Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.
-Acts 3:19

I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God's grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

-Philippians 1:3-11 (NRSV)

The Hour has Come

Jesus prayed, "Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want."
-Mark 14:36 (NRSV)

They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated. And he said to them, "I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake." And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. He said, "Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want." He came and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep awake one hour? Keep awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And once more he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to say to him. He came a third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Enough! The hour has come; the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand."
-Mark 14:32-42 (NRSV)

Being a christian is not always the easy road in life. Some people believe that if you have faith in God and believe in Jesus as your savior that no bad thing will come your way.

When hard times beset them, they are confused and at a loss at how to proceed. When it is a friend going through a hard time, they wonder what the friend has done to cause their hardship. There are times and places in each of our lives where we must pass through a narrow entry way; a place where friends and family may not follow. If we are to be in God's will at these times, we must keep looking forward and not turn back to long for what we are leaving behind.

Jesus was so stressed about facing his week of passion that he sweat great drops of blood while praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. He knew that he would endure brutal punishment and then have to leave his earthly life behind. It was a narrow path that only he could walk. He laid down his will to choose the Father's will. By doing so, he made a way for all of us to become God's children.

Footprints in the Sand

If my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will take me up.
-Psalm 27:10 (NRSV)

"Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
-Matthew 11:28-30 (NRSV)

It has become part of the American Christian lexicon - Footprints in the Sand by Mary Stevenson. Mary wrote the poem as a teenager in the depression era out of her own internal struggles. She shared the poem with others to encourage them in time of need and then at some point, she put the piece of paper on which she had written the poem away in a valise to be long forgotten.

The poem took on a life of it's own and traveled far and wide bringing encouragement to the down-hearted. Mary freely shared her poetry with others with never a thought of copyrights.

Others tried to claim authorship of the poem. It was in 1980 when after losing her husband to heart disease while going through family mementos that she again discovered the old valise of her teenage poems. There lay the original copy of "Footprints in the Sand" where it had long been waiting for her return. Forensic specialists examined it and determined that it was indeed original and she was able to obtain a copyright of authorship over fifty years after penning it.

She had lived a full life and had gone through many troubled and also many happy times. I imagine that when she finally had her poem authenticated it was a fulfillment of sorts of the poem itself. How happy it must have made her to be able to hold it to her heart from which it originally had sprung all those long years ago.

Footprints in the Sand has encouraged me through my own times of difficulty. It is a simple, yet powerful poem. It helps me to remember, even in my darkest hours, that the Lord Jesus is with me - either walking beside me, or carrying me in His strong arms when I am too weak to walk.

Pray about it: Dear Lord Jesus, I thank you for being by my side at every moment. You give me strength when I am weak and lighten my burdens when they are heavy. Help me to always remember that you will never leave me or forsake me. Let it be! Amen.

"Why are you afraid?"

Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. . . . Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid."
-John 14:27 (NRSV)

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side." And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?" And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"
Mark 4:35-41 (NRSV)

There was a terrible time in my life when everything seemed to be falling apart. I felt as if I had lost myself. I made some desparate decisions that lead to calamity. I felt alone with no where to turn. Rejected by friends and facing divorce, I was soon to learn that my father had been diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. My mother on hearing the news fell down with a massive heart attack. My husband left and I was unemployed with two small children and many bills to pay.

One day I could simply not face life and I pulled the covers of my bed over my head and curled up in a ball extremely depressed. I simply could not go on and had no strength of my own. I did not know what I would do. I called out to the Lord in my dispair. It was at that moment that I felt the peace of the Lord and almost heard his voice comforting me and telling me get up and walk with Him.

Even though I felt everyone had rejected me, the Lord Jesus did not. He picked me up and took my hand and walked with me. With His peace and kindness, I made it through that very difficult time in my life.

He has blessed me richly with a loving husband and a career that is very rewarding professionally and financially. I went from being alone and pennyless to being happily married, completing a college degree and obtaining a professional career where I earn twice annually what my mountain of debt once had been. The Lord gave me peace and strength during a terrible storm without which I would not have been able to go on in life. I did not deserve His love or His help, but He never rejected me.

Pray about it: Lord Jesus, help me to know your peace in every situation. Let it be! Amen.

Read about it: John Dear's book, Jesus the Rebel: Bearer of God's Peace and Justice, will challenge you to bring the gospel message into your everyday life.

Reverential Awe of God Leads to Understanding

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. -Psalm 111:10 (NRSV)

Now this is the commandment -- the statutes and the ordinances -- that the Lord your God charged me to teach you to observe in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy, so that you and your children and your children's children may fear the Lord your God all the days of your life, and keep all his decrees and his commandments that I am commanding you, so that your days may be long. Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe them diligently, so that it may go well with you, and so that you may multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you. Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. -Deuteronomy 6:1-9 (NRSV)

We are to love the Lord with fear. Fear has several meanings, one being to have "reverential awe" as is shown in the definition found on Dictionary.com (1). "Reverential awe" of God is the beginning of wisdom."

If we truly see God for who he is we are just beginning to have wisdom. Looking deep into God brings us understanding. We must spend time communing with God to have wisdom and understanding. How do we "commune" with God?

Let’s look more closely at the words “fear” and “commune”. It helps while meditating on a passage of scripture to really think about the words in the scripture and words that come to mind while reading the scripture. Many times the words we use have deeper meanings than we first realize and we can glean understanding by looking at definitions, synonyms, and even by researching the original language of the Biblical text.

Going to Dictionary.com (2), we find the following definition for "commune":

1. To converse or talk together, usually with profound intensity, intimacy, etc.; interchange thoughts or feelings.
2. To be in intimate communication or rapport: to commune with nature. –noun
3. Interchange of ideas or sentiments.

American Heritage Dictionary (3) proposes the following for "commune":

1. To be in a state of intimate, heightened sensitivity and receptivity, as with one's surroundings: hikers communing with nature.
2. To receive the Eucharist.

American Heritage Dictionary (4) provides the following for "Eucharist":

1. A sacrament and the central act of worship in many Christian churches, which was instituted at the Last Supper and in which bread and wine are consecrated and consumed in remembrance of Jesus’ death; Communion.
2. The consecrated elements of this rite; Communion.

The Online Etymology Dictionary (5) provides the following for "Eucharist":
"sacrament of the Lord's Supper, the Communion," c.1350, from Gk. eukharistia "thanksgiving, gratitude," later "the Lord's Supper," from eukharistos "grateful," from eu- "well" + stem of kharizesthai "show favor," from kharis "favor, grace," from PIE base *gher- "to like, want". Eukharisteo is the usual verb for "thank" in the Septuagint and N.T.

We are to fear God, meaning we should have reverential awe of God. The Bible says that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” I propose that we must commune with God to gain wisdom. When we commune we converse or talk together with God, usually with profound intensity, intimacy, etc.; we have an interchange of thoughts or feelings. This could mean prayer or actual conversation, talking with God from the heart. Also, the word commune relates to the Eucharist or communion sacraments. Part of communing with God is partaking of Communion, a service in which we remember the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. The etymology of Eucharist contains the ideas of thanksgiving and gratitude, grace and favor. We need to commune with God with an attitude of awe, thankfulness, and gratitude. We need to be in prayer and communication with the Lord. We need to be participating in the service of Communion. We need to be aligned with the sacrifice of Christ and to be thankful and grateful for his sacrifice for us. These acts are the beginning of wisdom and by spending time with the Lord in this way we gain understanding.

Citations
1. "fear." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 05 Mar. 2008.

2. "commune." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 05 Mar. 2008.

3. "commune." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. 05 Mar. 2008.

4. "Eucharist." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. 05 Mar. 2008.

5. "Eucharist." Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper, Historian. 05 Mar. 2008.