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The Best Christmases of All

08 Monday Dec 2014

Posted by Pat Luffman Rowland in Celebrate Christmas

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Christmas, faith, faithfulness, family, love, memories, prayer, remembrance

There was only one thing my grandparents wanted each year for Christmas—for all their children to be home at once. That was the gift that brought tears to Papa’s eyes and radiance to Mama’s face. All seven children home with spouses and children. I think it was what gave all of us the best of Christmases.

Their house was humble in appearance. A white frame house Papa had built onto as need required. My mother and I were the reason for one addition. When Daddy went to war and I was just months old, Papa brought us there to live with them. It was a house made for practicality and not show.

At Christmastime, the multi-colored lights on the tree shone through the living room window, beckoning us home. Cars parked on the narrow street up and down both sides for a block. Neighbors never minded; they were invited to join us and some always did.

Each time the front door opened laughter and greetings of welcome rang out. It was good to be together again. Mama and Papa would stand just inside the door waiting to embrace every family member and friend. Papa would chuckle with delight because his “chillun” had come home.

Packages were stowed under the tree and dishes of food taken on to the kitchen to help Mama feed the multitude. She had cooked for days and if no one had brought a single thing, there would still have been plenty. After the tree and kitchen visits there was one more stop before joining the men for talking or the women for getting the food ready. That stop was to find Mama’s large blue granite roasting pan. For in that pan would be the one dish we had looked forward to all year—Mama’s cornbread dressing. I guess we just needed a little reassurance that it was there waiting for us.

Christmas at the Spencer’s was for love and sharing and the larger the crowd the better. Boyfriends, girlfriends, in-laws, great aunts and uncles, our pastor and his family, our small town’s highly revered doctor and his wife. Everyone was welcome. We sat everywhere, even in the bedrooms. And the food was like the loaves and fish that Jesus blessed, it seemed to keep replenishing itself.

One thing always happened in that house before any meal was had and that was a prayer of thanksgiving. At Christmastime, everyone migrated to the spot where Papa and Mama stood and a hush fell over the house. If Papa said the prayer he thanked God for every person there—and he cried. Papa couldn’t pray without crying because his heart was ever grateful to God for His blessings, and when Papa spoke to the Lord, his love for Him spilled out emotionally.

Money couldn’t buy the blessing of having been born into the family of Jim and Dulcie Spencer. I am indeed rich in heritage. I thank God for giving me two of His finest creations as grandparents and for the many memories of Christmases past on Campbell Street in Medina, Tennessee. Papa and Christmas 1979 001

Tuesday Morning Prayer

12 Wednesday Nov 2014

Posted by Pat Luffman Rowland in prayer, unity

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

faith, family, God's presence, Heavy Heart, Holy Spirit, love, prayer, strength, Unity

The words of my morning devotional stood bold before me: “Unity doesn’t depend on outward conformity, but understanding hearts.” It was an apt description of my Tuesday morning prayer group.  Outwardly, we are quite different: different personalities, different backgrounds, different in many ways. But there is commonality that unifies us, and that is love for the Lord and belief in the power of prayer.

This is a ladies intercessory prayer group, about 24 strong most Tuesdays. Room 144 of my church is the designated prayer room.  This sanctuary for devoted prayer is a place saturated with worship and faith and there we find the sure presence of the Holy Spirit. We pray for one another, but our primary reason for gathering is to pray for others. As we feel prompted to pray, we approach the throne of grace with that petition. We try never to forget to pray for our nation and its healing. We anoint with oil and lay hands on any who comes to us struggling with a heavy load. If there is a special need from one who cannot be there, one of us will stand in for that person while the group forms a circle round about.

The uniqueness of our group is that most of us share no quantity of time outside the prayer room and some never see another member outside Tuesday morning. Yet, when we meet in Room 144, we are family. We care about one another and the need for concentrated prayer. As my morning devotional said, we join together with understanding hearts. It is this that makes us a solid unit.

 “Have fervent love for one another.” 1 Peter 4:8 NKJV

My Grandmother’s Love

18 Thursday Sep 2014

Posted by Pat Luffman Rowland in Love for God

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

acceptance, faith, God's presence, love, memories, trust, wisdom

This is dedicated to the memory of Wendell Smith, who grew up across the street from my grandparents and loved my grandmother like his own, and was loved by her in the same way. Wendell called her Mama Dulcie just like the rest of us, and it was he who preached her funeral in 1991.

Dulcie Pauline Cotton Spencer had a way about her. A way that was warm, inviting, accepting of every person for just who they were. She was the best example of Christ’s love I’ve ever known. She knew Him well and loved Jesus with reverence and solid trust.

One of my earliest childhood memories of my grandmother is how she prayed on her knees every night at bedtime. With her braided hair unwound from atop her head and falling down her back over her homemade white gown, she spoke to the Lord. As an adult, I remember the many times I walked into her house and into her conversations with Jesus. He was her constant companion.

As a small child of barefoot summers, I remember the pain of getting a sizeable splinter in my foot and how Mama Dulcie placed a small piece of fat meat over the wound and wrapped it with a rag torn from a clean, but worn thin, pillowcase. (Repurposing, we call it now.) The splinter eased itself out. As an older child, I remember afternoons that she sent me to the garden for a fresh head of lettuce. I would wash it and then stand beside her and watch as she poured hot bacon grease over the lettuce, turning it into a wilted salad.

She was a cook that no would could top. I don’t suppose her kitchen ever knew a day without bowls of vegetables and platters of meat and a dessert of some kind. She loved cooking and loved even more sharing it with others. It was a delight to my grandparents for someone—anyone—to stop by for the noon meal. No need to call, food was always plentiful at the Spencer house. Chicken and dumplings was the grandchildren’s favorite and the dish she prepared regularly for friends and neighbors. In a small town, when someone is sick, you take care of them and their families with food. In my kitchen, I have a framed copy of Mama’s recipe for chicken and dumplings from the Medina Baptist Church cookbook. It was written just like she would verbally give it to you and what a treasure that is! “Use a good chicken” is one of the instructions. (For you of today’s generation, that means select a plump young hen big enough to feed several people.)

Mama Dulcie had fourteen children. Seven born to her and seven who married into the family—she and Papa knew no difference. There were sixteen grandchildren and I’ve lost count of the great-grands. Love flowed so naturally from Dulcie Spencer. Just like Jesus, she had no favorites; yet she loved with such abundance, that I think each one of us felt like we were her favorite.

Mama Dulcie took life seriously and she took her “soaps” seriously. It was a mystery to me that a woman so pure could enjoy stories that even in the 50s were a bit racy. Her favorite was “As the World Turns” and when the marriage of fictional characters Bob and Lisa became troubled, Mama wrote to Lisa. She told her about wrong and right and encouraged her to mend her ways. Are you smiling? Well, Lisa wrote back—I have the letter! She thanked Mama for writing to her and for her advice. But as I recall, Lisa continued to be a bit of a wild child, likely a great disappointment to my grandmother.

Mama Dulcie sang when she ironed, when she cooked, when she mopped the floors, pretty much all the time.  “In the Sweet By and By” and “When the Roll is Called Up Yonder” are two of the hymns I remember most—and she sang only hymns. She loved to paint and her pie safes had more coats of white paint than one could count. My mother, Mama’s firstborn, said Mama would rather paint than dust. There was just something about a fresh coat of white paint that made her very happy.

My grandmother was a gentle soul. She was kind and generous. She knew how to love and chose to see only the best in everyone, and this brings me to a story about Wendell Smith that he told me a few years before he died. While Mama and Papa were at church, Wendell, just a little boy at the time, went into their house (doors weren’t locked then) and into the kitchen and there saw the banana pudding Mama Dulcie had left on the counter to cool. He set the whole bowl of pudding in the middle of the floor and with a big spoon dug in. He said my grandmother’s only words about it were “Bless his heart, he must have been hungry.” Someone else might have been annoyed, even angry, but not this sweet lady.

One other memory given me by Wendell was this: “The Sunday before I announced my call into the ministry I gave my testimony, then Bro. John Pippin preached about five minutes and gave the invitation. It was during the invitation that six people responded giving their lives to Christ. During the invitation Mama Dulcie got up, walked up the aisle and got Bruce and Bryan (two of her grandchildren) and with one on one side and one on the other she brought them down the aisle and to Christ. Such was her faith that she wanted her grandchildren to be saved.”

I think I want to close with that memory. It says who she was. A woman who loved her family and her Lord and made sure the two were connected. She was the wisest woman I ever knew.

Mama and me 001

Happy Birthday, Kristi

16 Thursday Jan 2014

Posted by Pat Luffman Rowland in faith

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Christian witness, faith, faithfulness, family, God's presence, love, memories, miracles

Kristi as baby 001Forty nine years ago today, a beautiful little girl was born to me. It had been a difficult pregnancy, much of it spent in bed, but Kristi Leigh McClain entered this world with all ten fingers and all ten toes, a head full of black hair, and perfect form.

She kept me waiting five weeks past my due date, following the pattern of my mother who had all three of her children weeks late. Because my pregnancy had been fraught with problems, Dr. Phillips felt this extra time was needed for Kristi’s well being. Some years after she was born, he told me of his expectation that I would not carry my baby to term, but would miscarry. He held a special affection for Kristi, feeling she was somewhat a miracle he helped bring into being.

When my daughter was just seven years old, she came to me and said she wanted to give her heart to Jesus. The picture of us standing in the kitchen where that conversation happened is burned into my mind and heart forever—a precious memory. We went to her room, knelt by her bed and prayed the prayer that gave Kristi second birth. Her immersion baptism was in a pool of unheated water and she told me afterward that the water was cold, but when she came up it felt “so good.” I knew in my heart that Kristi’s feeling wasn’t about arising into a warmer temperature, but knowing the joy of being the Lord’s.

From the beginning, Kristi had a sweet and compassionate spirit. Her nature was to give and share whatever she had; she would do without for another to have something they wanted. She forgave quickly and easily. And, of course, that sensitive heart often brought heartbreak from those who would take advantage.

Kristi was always a good student and graduated high school a year early. Her college years further revealed her love for learning. Soon after graduation, she and her college sweetheart married and she became Mrs. Mark Hearn. Mark was sent straight from the Lord to love and stand beside her in the years to come, where Kristi would have one health issue after the other.

I don’t think it is just a mother’s overprotective heart when I say Kristi has had more adversity than most. On quite a few occasions she has escaped death itself. The Lord brought her through a severe vaccine reaction as a child, a boating accident as a teen, a highway accident with a semi truck in young adulthood, cancer that was originally misdiagnosed a few years back, and the shutting down of her kidneys and cardiac arrest not quite two years ago. This is just a partial list, a list I’ve kept since her early childhood when I realized God had special angels watching over my child. She has suffered with chronic pain for 15 or more years. Yet through it all, her faith has remained strong and sure. She has never said, “Why me?” Rather, “God has a reason for this. He has always taken care of me and He always will.” She has used her health problems to witness to the God who has saved her time and again. She looks for opportunities to proclaim His goodness on each medical visit—and there are many.

Thought it hurts a mother’s heart to see her child go through so much, it is a supreme joy to know her love for the Lord and her trust in Him. Many parents don’t know if their children have eternal security and I have the chief blessing of that assurance. Why Kristi has had trial after trial, I don’t know; I do know they have made her better and not bitter.

Kristi at 17 001I love you, my darling daughter. I delight in your steadfast faith in the One who made you and called as His own at a very tender age. You are an example of courage and strength that comes from adversity when placed in the hands of the Lord.

I celebrate you today as the beautiful gift you are. I love you more than anyone else on this earth; you come second only to God. Thank you for being my daughter and an example of faith under fire.

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 1:6-7 ESV)

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. (James 1:12 ESV)

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

How God Our Father Sees Us

26 Tuesday Nov 2013

Posted by Pat Luffman Rowland in how God sees us

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

anticipation, encouragement, faith, forgiveness, hope, love, mercy, salvation, study scripture, trust, wisdom

“This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17, NAS). This is what each one of us as God’s children will hear. As “heirs to the promise” (Galatians 3:29), we share in the blessings of Jesus.

This is a lot to digest, the part of God being well pleased with me. I look at my life and see miserable failure in living the God-life. But if I take another view, I see it isn’t about the me I know, but the one God knows.

Since God has forgotten our sins and removed them “as far as the east from the east” (Psalm 103:12), we stand only in the holiness of Jesus, the One we call Savior. God the Father sees us with clothes of salvation and righteousness (Isaiah 61:10) and we are beautiful in His sight. Though a lot to get our minds around, we look like Jesus. Standing in the Savior’s garment we radiate only good things, for He is only good. And that is all the Father sees. Imagine. All that grieves us about ourselves will not be a part of our final being. We will at last be revealed as the Father sees us. We will not be confused by the ploys of Satan. We will not walk with a rock of sin in our shoe. There will be no more guilt, no more shame and all because we did one thing: we chose to believe in Jesus (John 3:16).

Perhaps the amount of detail to our garment will be reflective of all we have done in Christ’s name. It won’t be a garment of fine fabric, buttons and trim, but a different kind altogether. Our new garment will be of the little one we loved, the old person aided, the sick we attended. It will be the orphanage we helped build, the missionary we supported, the joyful surprise we prepared for a weary sojourner. The meal we cooked, the child we taught about God, the witness we gave in darkness. The stranger we made welcome, the lonely one we sat with, the one in need we walked with.  The time we spent in worship, the songs of praise to God we lifted, the words of encouragement we spoke. The times we sought and followed wisdom, the moments we forgave, the unconditional love we extended.

Those acts in the Lord’s name will be the garment that cover us, for that is the righteousness of Jesus and that is what the Father has chosen to see when He looks on us in Spirit and not in flesh (Romans 8:27).

Praises be to the One who forgives and loves us. Praises be to the One who made a way possible for us. Glory to God, for Redeemer is His name!

jesus111

Hearing from God

16 Monday Sep 2013

Posted by Pat Luffman Rowland in communication with God, communion with God

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

communication with God, communion with God, faith, God's direction, God's presence, hearing God, inisght on scripture, love, study scripture, wisdom

When the Spirit does not open the Scripture,

the Scripture is not understood even though it is read.

–Martin Luther

The Amplified Bible says that Selah (often used in the Psalms) means “to pause and calmly think about what you’ve read.” When we do this, we digest the words and their message, rather than move across them in rote fashion. Practicing Selah adds richness to our time with God. We go beyond a discipline and linger with Him while pondering. We allow nourishment to flow into our souls.

The intention of scripture is to reveal the Lord and teach us His ways. It should be a matter of reverence for us each time we read God’s word, for we are opening communication with our Maker. To hear, we must keep still and pay attention to what is being said.

When God’s word has our full attention, we will hear. An unfamiliar scripture may suddenly have a particular word for us, maybe one of encouragement or explanation of a trial we are going through. A recognizable passage may show us something we haven’t seen before, some broader way of thinking. That is the Holy Spirit in action! He is speaking to our hearts, our needs. And that is when we need to practice Selah. To take time to ponder God’s teaching moments and ask what is He saying that applies to us in a very specific way. I treasure these times and like to note the date and maybe a few words beside the scripture. On seeing this later, I may or may not recall why it helped me that day, but the one thing I will remember is that it was an intimate moment with God.

That same kind of intervention of the Holy Spirit can come through Bible teachers. Dr. Charles Stanley says it this way: What we hear from teachers will be different because the Holy Spirit gives us what we need to hear. Isn’t that wonder-filled?  That God is not just able to speak to each of us individually, but that He desire it? I recall the time a pastor visited and I told him how much I appreciated something he had said from the pulpit. He asked what that was and after hearing it, he shook his head and said he didn’t remember it at all, but he got this feedback often–different people taking away different things from his messages. It is evidence of the Holy Spirit moving over us to bless us just as we need.

God doesn’t give us this personal attention without divine purpose, however. He does it that we may be in relationship with Him. R. C. Sproul, in The Holiness of God, said The call to holiness was first given to Adam and Eve. This was the original assignment of the human race. We were created to shine forth to the world the holiness of God. This was the chief end of man, the very reason for our existence.

In a society of self-centered people, it is sobering and necessary to remember that it really isn’t “all about us” and never will be. It is about Almighty God and our relationship with Him. It is about submission and obedience so that we may experience the love of God in the abundant ways He has planned.

Let me leave you with these words of John Wesley:

To candid, reasonable men,

I’m not afraid to lay open what have been the inmost thoughts of my heart. 

I have thought, I’m a creature of a day,

passing through life as an arrow through the air.

I am a spirit come from God, and returning to God: 

Just hovering over the great gulf;

til a few moments hence, I am no more seen;

I drop into an unchangeable eternity. 

I want to know one thing – the way to heaven;

how to land safe on that happy shore. 

God himself has condescended to teach the way;

for this very end He came from heaven.

He hath written it down in a book, O give me that book! 

At any price, give me the Book of God.

Living in the Here and Now

18 Saturday Aug 2012

Posted by Pat Luffman Rowland in insight

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

hope, love, observation

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

14 Tuesday Aug 2012

Posted by Pat Luffman Rowland in faith

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

faith, love, study scripture

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)

20 Friday Jul 2012

Posted by Pat Luffman Rowland in adoration, comfort, faith

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

adoration, anticipation, comfort, faith, hope, love, study scripture

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.

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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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