Prayerful Pondering

by Pat Luffman Rowland

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I don’t remember a time I didn’t believe in God or know that Jesus was His Son and our Savior, but I made my profession of faith and was baptized at age 12. I’ll never forget the experience of understanding I was the Lord’s! The sun became ten times brighter and it was as if I could hear angels singing. It was a supremely joyful moment. And I can still “see” my immersion baptism in the small Baptist church as if I were looking on. With certainty and gratitude, I can declare that God has never failed me, even though I have failed Him many times over. God has blessed me with family and friends, opportunities and health, freedom and education. He has been ever faithful and I look forward to the day when I can bow at the feet of Jesus and thank Him for His unconditional love that has made all the difference. I have an undergraduate degree in Healthcare Consumer Relations and a master’s in Religious Studies. In 1990, I received the designation of Fellow with the National Society of Patient Representation and Consumer Affairs of the American Hospital Association. I worked for 27 years in healthcare, retiring as Corporate Director of Patient Affairs with Methodist Healthcare in Memphis, TN in 1998. A major part of my career was teaching about patient concerns and needs, their rights, and ethical matters of healthcare. I taught through writing, as well as speaking from coast to coast. For several years, I authored a byline, Patient Perspective, for a healthcare journal. Other publications include Tennessee Hospital Association newsletter, Marketing Perspective, nursing and pharmacy newsletters. I received a writing award from the American Hospital Association in 1990. There are three things in my life that I count the most rewarding: my work with the mentally challenged from 1978-1983, my healthcare days establishing and directing patient advocacy for a large healthcare system, and my present work as a reading tutor. Most of my writings at present are devotional in nature. Devotional publications include Upper Room, Presbyterian Daily, and on my church website, www.famemphis.net. I am retired and live in a suburb of Memphis with my cat Chloe. My daughter and son-in-law, Kristi and Mark Hearn, live in Georgia and are the delights of my heart. Additionally, I am blessed with a spiritual family, Son (Tim) and Hien-Anh (Hannah) Le, their children, Rachel, Rebecca, and Esther, and Hannah’s mother, Phuong Hong. I am active in my church, First Assembly Memphis, and tutor second graders at First Assembly Christian School (FACS).

  • Living in the Here and Now

    In his book, Nearing Home, Billy Graham talks about growing old and taking advantage of life’s last leg of our journey home.  He begins the book with this quote from Vance Havner:  “The last chapter in life can be the best.”

    Dr. Graham says that his wife Ruth always lived in the here and now.  He called it her realm.   He said she lived life by the simple creed to live fully in the present moment.

    In Mark 14:3-11, we read the story of the woman who came to Jesus with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume and poured it over His head.  Some were indignant and scolded the woman, saying this was a waste; the perfume should have been sold and the money given to the poor.  But Jesus instructed them that this woman had chosen wisely.  “The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want.  But you will not always have me.  She did what she could.  She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial.”  It was an example of living in the here and now.

    I recall many occasions when I have failed to live in the here and now.  I put something off because the timing didn’t seem right, the situation seemed awkward, or I couldn’t grasp the full sense of an idea that was tickling my mind.  Then when God provided more vision later on what the result would have been had I acted on His prompting, I have often grieved over what was lost.

    In my last chapter of life, I want to be better at living in the here and now.  I want to be like Ruth Graham and the woman with the alabaster jar.  I want to step out in obedience to the quiet voice of God even when I don’t understand.  It will mean giving up control and sometimes walking in the dark.  But it will also mean living the last chapter of my life with peace and joy.  For those are fruits of the Spirit, the benefits of choosing God’s way over my own.

  • The Requirement of Faith

    It is all about faith.  Faith in what God wants to do for us.  Assurance in what God will do for us, once faith is applied.

    In Mark 10, we see several examples:

    When Jesus welcomed little children that some wanted to hold back so as not to bother Him, Jesus corrected them and explained that they were the example for all of us in how to come to Him:  unafraid, unquestioning, ready to believe He was the giver of good things.  Like children, we must come ready to receive.  This is the kind of faith God desires.

    When Jesus encountered the man of great wealth, and said to him to leave all that he had behind and follow Him, it was again about faith.  The man went away sad because he was unable to part with what he had.  He misunderstood God.  God does not delight in taking good things from us; He delights in giving better.  When we trust God with all we have, He restores and pours out even more.  In this teaching (verse 30), Jesus explained he would repay 100 times over to those who exchanged faith in themselves and the world, for faith in Him.

    Then there was blind Bartimaeus who may have given the clearest lesson.  When the blind beggar heard that Jesus was nearby, he shouted to Jesus to have mercy on him.  Though the crowd sought to silence Bartimaeus, he would not be silenced.  He had decided in his own heart who this man called Jesus was.  He was the long-awaited Messiah, the One with the power to save and heal.  This was his chance to have his blind eyes opened and he wasn’t going to miss out:  “Rabbi, I want to see.”  And what did Jesus say?  “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you” (verse 52).  Immediately, blindness fell away and vision took its place; he arose and followed Jesus.

    We must be convicted in our own hearts about Jesus and what He wants to do for us. When we fail to trust in Him, we too are blind.  It is a blindness of heart and mind to the One who loves us and waits to bless His children.  He asks but one thing in exchange: our faith.

    It truly is all about faith.

    “And without faith it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him

    (Hebrews 11:6 NIV).”

  • Clothed in Salvation and Righteousness (Repost)

    Of everything I’ve written on Prayerful Pondering, this post has received the most attention.  First published in March of 2011, I am pulling it to the top of the list as a repost, and praying it will continue to bless.

    _________________________

    Imagine it. Standing before God, clothed not in all that would condemn us, but in salvation and righteousness. Not in the filthy rags of our sins, but in salvation and righteousness. Not in the paper garment of pride and self-interest, but in salvation and righteousness. Not in the clung to-coverings of resentment, frustration, and anger, but in salvation and righteousness. Not in the way the world sees us, but in His salvation and righteousness!

    Isaiah 61:10 says “I delight greatly in the LORD, my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”

    That leaves me in complete awe. It leaves me without words adequate to express my gratitude. It causes me to fall on knees of thankfulness and weep before the King of Kings, to praise the One who does that for me – the lowliest of the low.

    Jesus, He who is clothed in a royal robe of love and sacrifice, compassion and forgiveness, kindness and humility, gentleness and patience – it is He who holds out His arms to me. It is He who gave me the garment of salvation and arrayed me with righteousness when I said yes to Him. This One who alone is Holy has exchanged my unclean earthly garment, foul and unsightly beyond description, and adorned me as His bride, worthy to come to Him and live with Him eternally.

    Philippians 3:20-21 says “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body.” It is the miracle of God’s love.

  • God’s Value on Love

    Matthew 17:20 “. . . I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move.“  (NIV)

    1 Corinthians 13:2 “. . . and if I have a faith that can move mountains but have not love, I am nothing.” (NIV)

    I have a deep and abiding faith, a faith that has sustained me for more than 60 years.  It is a faith that has carried me through the waters and the fire, scripturally speaking, a faith that has seen a miracle of healing come to be.  Even so, my faith couldn’t move a mountain.  It couldn’t move a rock in the road! I ponder on so great a faith, but I cannot get my mind around it.

    My eyes go on to the last part of the sentence in 1 Corinthians 13:2 “. . . but have not love, I am nothing.”  (NIV) Even a faith that would move a mountain is not worth what love is worth to Almighty God.  In His eyes, love has the highest value of all.  In my earthbound thinking, it seems faith would be the greatest, but it isn’t so.

    1 Peter 4:8 says, “Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.” (NIV)  It was God’s love for us that provided the blood of Jesus our Savior to cover our sins.  And this alone should tell us all we need to know about the highest value being placed on love:  the Father shed His only Son’s blood because of His love for us, a love greater than anything we will ever understand.  Peter declares that our love for others is of far more importance to God than all the wrongs we do.  He prefers looking at our plusses, not our minuses.

    Perhaps John says it best with this simple message:  “God is love.” 1 John 4:16 (NIV).  Not God loves, but God is love.  So if God is love, then we see why He delights in our giving love to others.  It is evidence to the world of our likeness to Him, that which speaks the truth of God.

    “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34 (NIV)

  • A Pot of Peas

    Fresh peas were on the stove and needing my attention: a little more water, some seasoning, a few gentle stirs. As I lifted the lid and tended them, I had a flashback of years gone by.

    I saw my grandmother’s kitchen and remembered the constant aroma of good food. Food cooked with skill and love, food that never disappointed. How many times did I walk to my grandparents’ house after school and help myself to peas and cornbread from the oven? Before we were taught it was dangerous to leave food sitting out, food was commonly kept in the oven between the noon and night meals. Her peas were so delicious I didn’t bother with reheating, just filled a plate with room temperature field peas and helped myself to a piece of cornbread, and indulged. If I close my eyes and think really hard, I can still taste them.

    Staring down at my boiling peas, I moved on to my mother’s kitchen and saw them there. There was a certain pot of cast iron with a yellow lid that she used for cooking peas. I thought about picking the peas, then shelling them from a huge white dishpan. What wasn’t for immediate use was processed for the freezer.

    Some things cannot be reproduced by assembly line companies, and for me, field peas is one of them. So through my years of cooking for a family, there have always been fresh peas on my table or those of my own preserving. Are mine as good as my mother’s or grandmother’s? Close, but not as good as theirs.

    Flashbacks are bittersweet. Things that will never be again can bring melancholy. Remembering times around a family table with parents and grandparents no longer living kind of puts an ache in the heart. It all happened so fast – losing them and growing this old. But if I can move past the sadness and be grateful for those who left me with this legacy, it gets better. I always, always loved to cook and I know it was because of the high standard set before me. I can honor Dulcie Spencer and Louise Spencer Luffman today by carrying on the tradition of preparing in my own kitchen the very best I can do, and never just “making do.”

    Father, I give you thanks for these two women who taught me the art of cooking. May I never forget the time and love that went into every dish they put on the table. And, may I never fail to remember the other lesson they taught me about food: always share what you have.

  • Never Alone

    When I went through divorce almost 25 years ago, I had to move to a new city to find work.  I left family and friends, going t a place where I knew no one.  I found myself driving in traffic like I had never experienced, clutching the steering wheel and praying hard from my apartment to work.  My salary wasn’t sufficient for basic needs and each month I had to dip gingerly into my minimum reserve.  After work, I returned to an apartment with only a pull-out sofa, a lamp, telephone and small black and white television for company.  Yet I was never afraid or discouraged; I knew God was with me. 

    After eight months, I acquired a job that covered me financially, even providing for a new car to replace the one too often in a repair shop.  I learned about the job opening, just hours before the posting came down, from someone who suggested I apply.  Though I didn’t meet all the qualifications, God opened the door and through that work used me as His heart and hands to help others who were hurting and frightened.

    When I read in Acts about Peter’s supernatural release from prison, how even an iron gate opened of its own accord, I remembered that time in my life when unexpected blessings happened for me.  Though seemingly alone, I was so clearly in God’s presence and keeping.  He protected me and interceded on my behalf time after time.

    Father, thank you that Your promise is true to be ever with us, no matter what.  Thank you for opening doors and for putting others in our pathway to show us the doors waiting to be opened.  Help us to see opportunities to be used by You, and know that you stand waiting to turn our darkness into light.  

  • In the Name of Jesus

    “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’”  Matthew 25:40 (NIV)

    I belong to a weekly women’s prayer group and often take copies of things I’ve found inspirational.  Though it seemed well received, something made me wonder if I was doing too much of it.  But then, within a couple of days of my wondering, two women in the group contacted me about my last hand-out, to tell me how it had ministered to them.  They both shared personal details of things they were praying over and described how the information had blessed them with insight.

    So what caused me to wonder if I was overdoing?  I believe it was nothing but the evil one himself.  Satan is always quick to cause us to doubt ourselves.   He delights in breaking down the confidence of Christians in our ministry to others.

    I thought about the woman who anointed our Lord’s head with nard when he was in another person’s home.  Surely it took boldness for her, as a woman in that day, to go there and minister to Jesus as she did.  She had to get past second-guessing herself and focus on the opportunity at hand – to love the Lord.

    This is what we do when we reach out to others in the name of Jesus, even in the smallest of things.  We love Jesus by caring for others.

    Prayer:  Jesus, thank You for providing reassurance when we question anything we do in Your name.   May our acts of kindness always be as unto You, the One we love and serve.

  • Vision of His Faithfulness

    You are mighty, O Lord, and your faithfulness surrounds you.  Psalm 89:8 (NIV) 

    Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you.  Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O Lord.  

    Psalm 89:14 – 15 (NIV)                 

                My morning reading of Psalm 89 gave me a vision of Jesus.   When I read about faithfulness surrounding the Lord, I stopped and thought about how that would look.  I saw Him standing in power with a hand uplifted in righteousness.  I saw “faithfulness” like a soft hedge of clouds, gentle, but steady, all about Him.  Then as I read of the blessing of acclaiming Him, I imagined His redeemed ones lauding Him with praise, worshiping all around.  Finally, I thought about walking the pathway of His light right into the throne room of the Almighty.   It was one of the cherished moments when the Holy Spirit takes my time with God into a higher realm, a place of joyful revelation.

                I determined to think on this vision all day, to center it in my being.  I knew there was power in what the Holy Spirit had revealed.  It would serve as a reminder that when I am troubled, to envision my Lord standing with faithfulness encircling Him, with absolutely no break in His commitment to me.  When the weight of this world is heavy upon me, I can choose instead to lift my voice in praise and watch for His blessings to pour forth.   I can remember I have a choice:  to tarry in the darkness or step confidently into the Light that is His presence.

  • God Is!

    He delivered me because He delighted in me.

    –Psalm 18:19 (NKJV)

    I love to read the many descriptions of God in the Psalms and how He has provided for us.  He is our shelter and fortress, a place to hide from the enemy and a place to be replenished.  He is revealed as our shield, guide and comforter.  He is the one who gives us strength and sets our feet upon steady rock.

    God is ours in companion sense, but also in all that He has created for our pleasure.  He is the warmth of the sun and the coolness of the breeze.  He is in the rain that nourishes the earth and causes seed to grow.  He is in the moon and stars as they declare the end of one day and hope for another.  God is in the birds that sit among the trees and sing, and in flowers that delight with rainbows of color.

    God has given Himself to us in every way we could ever possibly need.  He delights in His children and has made His provision for us full and complete.   What an awesome and loving Father our God is!

    Father, how grateful we are to find you revealed in so many ways.  Thank you for delighting in us.  We bless your holy name!  Amen.

  • Are we Looking to be Blessed?

    Are we Looking to be Blessed?

    Acts 3 is a scripture full of verses to build on, but the one that catches my eye this morning comes from verses 3-5:  “When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money.  Peter looked straight at him, as did John.  Then Peter said, ‘Look at us!’  So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.”

    The man spoken of is one crippled from birth.  He was carried daily to the temple gate to beg; it was his livelihood.  Day after day, the crippled man was left there to ask for money.  When he saw Peter and John about to enter the temple, his response was no different for them than any other passerby; he looked up only to beg, probably with low expectation.

    But notice how the scripture reads “Peter looked straight at him, as did John.  Then Peter said, “Look at us!”  Do you see the focus of these two disciples on the man?  They looked straight at him, it says.  They didn’t glance his way; they gave the man their full consideration.  Then see the exclamation point at the end of Peter’s command.  This was no polite suggestion to kindly take a glimpse; they commanded the crippled man to pay strong attention to the moment.  Something important was about to happen and it wasn’t about dropping coins into the man’s hand.

    The crippled man was about to receive a life-changing blessing.  But he had to do his part by shutting out every distraction and giving full attention to Peter and John.  And what happened when he cooperated, when he gave full attention?  He received a miracle.  No, it was a miracle upon miracle, for he didn’t simply stand, he walked and jumped about!  Can you imagine?  It would have been incredible enough had he been able to stand on his own, but this crippled man’s legs and feet behaved as if they had always been strong and able.

    This is the way of our Lord.  When He gets ready to bless, there is always something extra, something so supernatural, its power and origin can’t be denied.  But we must pay attention; we must be in the moment.  And I think there is something more we must do once we’ve received an extraordinary blessing.  We must expect.

    A first miracle might come to an unbeliever, as it did in the case of the Acts 3 man.  He had to be helped to pay attention to receive his miracle.  Once having known an incredible gift of mercy and grace from the Lord God Almighty, however, we should be on the alert for more.  We ought not sit pitifully by and beg, rather watch with trust that our loving Father will again pour down miracles on our need.  We are his children and He wants to bless us – if we will only believe.