there together and watching with excitement and being so proud that
their child is playing in football or baseball and the child looks up with a
big grin so the dad stands with pride and waves but then the child yells to the
top of their lungs “Hi, Mom.”
A father should always
be there for strength, courage, and support so that we can learn to grow,
stand, and be ready to take on the world when we become a young adult and take
care of ourselves and our future children. Our mother should always be there to
nurture, tend, and show loving kindness so that we can become and show
understanding and to love others when we become young adults. Oh, but Jesus has
shown us all that He is always there just like He said He would do; filling
both jobs, for he states in his word that it started before we were even formed
in our mother’s womb (Jeremiah 1:5).
There was a brother that preached one time for a
similar desire, he wanted God to come visit him because God has no respect of persons
and he believed he should receive that visit from God. After a couple weeks and
nothing happened he began to doubt when suddenly one night God came to visit.
This brother always slept on his stomach and he was so scared that he could not
turn over to see God. The brother was laying next to his wife and she never
heard or woke up while was visiting. Even though this brother did not see God
himself God kept His word and came to see this brother as he desired it. Now
this brother has a much closer walk with the Lord than I but I also know that
through prayer and studying I too will sit and get to visit with Jesus on a
more personal and up close level. It is my promise and I can’t hardly wait for
it to happen.
Just as our parents want us to come to them when we
have a problem or we are unsure as to the direction we must go, our heavenly
father above wants us to do the same with Him when we have a problem or we have
a decision that could possibly change everything. I love it when He shows me
things for there are times when I’m still not quit getting it but then someone
in the church will say something and a bell goes off in my head when the
connection is made or He comes to me and tells me in His still soft voice as He
whispers it in my ear. I pray that I was able to explain this in a way that you
too can see the picture that Jesus gave me when He gave me this word and told
me to write this for the banner today putting these three very important
celebrated holidays and to combine them into one. For God gave us the word to
go by then Jesus gave His life for our hope and chance to live with Him in
glory.
The way calendar is set up; we have
the celebration of His birth, life, death, and resurrection which puts God –
Jesus on the top of our list. Next we have the celebration of a mother’s love
on Mother’s Day which shows the nurturing and loving care she gives us we
should give back to man in return. Then we have the celebration of a father’s
support on Father’s Day which shows the support and direction he gives us so
that we can become strong and learn to stand on our own. God is the Head,
Father is the covering, and Mother is the caregiver. This is how God meant it
to be in the home, in the church, and in the spiritual body of Jesus Christ. So
even if these holidays are only set aside for once a year; let’s make a change
and began to celebrate these holidays 365 days a year to show our love and
appreciation for God, Jesus, Father, and Mother; for without them we do not
exist.
A
Small Final Note: I do want to apologize for not
being able to put out a banner for the last few months due to illness and then
my printer developed a problem so I could not print out anything but I also
feel that is why the Lord gave me this particular word. I have been able to
write about Mother’s Day and Father’s Day but I was also able to combine them
to possibly show the connection to our Heavenly Father and why He chose to die
for us. Even though I did not feel much like Daddy’s Girl as a child growing
up, I definitely feel like Daddy’s Girl today for Jesus is now my father and he
is becoming my everything while I watch and wait for Him to split the eastern
skies to take me home to be with Him forever more. I love you all so much and I
want us to be at the wedding supper table in heaven together.
Written By: Karen ReNee
