Christina Fox, Author at Women.pcacdm.org

Jesus Loves Me, This I Know

STEPHANIE HUBACH | CONTRIBUTOR Does the Guinness Book of World Records have a category for “longest period of time for keeping the same item magnetized to a refrigerator?” I sincerely doubt it. However, since the first all-steel home refrigerator was introduced by General Electric in 1929, that’s only a 95-year record to contend with. So, I’d say I’m doing pretty well. My magnetized item is actually a piece of newsprint (stuck in a magnetic frame), that says in large letters, “Jesus Loves Me, This I Know.” It’s been on my various refrigerators for 32 years. How do I know the exact amount of time? I know because my son Tim, who has Down syndrome, was born 32 years ago. 32 Years Ago—Jesus Loves Me, This I Know: My Sheer Act of Faith Five days after New Year’s Day of 1992, I gave birth to my second son. That evening, I heard the words that changed my family’s life forever. “We believe your son has a chromosomal abnormality.” As it turns out, a little piece of extra genetic material can influence a whole host of changes in a human body. Some of those changes create authentic challenges (to the point of being life-threatening, such as severe cardiac conditions). Some of those changes bring forth wonderful qualities in a “super-abundance” not as fully experienced by those of us with a typical collection of 46 chromosomes. In those early days, my heart was understandably caught up with the former: the weight of the authentic challenges and the practical nature of addressing those difficulties. By choice, we did not know in advance that Tim had Down syndrome. (That’s a conversation for another day.) Nor did we know that he would have a tumultuous ride of health issues in his first year, culminating in open heart surgery at seven months old. The tsunami of new responsibilities in terms of medical care and therapies, accompanied by grief at the loss of my expectations for what I thought Tim’s life (and ours) would look like, made our infant and toddler days with our oldest son, Freddy, feel other-worldly. Sometime, early in this journey, is when the newspaper clipping became attached to my refrigerator. “Jesus Loves Me, This I Know.” Christmas vacation occurred the weeks just prior to Tim’s birth. We were all home together, as my husband had time off from work. And I specifically remember intentionally enjoying that time with Freddy—knowing (but not how much) it would change soon, with the addition of a new baby. I also distinctly recall singing a particular song with him—one that I remember God bringing to mind (from my own childhood) during that time. It was this: There is a name I love to hear I love to sing its worth It sounds like music in my ear The sweetest name on earth O how I love Jesus O how I love Jesus O how I love Jesus Because he first loved me...

Jesus Loves Me, This I KnowChristina Fox2024-03-05T17:52:13+00:00

He Knows Our Every Trouble

CLAIRE STREBECK | GUEST Christ identifies with all our weaknesses. Christ understands our every sorrow. Do you weep? Do you mourn? If there were one characteristic that marked Jesus' earthly ministry, it would be compassion. Over and over, he was moved with deep pity for those weeping, especially those who were disadvantaged: the widow from Nain; Mary at the death of Lazarus; the sinner-woman who wailed as she washed Christ's feet with her expensive perfume and her tears. Yet, it was not only their circumstances that provoked Jesus' emotion. Certainly, any of their conditions could have been sufficient to prompt anyone to sympathy. Still, with Jesus, each emotional response included more than mere circumstantial pity. Every time Christ was moved in his emotions, it was in response to the battle he waged with death. Jesus’ Emotional Response to Our Fallen World When Christ saw Mary and the other Jews weeping over Lazarus' death, he felt more than sorrow. John 11:33 tells us that He was "deeply moved." I was surprised to discover that the text signifies more than Jesus' sadness and sympathy–John also communicates Jesus' rage. The original Greek word used is embrimaomai, which literally translates to "being very angry or moved with indignation." Was Christ angry at Mary or those with her? Was he angry over their grief? Absolutely not. In fact, we see that he was stirred in response to their mourning, with his own shedding of tears only two verses later. It was death itself that prompted our Lord to anger. ...

He Knows Our Every TroubleChristina Fox2024-03-05T18:10:48+00:00

Why Talk About Covenant Theology

SARAH IVILL | CONTRIBUTOR Our family attends Christ Covenant Church. The school that meets on our campus, and is a ministry of the church, is Covenant Day School. Our denomination’s college, as well as the seminary, is named Covenant. And the most recent women’s ministry leadership training conference was titled: A Covenantal Framework for Life & Ministry. Yet many of us do not understand the meaning of Covenant Theology, and therefore, do not understand why it is important to talk about it. So, I want to suggest five reasons why we should talk more about covenant theology. What Covenant Theology Reminds Us First, Covenant Theology reminds us of a perfect promise. There is no way that we could have reached out to have a relationship with the creator God. But amazingly, He has reached out to us by way of His covenant. He has promised, “I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people” (Lev. 26:12). Second, Covenant Theology reminds us that the Bible is better than any other book. It reveals the bigger picture of who God is and who we are. Through His Word, He reveals our need of salvation and of His perfect solution in the Savior. Third, Covenant Theology reminds us that Christ is the center of our story, as well as the bigger story of redemption. In fulfillment of the covenant of grace, which is founded upon the covenant of redemption, Christ accomplished the redemption that God the Father appointed, and the Holy Spirit applies (see John 17:1-26; Eph. 1:3-14; Heb. 13:20). Fourth, Covenant Theology reminds us of the implications of God’s free grace. Justification and adoption are acts of God’s free grace, and sanctification is the work of God’s free grace. Everyone deserves God’s wrath (Eph. 2:1-3). But God is “rich in mercy” and love and saves His people by grace (vv. 4-5). This salvation is not a possibility, but a certainty (vv. 6-7)...

Why Talk About Covenant TheologyChristina Fox2024-03-05T17:59:03+00:00

Welcome Younger Women into Your Life

CHRISTINE GORDON | CONTRIBUTOR The first time we met, she was hosting tea in two different rooms of her African home. Tea is a big deal in Malawi, along with the relationships and conversations that surround it. At that point she was probably in her 40s, had one grown son back in the States and a middle school-aged daughter with her while she and her husband served at the African Bible College (ABC) in Lilongwe. She had been a Christian most of her life, grew up in the rural Midwest, loved marriage and children and cooking. After her husband’s army career and her many years as a nurse, they answered a call to Sub-Saharan Africa. There I met them while on a mission trip with a local church during the summer after my senior year of college. I immediately put Barbara into a small box in my mind that included 1950s moms who baked and waited for their children to come home so they could pour them glasses of milk. Of course, there was nothing wrong with women like this, but I knew I didn’t want to be one. I wanted a career, was unsure of marriage, and had decided I didn’t want children. I had been a Christian just over two years when I walked into Barbara’s living room that summer. I never would have expected how our lives would intertwine, or how much I would want to be like her. While on the ABC campus those first two weeks, I watched Barbara serve meals, ask questions, and listen to our group of about 20 students. She smiled, laughed, and patiently explained life in Africa to us. She obviously loved and enjoyed Bruce, a large teddy bear of a man who taught classes at the school. I learned that she walked around the gym on campus every day for exercise and asked if I could join her. She graciously allowed me to come for the first of what would become many shared walks. Barbara was just beginning to become to me what felt like an anchor in the changing and sometimes confusing sea that was Africa. Meanwhile, our team from the US visited villages, shared the gospel, and spent time with students. As I saw more and more of the poverty around me, (Malawi was the 4th poorest country in the world at the time), I struggled. The questions I had in the back of my mind about a good God and pain in the world were suddenly front and center. Bruce and Barbara had a meeting in their house to discuss what we had seen and felt. She moved among us offering tea, a listening ear, and comfort...

Welcome Younger Women into Your LifeChristina Fox2024-02-17T18:12:21+00:00

Responding to Our Sin

JULIANNE ATKINSON |GUEST My favorite writer in the Bible is the Apostle Paul. If Paul was a murderer and God STILL used him on the scale he did, he can use me despite my sins and failures. If Paul wrestled deeply in sin struggles and God STILL loved him, he can love me too. And after all of that, if Paul can fervently love Jesus with his mind and heart, pointing to him in what he says and does, I want to do that too. We see Paul’s heart in the book of Romans. I find chapters 7 and 8 especially encouraging where Paul writes about struggling with his sin. He describes how he does what he doesn’t want to do and doesn’t do what he wants to do (Rom. 7:15-20). We tend to idealize biblical characters, but Paul opens up about the fact that he has to literally wage war with his own sin, citing covetousness as an example earlier in the chapter. Our sin can be intimidating when the scales fall off and we see the true depths of our depravity. We often respond in several different ways to the reality of our sin. The large-scale analogy that I like to think of to compare it to is what happened at Chernobyl. Before the current tragic war, I was blessed to go to Ukraine a couple of times and teach English. One year, many Ukrainians told me about the HBO series on Chernobyl and said they loved it so I decided to watch it for myself. They were right. It is fantastic and I recommend it. Using this analogy, I want to describe three ways we might respond to our sin. Enter into the Struggle If there’s one thing that characterizes this series, it’s being told the right thing to do, and choosing the wrong thing to do, over and over, to the devastation of many lives. Sin can be like a nuclear explosion. It’s ugly, messy, and it contaminates everything in its vicinity. At Chernobyl, the nuclear core mysteriously explodes, and we see people respond just the way we do when we see our sin. First, we have the nuclear physicists. They’re the heroes. They acknowledge the problem and enter into the struggle, just as Paul does with his sin in the book of Romans. They’re informed; they know something happened and that it was catastrophic. They know the right thing to do and that it’s embarrassing; it requires some serious sacrifice, lots of work, and if they don’t act immediately and engage with the issue it will get much, much worse. “For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Rom. 8:13). Cover it Up...

Responding to Our SinChristina Fox2024-02-17T18:05:04+00:00

Be Ready and Willing to Serve

JESSICA ROAN | GUEST It was more than just “one of those days.” It was more like “one of those months” or “one of those years”, a time unlike any I had ever experienced before. It was the fall of 2021, and while our school district was going back to school, it was unlike any other first week of school in my memory. It was the return to school after quarantines and fear and chaos of the pandemic. As teachers, we all began that week feeling uncertain and unsettled. On this busy day, I received an email. I recognized the name as soon as it came across my screen, but what the email contained caught me by surprise. This former student wanted me to read her admissions essay for a Christian college. I knew her and her family, so this request was fitting, but as I read her testimony about how God had transformed her life and family, my heart melted. I was in no mood for this unexpected task, but after a deep breath and prayer for a change of heart, this act of service reminded me to appreciate the blessings of life in Christ and the opportunities he puts before us whether we see them or not. It takes Time to Serve Those Around Us If you’re anything like me, I am driven by a schedule. From the time my alarm goes off at 5:20 AM until my head hits the pillow, I have an agenda. Chores to do, papers to grade, activities to cart my kids to, dinner to make. Amidst this seemingly endless list of “to dos” are numerous interactions with my family members, students, coworkers, friends, and more. Is hospitality on my mind, whether it be in the form of a kind word, a thoughtful question, or just lending a listening ear? Honestly, no. Most often, I am just hoping the day has no bumps so that I can get the most done in the least amount of time. Jesus, on the other hand, never failed to entertain minister to those the Father brought into his path. He had an agenda: the souls of men. No one he met with was in the way or an inconvenience. He healed the hearing of a deaf man in Mark 7, healed a withered hand on the Sabbath— contrary to the rules of the grumbling pharisees (Luke 6)— and bought bread for a large group of people who followed him (John 6). Even when the disciples tried to free him from dealing with a group of children, . . . “Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven’” (Mark 19:14)...

Be Ready and Willing to ServeChristina Fox2024-02-19T23:51:05+00:00

Identifying Gospel-Centered Resources

BETHANY BELUE | CONTRIBUTOR A few years ago, I read a Christian book I heard recommended over various platforms. A podcaster said she couldn’t put it down. A friend at church shared wisdom she gleaned from it. A book reviewer classified it as “a must read.” When I opened the pages for the first time, I was expectant and excited. What I didn't expect was to disagree with so much of it. The principles felt more as if they were from the author's experiences than the Word of God. The practical applications only gave false hope. There were chapters of the book that I did agree with and gained from, but I found that it was confusing to separate what was true from what wasn’t. As I reflected on this book, I began to think about why I chose to read it. I read it because I was influenced by the opinions of others and didn’t do my own research on the author or the content. There are many books and resources available to us in the Christian community. No matter the topic, there is a book or resource that will address it. While this can be a good thing, it is important that we be responsible to identify resources that are gospel-centered and in line with God’s Word. Since reading that book, the Lord has led me to be more thorough in examining what content I digest in my mind and heart, as well as what I recommend to others. There are five questions I have used to help guide me in choosing God-honoring books and resources. Five Questions to Ask About Resources Is it gospel-centered? The message of the gospel is central to God’s Word. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8-9). There are many books and resources that talk about God, but do they point us to the gospel? Do they communicate salvation by grace alone through faith alone? Many books point to all the things we need to and should be doing to grow as Christians. While that is often helpful, we want to ensure we are being pointed back to God’s grace. If it doesn’t, we are left thinking that it’s all up to us. Our hope should be that we walk away with our eyes focused more on Jesus and less on ourselves...

Identifying Gospel-Centered ResourcesChristina Fox2024-02-10T19:41:12+00:00

Gray Hair is a Crown of Glory

KIM BARNES | CONTRIBUTOR Recently, I got an email from a friend. She had heard through the grapevine that my husband had been briefly hospitalized. (He’s fine.) She wanted to let me know she was praying for us. I’ve known Doras for around 17 years and during those years, she has often sent emails letting me know that she’s praying for me, and I know that she reaches out to many this way. I don’t get to see Doras as often as I used to, but I did get to see her recently for a special occasion—her 100th birthday party! You read that correctly. I have a 100-year-old friend who prays for me and who communicates by email. I met Doras when my husband was called to be the pastor of her church. She was 83 years old and had been a widow for several years. Doras was quick to make sure she had my email address. I learned that while the church was without a pastor, 83-year-old Doras decided it would be a good idea to start an informal email newsletter to encourage the congregation and help everyone stay connected. On a regular basis, she would send emails that announced church events, shared prayer requests, and offered encouragement to gather for worship. She forwarded prayer letters sent out by our missionaries and if a member of our church wanted to get the word out about anything, they needed only to send an email to Doras. For the next twelve years, while my husband served as pastor of Doras’s church, I could count on regular emails that encouraged, informed, and blessed me...

Gray Hair is a Crown of GloryChristina Fox2024-02-10T19:34:15+00:00

Covenantal Promises for the Eternity of Our Children

BARBARANNE KELLY | CONTRIBUTOR It’s always an occasion of joy when on a Sunday morning one of the families in our church brings their child (or children) for baptism, or when children of the church are admitted to the Lord’s Table. Though these sacraments reflect the sacred rites of an ancient people, separated from us by millennia, language, and geographic location, they hold deep significance for our church communities and the people in our pews today. When a child is baptized or when we take the Lord’s Supper, these are more than mere rituals and sweet traditions. The meaning behind them and the covenant promises they hold are an opportunity for reflection and remembrance for me as an individual, and for our whole congregation. When God called Abraham into a covenant relationship with himself, he gave him the covenant sign of circumcision as a means of setting his family apart from the rest of the world and marking them as his own. The sign wasn’t a condition of belonging to the covenant people, but an indication that those so marked already belonged to the people of God. Over four hundred years later, God instituted the Passover through Moses. This too was a family-wide ceremony, a feast to remember the deliverance of the Lord. Those households sheltered under the blood of the lamb were “passed over” when the Lord visited his judgment of death upon the firstborn in Egypt. Circumcision and the Passover both required the shedding of blood, pointing forward to the blood of Christ shed upon the cross for the full and final cleansing and deliverance from sin and death for all those who belong to him by grace through faith. Both of these covenant ceremonies were to be kept “throughout the generations” of the people of God, “for an everlasting covenant” (Gen. 17:7; Ex. 12:17). Yet though the covenant remains, in the New Covenant era, since our Lord Jesus has fulfilled the Old Covenant, the signs have necessarily changed. Bloodshed is no longer required. Instead, circumcision has been replaced with water baptism[1] (Col. 2:11–12). And our Lord Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper of bread and wine—the cup of the new covenant in his blood, to be done in remembrance of him—to replace the killing of a lamb for the Passover ceremony (Luke 22:18–20)...

Covenantal Promises for the Eternity of Our ChildrenChristina Fox2024-02-10T19:29:33+00:00

Find Refuge in God

SHARON ROCKWELL | CONTRIBUTOR We were standing in a circle in the dark of night. In this heavily forested area, our group was being led by a well-known ornithologist who for over 50 years has been tracking owls locally, banding them and recording information to learn more about their habits. We patiently waited for the birds to be caught in mist nets. The nets did not hurt the birds. Those caught were examined, weighed, and banded. Sexing owls in the wild can be difficult, so the ornithologist positioned each owl feet up and blew gently against the lower feathers. In many cases, the feathers would give indication of being broken or damaged, and in a circular pattern, a sign that the female had been nesting. Baby owls had recently taken refuge under those feathers. God created mother owls to protect her “owlets” from nature’s harm and predators by hiding them close to her body, providing refuge and as well shielding them from any evil one who would deliberately lay a trap to snare them. What a picture of how God provides refuge for us! Psalm 91:1-6 comes to mind: He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday...

Find Refuge in GodChristina Fox2024-02-04T20:25:42+00:00

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