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~ by Pat Luffman Rowland

Prayerful Pondering

Monthly Archives: December 2013

A Tribute to Betty Jo

29 Sunday Dec 2013

Posted by Pat Luffman Rowland in Christian service

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

dying, faith, faithfulness, family, illness, remembrance, strength, trust

I closed my eyes and could see her smiling and filled with joy.  She had made it home and she did it with courage and determination. Betty Jo Spencer Replogle completed her earth’s journey and at God’s perfect moment, He lifted her away from the world’s burdens and into heaven’s triumph.

“Jo” was the youngest of my mother’s seven siblings. Just eight years older than I, she seemed more a sister than aunt. Jo was born after my parents married and Daddy liked to tease her that he had been in the family longer than she had. That never failed to bring on one of her quick, easy laughs.

We all loved the laughter that peppered her conversations.  Jo had a great sense of humor even through tough times—and she had many. Her body knew several serious and unusual diseases, and for the most part, she coped with them as if they were nothing more than a common cold. Certainly, as with all of us, there were other tests in her life, but I believe it was the trials coupled with a faith which steadily grew that gave her the fortitude to cope as she did.

Jim and Dulcie Spencer’s children were, and are, all good people. The steadfast faith of my grandparents was imparted and rooted well in each one of their children. Jo lived out their legacy in her 78 years by remaining true to her own salvation story. She never forgot the way to God’s house and when she and her family were to be there; she never forgot how to trust in the Almighty.  She was a faithful daughter, wife, mother, and grandmother. Her concerns were at all times focused on her family and doing all she could to make their life good.

Thought she seemed too young to leave us, wishing her to stay, as sick as she was, would have been nothing but selfish. The last time I saw her, I knew she was making the transition home. I saw in her the same thing I saw in Mother before she died: she was in an intermediate place. Jo was still in her body, but her spirit had caught sight of heaven and eagerness drew her in that direction. Like Mother, it seemed in those last days when you spoke to Jo, you could call her back for a moment, but you couldn’t hold her for long. She saw Beulah Land. She saw the end of a long and hard struggle and a place where family awaited. She saw a place where Jesus beckoned.

By way of a recording made years ago, her youngest son sang “He Touched Me” at the funeral. The beginning words speak of being “shackled by a heavy burden” and soon declare, “then the hand of Jesus touched me, and now I am no longer the same.”  For Jo, her shackling was a body weighed down and rapidly failing. The hand of Jesus touched her as He drew her into heaven and there placed a crown on her head with the words, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” And truly, her life is so longer the same; she has reached Heaven’s glory.

When Papa Jim, Jo’s father and my grandfather, died, Mama Dulcie noted in a journal, “Jim went home to be with Jesus today.” That’s what Betty Jo Spencer Replogle did on December 24, 2013. She went home to be with Jesus.

We thank You, Lord, for her time with us and for her witness to Your presence in her life. BETTY_JO_S_GRADUATION_PICTU

O Beulah land, sweet Beulah land!

As on thy highest mount I stand,

I look away across the sea

Where mansions are prepared for me

And view the shining glory shore

My heaven, my home forever more.

            John R. Sweney (1837–1899)

Lift Up the Son of Man

20 Friday Dec 2013

Posted by Pat Luffman Rowland in adoration

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

adoration, communion with God, faith, God's presence, trust, witness

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up. John 3:14 ESV

We lift up the Son of Man when we understand who He is and gratefully come under Him as our Savior and Lord.

We lift up the Son of Man when we declare our life a waste without Him.

We lift up the Son of Man when we put aside self-centeredness to embrace Jesus-centeredness.

We lift up the Son of Man when we tell others about Him, declaring His truth and His love.

We lift up the Son of Man when we believe and love Him more today than yesterday.

We lift up the Son of Man when we forgive what others do to us, knowing it is how He forgives us.

We lift up the Son of Man when we forgive ourselves because he has forgiven us, and we desire to move forward with Him and not remain immobilized by sorrow and regret.

We lift up the Son of Man when His presence delights us and we eagerly desire to share that Presence with others.

We lift up the Son of Man when time spent with Him becomes our priority and we approach it as our favorite part of the day.

We lift up the Son of Man when faith conquers fear, when we choose to believe in His goodness in our hour of trial.

We lift up the Son of Man when we trust in His grace, when we keep our eyes on Him with expectation and wonder.

We lift up the Son of Man when we recount our personal experiences with his power to save and to heal, when we witness to the certainty of who He is.

We lift up the Son of Man when we choose Jesus at every decision point.

We lift up the Son of Man when we exult in Him in worship and sing praises to His name.

2 Sing to the Lord, praise his name;
proclaim his salvation day after day.

8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name.

Psalm 98 ESV

Why the Big Deal?

10 Tuesday Dec 2013

Posted by Pat Luffman Rowland in remaining pure

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

boundaries, chastity, sexual purity

I have concern for our young people and their lack of boundaries. One young celebrity after the other seeks to out-shock the last and our youth laugh and follow their lead. There is total disregard for the body being the temple of God; it is put on crude display in one disgusting way after the other.

Yesterday a young man, a cashier in a department store, asked as he was checking me out if I was “very religious.”  When I replied that I was, he asked why there was such concern in the religious community for chastity. “Why is it such a big deal?” he asked.  The curious part of this conversation is we were total strangers. I cannot imagine what brought on such a question to an unknown customer and yet he seemed waiting to ask it of someone. So I told him why there was value in remaining pure—and he listened. He seemed intensely interested in what I had to say and said he hoped he hadn’t offended me. I told him that he had not and I was glad he had asked.

I left the store wondering “what on earth was that?” My heart tells me it was a God-ordained moment. It was a huge risk for an employee to approach a customer the way he did, so I think he must have been truly wrestling with the question, and for some time. There was no one else around, so it gave him opportunity for a discussion. I know it was bearing on his mind because of how he pressed forward with his need to talk. Before he said anything, he laughed rather nervously and said he wanted to say something, but he didn’t want to offend me. I suggested that when in doubt, don’t. But he did anyway. I didn’t preach, I simply explained the difference in casual sex and keeping oneself for one person and the ecstasy in so doing that could never be found any other way. I asked if he wouldn’t want that for himself and he immediately nodded yes. He commented that it probably deepened a couple’s commitment to staying married. He received the message.

A 70-year-old woman and a young man around 19, I would guess; unknown to one another, having a very bizarre conversation, totally unplanned.  God sure has His moments with us, doesn’t He?

“Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.”

Ephesians 4:19 NIV

Hurling Stones of Accusation

02 Monday Dec 2013

Posted by Pat Luffman Rowland in forgiveness

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

accusations, forgiveness, love, mercy, self-righteousness, study scripture

A favorite Christian musician fell and he fell hard. People forgot the richness of his ministry and rushed to pick up stones to throw. Words were hurled in his direction: ugly accusing words, self-righteous words.

Now he has returned and His love songs to God soar high just like before. His praise again leads in worship of the King in a way only the anointed of God can do.  God had the last word and it was a word of mercy and grace. It was a word of forgiveness and restoration. God isn’t about hurling stones, but redeeming the fallen. Lifting his children to new beginnings.

I picture in my mind how quickly we line up to hurl our angry stones at one who has fallen. We look past our own sins and with puffed up egos, hurl out accusations. With pride, we dust off our hands and arrogantly walk away, forgetting who we are. Forgetting that we are just like the one who fell and we stoned with our words; we are creatures of flesh that will fall time and time again.

Thanks be to God, it isn’t how the Lover of our Souls does things! He never walks away with the stone throwers, but stays behind to care for the wounded. He isn’t interested in piling on accusations, but restoring the one who fell.  God takes the side of the weak every time.

Our Lord cares for the one gone astray and He asks us to do the same. He made a choice at Calvary, and because of that choice, we can count on being lifted from our own falls. We can count on His standing beside us as we face our accusers. We can count on God’s eternal protection of mercy and grace to see us home.

Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. 4 Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, 5 for each one should carry their own load (Galatians 6:1-5 NIV).

Forgive as the Lord forgave you (Colossians 3:13 NIV).

YOU ARE MY SAFE PLACE

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The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23 ESV

If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9

God has not given us a spirt of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100:4-5

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

© Pat Rowland and Prayerful Pondering, 2010 - 2013.
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Pat Rowland and Prayerful Pondering with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Hope must be in the future tense. Faith, to be faith, must be in the present tense. Catherine Marshall
Everything over your head is under his feet. Dr. Tom Lindberg
What an excellent ground of hope and confidence we have when we reflect upon these three things in prayer--the Father's love, the son's merit and the Spirit's power! Thomas Manton
Our Christian hope is that we're going to live with Christ in a new earth, where is not only no more death, but where life is what it was always meant to be. Timothy Keller

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