Gethsemane…

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. Matthew 26:36-40 NIV

In the above verses, Jesus asks his disciples to wait with him.  This simple request sounds like something we would ask our own friends if we were facing imminent death.

But what did those nearest and dearest to Jesus do?

They fell asleep.

My revelation from this is that there will be times in life where we are forced to go it alone. Friends and family will forsake us, through no fault of their own.

Even God may be silent.

Yet, Jesus teaches us by example how to persevere as we walk in those lonely places.

First, Jesus continued to pray even as his friends slept. He didn’t rely on them to keep him encouraged or uplifted. We often forget the Son of God was still a man with friends he loved and desired when he needed them most. But his friends would not wait with him. Three times they fell asleep. Three times Peter would deny Jesus. If people who literally lived among Jesus for years could fail him, why are we surprised when people fail us as well?

The second thing Jesus did was submit himself to the Father.  “Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

 We should ask God’s will, “on earth, as it is in heaven,” no matter how awful it looks. The very things we pray to escape are often essential to producing the best outcomes. Jesus knew he would live again in three days, but he didn’t want to face the trial that preceded his triumph. Likewise, we dread our trials even though they eventually promote us. Like Christ, we need to endure as well. If Jesus, who was sinless, suffered, we will too.

Yet, our God is rich in mercy!

Jesus left with us the Holy Spirit, our Advocate, to help us and be with us forever. And as He did for Jesus, our Father often provides a Simon when our load is too much to bear as well.

Our journey may be lonely, but we are never alone.

God is faithful on earth and through eternity…

 

In the World, Not Of It

 

truth

When listening to my Father’s call

the world attempts to use disguise

to lead me into my downfall

when lies are truth and truth are lies.

The Gospels lift me up to soar,

and daily mind and heart restore.

 

The words of Jesus free my thoughts

and bring me back to God’s embrace

to focus on the things I ought;

on love, compassion and His grace.

He came not to condemn but save

and all my sins expunged, forgave.

 

Abiding in the Spirit shows

me how to be and how to live.

Christ’s light from Living Water flows;

this fact holds no alternative.

The truth from fruit’s essential seeds

is God’s great source from which He feeds.

 

Because I sustain nourishment

from my Savior’s bread of life,

His voice of love is sweet assent

which melts and calms the daily strife.

God always is my Number One;

His wisdom never is outdone.

 

So say your truth, but I know His.

I am to open heart and hands,

to welcome all, and more than this;

to care for orphans, widows and

to reconcile the world, employ

God’s grace and wisdom, love and joy.

 

“I guarantee this truth: every believer has eternal life. I am the bread of life.” (John 6:47-48)

“For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who cares for the truth hears my voice.” Pilate asked him, “What is truth?” (John 18:37-38)

And the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)

…and Justice for All

When you see me, who do you see? A Black face?

Someone who evokes rage or fright,

Undeserving mercy, grace?

 

When you see me, who do you see? Blind and white

and deaf; loath to step into shoes

of your pain, color, grief or plight?

 

When you see me, when will you see that I am

a child of God blessed by the Lamb?

ruby_bridges_w_marshals

I have been rocked back and forth this year by the violence in our country over race relations and a serious lack of understanding, grace and communication between us all. To be frank, it reminds me of another decade.

In the 1960s we faced a country horribly divided by racial tension. We watched in revulsion scenes on our televisions of federal marshals escorting young, black children into white schools for the first time while being spat upon by angry white housewives.

We saw Black folks being attacked by dogs and fire houses, arrested for sitting at a lunch counter, and heard about the murders of three young civil rights workers. And at the end of 1964, the first Civil Rights Acts passed, which outlawed discrimination in voting and segregation in schools, at work and in places that served the public.

In 1968 we watched the Freedom March – a five-day walk from Montgomery to Selma, Alabama where thousands of non-violent demonstrators of all races faiths walked to the steps of the capitol building. State troopers attacked the unarmed marchers with tear gas and billy clubs. We mourned the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and two months later of Bobby Kennedy. The second Civil Rights Act was passed which outlawed discrimination in housing.

I cannot, even now, get those images out of my mind when I see Black men shot down by police or when I view disturbing videos of police officers clearly out of control. And I don’t understand if just and righteous police officers can wound and capture a terrorist in New Jersey, why it’s not possible, with 3-5 officers present, arrest a man of color without a fatality – particularly those who are unarmed, who have their hands in the air or who are already on the ground.

We need the courage to have public discussions because this is not about one man or woman – a possible offender or a survivor of racism or a police officer. It is about our justice system which does not apply the same justice toward all.

I reached out to my friend Lilka Raphael, a sister in Christ, to ask if she would engage in this discussion with me. Because while I can sympathize and step into her pain and frustration for moments in time, she lives it every day. Because Lilka is a Black woman with a Black husband and two sons for whom she worries each time they walk out the door. And she said, “Yes.”

So beginning next Friday, Lilka and I will begin to write letters to each other, begin to ask and answer questions, begin to talk openly about our own perspectives, our responses, and our hope. Because we each derive hope through Christ, and we each see all our brothers and sisters as clay molded in love by our gracious Creator.

We pray you will look forward to our letters, read them, and engage with us in conversation to create healing and reconciliation in this online community and in your own communities.

In love and prayer,

Susan Irene Fox and Lilka Raphael

Pruning

B Is for Blessed!

“I am the true vine and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit,” John 15:1-2 NKJV

Jesus’ teaching about the vine and the branches is one of the most readily quoted. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” John 15: 5 NKJV

Without Him we can do nothing. However, the scripture prior to that, John 15:2 is often skimmed over. It is easy to realize how dependent we are on Christ, yet most of us are remiss and become ill at the notion that to become fruitful we must be pruned.

Without pruning, even the best specimens in any garden will eventually lose the ability to…

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P is for Protection

“But let all who take refuge in you be glad;
let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. Surely, LORD, you bless the righteous;
you surround them with your favor as with a shieldPsalm 5:11-12 NIV

 

There are times in life when we all are in need of protection. Little kids tend to run to their parents when they are afraid, confident that a parent can spare them from harm. We too, should have this same attitude even as adults, running to our Father who is a refuge from what at times can be a cold and cruel world.

Instead, we often try to solve problems ourselves. When a situation is more than we can bear, we shrink back in fear. God does not want us to fearful. If there is anything we can’t bear or undertake He is willing to offer His shelter. The psalmist wrote that God spreads His protection over those who love Him. He surrounds the righteous with His favor as a shield.

Thankfully, by grace, we are made righteous through the sacrifice of  Jesus Christ and not by our own works. We are provided the luxury that we may run to our Father when we are in need of protection with the same confidence of a young child. God’s favor isn’t “fair,” thankfully. He grants His grace and mercy in spite of our flaws and failures. He sheds His mercy even though we do not deserve it because we love Him and have faith enough to run to Him and lean not on our own understanding.

Bankruptcy is an example of a process that protects the debtor from his creditors. It is a lawful process that grants the debtor protection against harassment when the debtor has fallen short, unable to repay the debt. God is also a refuge for His children when we make mistakes and are subject to persecution. We can run to God for a similar kind of protection. God’s favor protects us even though we don’t deserve it. God protects us from complete downfall even as we suffer the consequences of our actions. The legal system affords the debtor relief from creditors but consequently the debtor will face limited financial opportunities. God’s protection prevents us from becoming completely broken even though we may suffer a few bumps and bruises along the way.

God, our Father, is the ultimate source of protection. We can ask for it before we need it. Our faith in God’s ability to protect us (even from ourselves) can keep us on the path He would have for us.

God’s protection doesn’t save us from every hardship, lest we learn nothing from life’s journey. But God is faithful to those who seek Him, have faith in His ability and know that He is in control. God can allow the winds of life to merely bend you instead of break you!

P is for Protection.

Thank you, God, for your faithfulness and your protection.

Heavenly Father, thank you for grace and unmerited protection. Thank you for Your future favor and protection, saving me from dangers seen and unseen. I know it only through You that I have made it thus far. I ask Your protection through my life’s journey. Please cover me and those with whom I have covenant relationships. In Jesus’ name we have confidence in your protection.  Amen.