In the Garden of Gethsemane

Dear Readers,

I sometimes like to look back at some of my old writings and see what I wrote. I just recently found this poem that I wrote over 3 years ago in my Grandma's old box of pictures and keepsakes. It is all about Jesus' love.  I am in awe with all that my Savior went through.  While Easter is a wonderful day to celebrate Christ rising from the dead, I don't want to forget the costly sacrifice he made three days prior to it. I love you, Jesus, and thank you for your amazing love.

Happy Easter to All!

-Katrina Arnold

In the Garden of Gethsemane

By Katrina Arnold 2010

This Poem is Dedicated to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ

In the Garden of Gethsemane was a man

Didn’t look like anyone grand

He was a son of a carpenter, with hard working hands

His appearance seems ordinary, nothing to attract man

If one were to look deep in His heart, he would discover to his delight

His heart was as big as the universe; His love reaching the highest heights

A sacrifice he would choose to be,

To see mankind face his doom, just wouldn’t do

Man represented hate, jealousy, anger, bitterness, deceit, selfishness, and greed

He represented love, kindness, joy, peace, and generosity to those in need

In the garden, he bowed down to pray,

Sweat pouring down his face

In anguish he cried out to God, knowing what was to come his way

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me;” He would say

“Yet not my will but yours be done.”

Only HE could accomplish what needed to be done

                                               

Into the garden, came his friend with army men

One who had eaten, laughed, and said he would follow him to the end

Man’s heart above all things is deceitful, it has been told

His friend would be his deceiver, betraying him not with gold

But for only 30 pieces of silver, he would lead the soldiers to him

Betraying the one who knew no sin

With a kiss he would reveal to those the Savior of the world

The one who was the King of Kings and Lords of Lords

The kiss was given, betrayal was done

 Soldiers carrying torches, lanterns, and weapons approached God’s son

Arrest had begun,

The soldier’s seized God’s son

A follower of Jesus, stepped forward, sword in hand

Ready to kill the entire armed band

Striking a soldier’s ear

The fight had begun, “Stop! Put your sword back in its place.” He would hear

“For all who draw the sword will die by the sword,” declared his Lord

Jesus touched the man’s ear and it was restored

Despite the kindness, love, and healing he had given

Away from the garden he was driven

Arrested and taken to the high priest to be judged

False testimony would be given by those with a grudge

Liars, cheaters, and deceivers gathered in the courtyard to slander our Redeemer

All those around blasphemed our Leader

Jesus stood silent taking beatings to his heart,

Holding no grudges, despite the breaking of his heart

Forgiveness was all he knew,

His love for man, would never cease

                                   

In the midst of the courtyard was one who loved his Savior

But no love would be shown by his behavior

He had told Jesus he would stand with him to the end

But standing with sinners and mockers, he refused to be associated with Him

“You were also with that Nazarene, Jesus,” the people would say

Fearing for his life, three times he would say, “Nay”

Earlier that day Jesus sadly foretold Peter’s crime

“Peter, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times,”

“Even if I have to die with you, I will NEVER disown you!” Peter insisted

The rooster crowed, prophecy fulfilled

Realizing his deceit, he broke down and wept

His promise to Jesus wasn’t kept

In the front of the courtyard, a daring question was asked

“Are you Christ, the Son of God?’

“I AM,” Jesus replied

“Blasphemy!” people would say

Put him to death, and do not delay!

Filled with hatred and abhorrence, their hearts were hard

They spit at him, blindfolded him, and struck him until he was taken by the guards

Under the guards, he was beaten and mocked some more

Covered by his blindfold, the guards would hit him without remorse

“Prophesy! Who hit you?”  They would taunt and sneer

Their eyes would not see nor would their ears hear

Of all of the things Jesus had done in the days before

The deaf could hear, the blind could see, the lame made to walk, and hearts restored

The blood in their hands

Belonged to the Son of man

Christ, Savior, God, and Lamb

Morning came and the sun touched the sky,

Today Jesus would die

The Jews led him to the governor’s palace

Seeking to talk to the leader, Pilate

“I find no basis for a charge against this man,” Pilate proclaimed

Desiring that the Son of Lamb not be slain

To the crowd Pilate brought out two men

A criminal named Barabbas murderer and fiend

Along with Jesus, Savior and friend

Each year they would release from prison a man

In order to give mercy to one who had greatly sinned

Pilate looked at the crowed and asked, “Do you want me to release the King of Jews?”

“No, not him! Give us Barabbas!”  The crowd shouted

The evil doer was freed

Jesus’ death was now guaranteed

“Crucify him! Crucify him!”  the crowd chanted

Condemning an innocent man was not what Pilate wanted

“Do you want me to release him?” Pilate would question

 “No!” they would reply, leading their Creator to His destruction.

Hoping to save Jesus from execution,

Pilate ordered him to be flogged, a different solution

With Courage greater than the world has seen

Our Savior was sent to the soldiers for more beatings

A whip covered with sharp stones and glass

Was placed on Jesus’ back

Over and over flesh ripped apart

A sacrifice to heal mankind’s hearts

A crown of thorns was placed on Jesus’ head

Like needles they sunk into His head

The soldiers clothed Jesus with a purple robe to bring Him disgrace

“Hail, king of the Jews.”  The soldiers laughed and struck him in the face

Bitterness never took hold of Jesus’ mind,

Forgiveness was all He knew for mankind.  

Sent back to Pilate for one last chance

To perhaps change the course of events

Pilate brought him out to the crowd with his purple robe and crown of thorns

Hoping to stop all of the scoffs and scorns

“Here is the man,” Pilate declared

“Crucify him! Crucify him!”  The crowd shouted; Jesus would not be spared.

Pilate handed him over to be crucified

The King of Kings would not be dignified

Carrying his own cross to the place of Skull

Jesus had no strength to carry on any more

Simon of Cyrene was forced to help

He carried Jesus’ cross, despite how he felt

At the place of skull they placed the King on the cross

Through his suffering, our sins would be bought

Hammering a nail on each hand and one on his feet

Each pound represented the freedom that we seek

By each of his sides hung two other men

Criminals and sinners in need of Him

One represented the desires of the world,

Selfishness, pleasure, no consideration for others or His Lord

“Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”

Hurling insult after insult at Jesus

The other represented repentance and a need for redemption

His heart filled with conviction

Over the sins he had committed

“We are being punished justly,” he admitted

 “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Forgiveness he received no matter what he had done

“I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” Jesus said.

To heaven with Jesus, he would be led

In the sixth hour darkness filled the land

Soon Jesus would surrender his Spirit into his Father’s hands

By the ninth hour a storm had arisen

“It is finished!”  Jesus cried

His last breath was given

The task was done, Jesus had forgiven

Every sin in this world

No matter how bad or horrid

The price was paid

New life was made

For all who come to Him

Sadly 2,000 years later some men still prefer sin

Rejecting all that was done for them

They now stand condemned

For those who chose life

Jesus gave it with a price

That he paid full on the cross

So that none would be lost

Freedom they received,

Eternal life if they believed,

Was given by an extraordinary man

In the Garden of Gethsemane

A Lasting Heritage

Verse of the Week:

5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (Deuteronomy 6:5-7)

A Lasting Heritage

I can remember seeing these beautiful vineyards on a drive up through Northern California.  The lush vines with ripe juicy grapes hanging from the limbs was breathtaking.  I wished Brian and I could have stopped at one of them so that I could just walk through the endless rows of green and purple or lay under the shade of the plants and rest in the beautiful sanctuary.

 Lately I have had the opportunity to study how the Jewish people tended their vineyards during the days when they entered the promise land. Jewish families did not own acres upon acres of land to grow their crops; apparently they created terraces. Each terrace was owned by one Jewish family.    Even though the soil was rocky, it was incredibly fertile and allowed them to grow grapes, figs, and olives.

Vineyard Terrace

Each Jewish family owned a row or terrace

While the Israelites were not responsible for making each plant produce fruit, they were responsible for creating an environment in which would allow plants to prosper and produce much fruit.  One of their main jobs was to keep the stone walls in repair.  They built strong stone walls because it was the only way to keep the rich fertile topsoil from blowing away from a strong wind or washing away from a heavy rainstorm. Once the topsoil escaped, it was gone forever. 

 Many  of these terrace vineyards with the stone walls have been around since the days of Joshua and the plants are still producing figs, grapes, and olives today.  Wow!  It got me to thinking on how well Jewish families taught their children generation after generation on how to take care of the walls and nurture the soil so that their crops would still produce. What a lasting heritage.****

I started thinking about my own children.  What kind of heritage do I want to leave them with?  I once again began studying Jewish tradition in the Old Testament and found this:

5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (Deuteronomy 6:5-7)

I love the words the Israelites were told to impress on their own hearts and the hearts of their children, "to love God." The lasting heritage that I want to give my children is not a vineyard, money, or some fancy heirloom but a deep love for Jesus. A love that they can pass down to their children, to their grandchildren and great grandchildren.  

I know I cannot make my boys love Jesus; just like the Israelites could not make their plants produce fruit.  But I can create an environment that will give them the opportunity to learn to love Jesus.  I can build high stone walls and tend the rich fertile soil, and, eventually, with much loving care, I pray that an abundance of fruit will began to grow from the vines and branches.  I pray that I am able to show my two boys God's loving grace, and that through His grace, they grow to love Jesus.  I pray that I will let Christ orchestrate my life in a way that my children will see nothing but Jesus inside of me, and eventually they desire to have what I have.

Sweet Jesus, may you build a strong stone walls in our home.

What lasting heritage do you want to pass down? 

****Jewish history of Terraced Vineyards was found in Ray Vander Lann's DVD "With All Your Heart"

Safely in His Womb

Verse of the Week:

"The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?" (Psalms 118:6)

Safely in His Womb

My husband and I were so excited last Friday as we went to our OBGYN.  We were going to get to meet our second child through a sonogram. I get tears in my eyes as I recall seeing our little baby boy/girl moving about our womb at 9 and half weeks.  He was an active little bugger, moving his arms and legs all over the place.  I could hear his strong heart beat, and he seemed so content and protected in my womb.  This wasn't a embryo or fetus floating around doing nothing; this was a baby!...A live being!...He was already living life and trying out his new limbs, experiencing the gift of movements for the first time.  It brought Brian and I so much joy when we viewed him/her. 

What a gift it is to carry our little child.  A child who is wrapped safely in my womb. A place of refuge to grow and develop and get prepared for the outside world.  I thank God for the gift of seeing our little child (only an inch long) living life to the fullest inside of me...such sweetness that it makes my heart ache.

Our sweet Child's head (slightly cut off in the pic), arms, legs, and umbilical cord. Fingers are there too, even if you can't see them!

I love to think of God in the same way.  When I became a child of God and asked Jesus into my heart, immediately, my new heart was wrapped safely in His arms.  Protected.  Loved. Allowed to grow and develop and prepare for eternity with our Lord!  

Hebrews 13:6 says,  'So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”' In this world, we will face hardships and troubles. Men may try to hurt us, abuse us, kill us, and break us.  But there is one thing mankind does not have access to, our heart.  It can't be touched because it is safe in the arms of Jesus.  People sometimes don't understand why God didn't protect them from certain situations, but my answer is that He did!  Your heart has not been touched. If you recieved Jesus into your heart, it is His, and no one else's.  

Yes, God will always protect me. Even when death claims me someday, my heart will go safely into His arms.

Thank you Lord, for protecting my heart.  Allow it to continue to grow and develop, just like a baby inside a womb.  And someday, I will emerge outside of the womb and see you face to face, Jesus. What a day that will be! Until then, thank you for your never ending love and protection.

My heart is Yours!

"The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?" (Psalms 118:6)

Seeking Glory

Verse of the Week:

Proverbs 3:34   He has no use for conceited people, but shows favor to those who are humble.

Seeking Glory

I loved my Mama's roses.  She used to grow hybrid tea roses, and for as long as I can remember, they bloomed all sorts of beautiful colors.  Pink, maroon, white, and yellow roses graced her flower garden.  Their beauty, scents, and colors would leave me standing there admiring them every time I came for a visit.  I loved Mama's roses! They stood tall and beautiful, and their glory was shown throughout the garden. 

Suppose Mama's roses were left alone for a long period of time. Weeds would eventually grow in the garden and overtake the roses.  The roses' glory would disappear as weeds grew in numbers and invaded the roses.  Eventually, you wouldn't see roses, but a mass ugly clump of weeds in their place.

Pride is just like a clump of weeds.  You see, God uses the humble because He knows that the humble will ALWAYS give Him the glory. For those that don't know what glory means, it means fame.  The prideful have a different motivation: bringing themselves glory.  Just like the clump of weeds hide the glory and beauty of those beautiful roses, the prideful keep the beautiful things of God hidden from the world, and give themselves all the glory.  

Proverbs 3:34 says, 

He has no use for conceited people, but shows favor to those who are humble.

God has no use for those that are prideful because they are stuck on themselves and not on Him. In the end, they focus on glory for themselves, and we know that God does not want to share His glory.  In Isaiah 42:8, He makes that abundantly clear, I am the Lord, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another.

The Bible itself has shown God using humble people for His mighty plans. Moses, who was given the task of leading the Israelites from Egypt and introducing the Covenant between God and the Israelites, was considered the most humble man on the face of the earth during his time. Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth. (Numbers 12:3) He was used by God because he knew it was all about God, not about him. In his lifetime, God used him to turn a river into blood, to turn his staff into a snake, to divide the Red sea, and to make water run out of a rock. He could have used God's power displayed through him to bring himself glory, or even more than that! He could have made himself a god to be worshiped and adored, but instead, he used the gifts given to him to show the Israelites and the world the one and true God of the universe. 

When living life and making choices, do you make the choices for your own fame or for God's fame?  Whose glory do you seek  in your daily actions? Whose glory do you strive for when you do important tasks that turn people's eyes upon you? Do you point to your Creator? Examine your heart.

People with prideful hearts and humble hearts have completely different approaches to everyday decisions in life. A prideful person's focus is on what makes them look best.  A humble person's focus is on how to make God look best. For example, a prideful person might purposely slander a person's name to make themselves look good. However, if a person's heart is humble, they see things through God's eyes, and realize that putting a person down will only hurt that person's reputation.  It will not bring God glory, only pain to that person.  A prideful person sees the world through selfish eyes; a humble person sees the world through God's eyes.

Billy Graham is one of the most influential evangelist of our time.  More than 3.2 million people responded to his call to receive Christ as their Savior.  He once was asked what he would ask God when he went to heaven.  He said he would ask, "Why me?"  Why did he choose me for such a task? Such humbleness. He could have used his fame as an evangelist to bring himself glory, but instead he chose to point to the God of the universe in all He did.

For whom do you seek glory for?

Why does God allow bad things to happen?

Verse of the Week:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Why does God allow bad things to happen?

Why do bad things happen?  Living in this fallen world, it is so hard to see people go through pain and suffering.  Disease, death, famines, broken homes, broken relationships, accidents, deception, hate, rejection, shootings, and massacres seem to be evident everywhere. Why does a loving God allow this?  Because people do not understand God's reasons behind tragedies, they grow hateful and resentful towards our Creator thinking that He is not the loving God they think He is.  They want nothing to do with a God who allows bad things to happen.

God allows evil because since the beginning of time, through Adam and Eve, we chose a life of sin over God. When Eve decided to disobey God, sin came into the world. Where sin is present, a place will always be broken.  Therefore, God allows evil to endure in this world. However, people tend to think that He is the one that causes the evil, but we are the ones that brought evil upon ourselves.  In fact, God in his great love and mercy created a way to defeat sin: through his son, Jesus Christ.  Jesus bore our sins upon the cross so that we could be made new inside and receive healing for our broken messed up hearts.

It is human nature to want to be free.  We spend our lives pursuing freedom.  Wars have been fought for freedom.  I have never heard of a person saying that they want to be locked up in a cage for the rest of their lives.  A person rarely likes to be told what to do and then beaten into submission.  We cherish freedom.  Therefore, God gave us a free choice: to choose to follow Him, or choose to reject Him and live a life of sin.  He really is a loving God because he gives us the freedom to choose.  He doesn't beat us into submission.

Therefore evil dwells in the world because of our own choices.  However God still will use evil in this world for good because He is sovereign.

Growing up, I clung to Romans 8:28 during hard times: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."  I didn't understand why hard times came upon me, but I knew it was for my own good.  You see, we can't see the whole picture, but God can, and everything is going according to His plan, both good and bad.  Yes, God allows bad things to happen, but He has a reason behind everything, even if we cannot see it.

In the story, The Proposal,  I read about a man name Jennings who was struggling with why a God would allow bad things to happen.  His friend, Palmer, responded to his question by using Jennings' daughter, Penny, as an example: 

"Let me ask you something Jennings. If you were God, and you could see that Penny was walking along a path that would take her directly past a poisonous snake, might you put a hole in her path to stop her?"

"I might."

But then she might break her little ankle.  The snake would hear the commotion and slither away without Penny  ever knowing he was there, but you would have saved her from a  worse fate."

Jennings stared at Palmer.

"Would you want Penny angry with you forever over something you couldn't explain but you knew to be for her best?"

This is a very simple example, but it illustrates my point.  All things do work together for good, but it is hard to know that when we cannot see the whole picture.  God can. 

God uses troubles for many reasons: to mold and shape us, to protect us from something bigger, to make us depend on Him, to show us His grace and mercy, to bring about things for His glory, etc.  Oftentimes we may never know the reason, but there is one.  All we can do is trust in Him and know that it all works together for good for those who love Him.  

Instead of blaming God for your troubles, keep loving and trusting God during your troubles!  He is the best person to have by your side during the tough times AND.... He has your best interests in mind!

It is the small things in the world that keeps evil in check....

It is the small things in the world that keeps evil in check....

He was born in a manger.

He grew up as a carpenter's son.

He wasn't rich and powerful.

His followers were fishermen.

He ate with sinners and the worthless.

In the world's eyes, He seemed unimportant....insignificant...

Yet, He changed the course of the future forever,

He gave hope to the lost.

strength to the weak

rest to the weary

love to the sinners

and grace to the world

Evil was defeated, and His goodness will reign for all times.

God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are,  (1 Corinthians 1:28)

Who would have thought something so small and insignificant would become so big and significant!

Happy Birthday, Jesus! Your love is greater than any gift in this world.  I love you so, my beloved. To you be all the glory!

Merry Christmas! 

It Does Not Take a Church to Raise a Godly Child

Verse of the Week:

14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.  James 2:14-17

It Does Not Take a Church to Raise a Godly Child

I remember hearing someone say, "It takes a village to raise a child."  In other words, everyone in society contributes to the well being, care, and raising of a family's child.  Many families not only believe that it takes a village to raise a child, but that it also takes a Church to raise a godly child.

Many parents are dependent upon the church to teach their children about Christ.  Once a week for an hour, they bring their child to Sunday School to listen to their youth pastor talk to them about Jesus, and then spend another hour in the pew listening to their Pastor preach.  For many families, those two hours in church is all their children ever hear about the Lord.  Is going to church enough for our children?  I am not saying the church isn't without it benefits, but is the church the most effective way to show our children Christ's love?

Suppose I get a brand new sewing machine (boy do I love sewing!).  I am so excited about it, and can't wait to start doing all sorts of craft projects on it.  I open up the instruction manual to  figure out how to get it to work.  The manual shows me what each button is for, how to put the thread in, how to use the pedal, and many other things I need to know in how to operate a sewing machine.  But then something happens...  When I try to do what the manual says, it doesn't work on the sewing machine.  The thread won't  go through, the pedal is broken, and the buttons do not do what the manual says they will do.  I get frustrated, and end up taking the machine back to the store.  I abandon it. 

Just as I abandoned the sewing machine, because it doesn't do what the manual says it does, some children abandon their faith because what they hear in church is not shown in their home. They go to church and hear about Christ's love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness, but at home their parents show them the opposite.  They hear one thing for an a couple of hours a week, but have a hard time believing it, because it is not shown in their own homes.  So they abandon their faith believing it to not work.

The key to teaching our children about Jesus does not lie in church attendance, but in the parents.  According to a survey given to Protestant youth, the most influential person in a teenager's life is not their youth pastor, but their Mom.  Dad follows Mom in a close second.  Out of all the influences out there for teens such as friends, siblings, relatives, youth pastors, television, radio, celebrities, teacher, coaches, retreats, and even the Bible, the parents are at the top of the list. *

Some parents may talk the talk but not walk the walk.  James 2:14-17 says, 14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

To many teenagers, their parent's faith is dead.  Their parent's faith is not reflected in their actions. They say one thing but do the other.  Their life style does not reflect their love for God.

In Mark Holmen's book, Faith Begins at Home, he talks about a  man who asked a group of parents at a conference an important question:

 "How many of you wish your teenager had a stronger faith?" 

Every hand in the room went up. He then made a comment that I'll never forget.  He said, "While it's good that everyone desires that our teenagers have a stronger faith, the truth is that what we see in our teenagers' faith is a mirror image of our own faith.  So, the issue is not their faith, but your own faith." 

I can still remember seeing the reaction of my one year old between two scenarios between Brian and I.  In one scenario, Brian and I were both having a disagreement, and sadly enough my temper got the better of me, and I yelled.  When I looked over at Brayden, it broke my heart; he was looking at me with a quizzical brow. Why was mom acting this way?  In another scenario, Brian and I had been joking with each other and gave each other a hug and kiss. When I looked over at Brayden, he was beaming and smiling at us.  He liked what he saw.  Our one year old is way smarter than we realize, and in reflecting back to those scenarios, I realized which one I wanted to display to him on a daily basis, the scenario filled with love.  I want him to grow up in a home where we display Christ's love in our actions.

One time a friend and I were talking about our upbringing and parents. She brought up a good point, "Katrina, I never took my mom's advice seriously because she never took her own advice."  Why should kids love the Lord, if their own parents don't.  Parents need to fix their own hearts first before changing their child's heart.

When I say change our hearts, I do not mean start getting wrapped up in a bunch of do's and do not's and obey God because you have too. When we accept Christ into our lives, a heart changing experience take place inside of us.  No longer do we desire the things of the world, but the things of God. When we realize Christ's love for us, we can't help but love others.  We do the right thing, not because we are commanded to do it, but because we are willing to do it.  1 Peter 5:2 says, "Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers- NOT BECAUSE YOU MUST, but BECAUSE YOU ARE WILLING, as God wants you to be. (emphasis mine)

Christ's love is shown through people (1 John 4:12).  Parent's have the best chance to show Christ's love to their children. Church and no other outside influence can take their place. 

Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it. -Proverbs 22:6

It doesn't take a village to raise a child or a church to raise a godly child....it takes a parent.

*Information found in-Faith Begins at Home, by Mark Holeman