GOD'S PROMISE OF COMFORT AND PEACE! 9/29/13

THE PASTOR of my youth still teaches me today! Lots of years have passed but no matter what lesson I am preparing or when I am teaching, his name comes to mind; what he said; what he believed and just how kind and patient he was with me. The following story is not mine! This was written by my dearest of friends, about her father and unknown to him, what he accomplished through the loving care of our heavenly Father!


MR. ELLETT left behind his lovely wife, Kathryn and two daughters, Iona Kay and her sister Leilani. In 2001 the girls were concerned about the care their mother so desperately needed, and through a chain of events found Beth, a Filipino woman. She was a God send because she became far more to all of them, than what they ever dreamed. In around 2005 Iona Kay wrote a biography of her mom and dad and gave it to her mother for her birthday. The next day, after an outing with her mom, and upon returning to her mom’s home, Beth came running out of the house, beaming with joy. She could hardly wait to tell her the most wonderful story.

“BETH’S STORY!” “In the summer of 1945, Beth’s grandparents were among a group of Filipinos on the island of Leyte who had been brutally murdered by Japanese forces. When the U.S. Army heard of this, they sent a young chaplain to the survivors. He comforted them and conducted services for them; they called him “Father!” He became very special to them and was remembered as a kind and humble man. The surname on his pocket was “Ellett” but he told them to call him “Lertis.” From then on they referred to him as “Father Lertis.” Beth’s father, a young man at the time, passed down this story to Beth and her siblings. Beth said, whenever she and her brothers and sisters would ask about the events of the war, they would always hear about “Father Lertis” and the wonderful things he did for their family. Though Beth would not be born for four more years, she had heard about Father Lertis practically her whole life.” When Beth started working for my mother, she noticed a picture of my father in his military uniform, with the name “Ellett” on his pocket. She thought to herself then, “Could this be the Father Lertis I had heard about from my father? Could this be the man who ministered to my family in their deepest hour of need?” She considered the possibility, but didn’t realize how unusual his name was. When she read the biography of my father and realized he was stationed in the South Pacific during the war, including a stint in the Philippines in 1945 on the Island of Leyte, she finally connected the dots. This was the “Father Lertis” whom she had heard about all her life!

IONA KAY thought, without a doubt, this “Father Lertis”, was in fact her father, Lt. Col. Lertis Ross Ellett. Beth’s story touched the Ellett family in a way that nothing else could, when it came to knowing and understanding that their father was indeed a man of God, for all people! This wonderful story taught Iona Kay about the circle of God’s love. How her father brought comfort and hope to Beth’s family and how Beth was now bringing comfort and peace to “father Lertis’ family. Seed’s planted by Mr. Ellett in the summer of 1945 were bearing fruit for eternal life!

NOT LONG after this story was brought to light, Beth requested to be baptized. David, Mr. Ellett’s grandson, a minister and college professor at Hope International University, was able to perform the baptism. As Beth stood next to Iona Kay’s son in the watery grave, she couldn’t help but think that her father was there in the midst of them, just as he had been with her family!

GOD’S WORD says that we shouldn’t be anxious about the things we need, like the world does. God encourages his faithful followers to put their trust in Him for everything!    “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.”   Matthew 6:33   God’s plan for us is to have a hope and a future. What we hope for may not happen in our life time, but the future is there until Christ returns. Mr. Ellett’s future was in his wife and his family. What they saw and heard strengthens their circle of love, until Christ returns.  Used by permission   -  Jane Ann Crenshaw 9/25/13   

WHAT DOES SAVING OUR SOULS MEAN? 9/22/13

WHEN I began to first learn about Jesus, and later on to realize what it meant to live in fellowship with Him, the idea that He came to save my soul always set my mind into confusion. I have always had questions and still do when it comes to my soul, the spirit and my flesh. I understand the flesh; it is what gets me into trouble. But Jesus came to save my soul and not my flesh!


THE scriptures say that we must “love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength!” Breaking this down means we are to love God with our whole being; our complete self. Our soul is who we are! It is what continues to live long after our bodies (the flesh) has died and rotted away.

IRONICALLY, the soul that sins, shall die! That is why Jesus came to save our souls! “As I live, says the Lord God, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine; the soul that sins shall die!” Ezekiel 18:3-4 We know we are dead when we practice sin. We know that to die to our sins is to be raised to a new life in Jesus Christ. We know that when we receive our new life in Christ our souls have been saved from hell to live eternally with God and His Son in heaven!

“FOR the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord!” Romans 6:23   We always need to be reminded that sin brings death. However, God’s promise of forgiveness of sin through His Son Jesus gives us life eternally with Him. How amazing is that? Yet, we still wonder and ask why when a tragedy happens to those who are forgiven and belong to God, as well as those outside of Christ.

JESUS teaches about calamities which happen to God’s people. In Luke chapter 13 some came to Jesus and told him about the Galileans whom Pilate had killed while they were offering sacrifices to God. We have often asked ourselves why were they slain in the act of serving God. We hear stories about missionaries and kids on school buses returning from church camp. Many, many stories about untimely deaths and we still want to say “why!”

JESUS teaches us that these things do not happen as special acts of judgment for hidden sins.  In Roman days fights at the temple and severe reprisals by the soldiers were common. But when this was reported to Jesus, they thought it was because of judgment. Another incident was mentioned in Luke and Jesus responds . “What about those eighteen in Siloam who were killed when the tower fell on them? Do you suppose this proves that they were worse than all the other people living in Jerusalem? No! I tell you that if you do not turn from your sins, you will all die as they did.” Luke 13:4-5

JESUS does not deny that these people were sinners, but He does say with emphasis, that they were no worse than other people. You will all die as they did! He says this to teach them with strong words that only turning from sin in repentance, will save them, not from calamity, but to live with Him! They were not killed because they were worse sinners! All must turn from sin, or perish! When we die our souls live on and it is our choice where our souls will live.

WHEN THE church first began, we read in acts that when the people realized what they had taken part in, they were cut to the heart! They were in utter distress! They asked Peter; “What can we do!” “Peter answered and said; “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38    Take heart Church and even those who are seeking Christ. The church did not begin with a sinners prayer but a command to repent. To be baptized so you would have forgiveness and receive the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit which is the seal that saves your soul! I don’t find any other place that God offers this to you. Calamities come & heart aches, but Jesus saves!    By Jane Ann Crenshaw 9/18/13
 

I LOVE OLD PEOPLE! 9/8/13

EVEN BEFORE I would consider myself old, I loved old people. A lovely ‘old’ friend of mine passed away in January of 2009. I was saddened about her passing! We attended the same church for a lot of years, but became real good friends, after we had moved away. Through some quirk of fate, we both discovered e-mail. Betty would read Morning Glory and sometimes send me her thoughts. In October of 2008 she sent me the following.


“I JUST finished reading about your ugly brown shoes with the crepe soles. I was thinking about my shoes in depression times. Yes, I always got a new pair of shoes when school began. But, as the year wore on, the soles would wear out. So Daddy would glue on rubber soles to strengthen the shoes again. Ok, that wasn’t so bad! However, my feet continued to grow, and the shoes really began to pinch my feet. I have very bent and crooked toes now. So Daddy would then cut the toes out of my shoes, creating more space for my growing feet. That really embarrassed me.

I WAS one of the ‘smart’ kids in grade school. I started when I was only 4 years old, and then they skipped me from third to fifth grade. That meant that I was only 11 years old when I graduated the from grade school and entered High School. I was still a little kid in a lot of ways. I was shy, but wanted to make friends with my new classmates. They couldn’t be bothered with a skinny 11 year old. I was too young for makeup, in spite of the fact that ALL the other girls seemed to wear it. I was too young to date! My folks said I had to be 16 before I could. Finally the boys just stopped asking!

HOW I remember going to my senior prom in my first long dress - ALONE, and on the street car. Girls just didn’t look right or feel right alone on a street car. I went to the banquet room and sat at a table with everyone else and their dates. And then there was music and dancing; not one boy at the table offered to dance with me! So I left very early, on the streetcar, totally depressed! Funny how things like that remain in your memory. I felt so unwanted at that impressionable stage of my life. I was just so sure no boy would EVER want me. Happily, I outgrew that feeling by the time I went to work. I guess I finally grew up when I joined the Navy. Yes, I fought off, the Sailor’s in San Diego!  That was a decision I made for myself, without consulting my parents ahead of time. To me, it meant I had finally stepped forward and became me.

WELL, not one Bible reference in that long “sorry for myself” note. But I just thought I needed to share those feelings. Oh yes, I had been Christened as a baby, since my mother was a Lutheran. And I had Catechism, and then my first Communion, wearing a donated old dress from the Church closet. I was embarrassed again! But, praise the Lord, I found a church in my neighborhood! I had attended almost all of the different denominations, just because they were close to home. But this church was My kind of place, and I enjoyed Sunday School, Church and even sang in the choir; although I was usually off key. I finally surrendered to our Lord totally at that church, and was baptized. I have never looked back! I always knew about Jesus, always loved Him, but it was that little church that finally made me feel Jesus was MY Savior.” By Betty Roberts

BETTY was one of those ladies that seemed to love me because of me. It was not what I could do for her, nor was it because of what she could do for me. But for some reason God placed us in each others life during a time we needed each other. I needed her wisdom and she need my love! Both of them were freely given!

“NOW TO HIM who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen” Ephesians 3:20-21   The Church was established by Christ to give us a home. A place where we, as a body, could grow together and to become strong in faith. Betty found a home in a church home that loved her! Love always begins at home! By Jane Ann Crenshaw 9/4/13