Lanny's Literations

January 19 – Day One – Jaffa

2012-01-14T09:42:00.000-06:00

After spending the night in the lovely Dan Panorama Hotel in Tel Aviv, we will begin our day in near-by Jaffa, the modern location of the ancient Biblical city of Joppa.

Key Biblical events:

1. The entry point for the Cedars of Lebanon that were floated down the Mediterranean for both the first and second Temple. 2 Chronicles 2:16 and Ezra 3:7

2. The place Jonah went to board a ship headed for Tarshish when God asked him to go in the opposite direction to Nineveh. Jonah 1:3

3. The home of a believing lady named Tabitha (Dorcas in Greek) who died and was raised to life by Peter. Acts 9:36

4. Peter remained in Joppa for some time after raising Dorcas and it was there, while staying with a leatherworker named Simon, that he had the vision of all manner of animals being let down in a sheet. Soon after the vision, he was summoned by men from Caesarea to go talk with a Roman officer named Cornelius. Acts 10

We did not go to Jaffa this year, but I expect one site will be the traditional home of Simon the Tanner.

Leaving Jaffa we will trace Peter’s steps as he headed to Caesarea Maritima.

January 19 - Day One Stop 2 - Caesarea Maritima (Caesarea by the Sea)

2012-01-14T09:41:00.000-06:00

Lanny’s Pictures

Herod the (not so) Great, a descendent of Esau, was appointed by the Roman Senate to be King of Judea. His number one job was to keep Caesar happy and to that end he built Caesarea Maritima, naming it in honor of his benefactor Augustus. He started building it about 22 BC and completed it around 9 BC.

The city was a center for Roman administration and offered Roman amenities such as a theatre, a sea wall, harbor, hippodrome, bath houses, a palace for Herod, and a governor’s palace. The city was built with underground sewer systems.

There was very little fresh water since there was little to no rainfall. Therefore, Herod erected a raised aqueduct (which we will see) that ran for 8 miles transporting fresh water from the natural springs on Mt. Carmel to the city.

Key Biblical events:

· Home of Pontius Pilate – only place where archeologists have found his name

· Philip the Evangelist (one of the 7) lived and preached here – Acts 8:40; Acts 21:8

· Paul was here at least three times:

o Soon after his conversion - Acts 9:23-31

o His encounter with the prophet Agabus in the home of Philip - Acts 21:8-16

o Where he stood trial before Felix, Festus, and Herod Agrippa after having declared his Roman citizenship in Jerusalem; And from here he was subsequently sent to Rome. Acts 23 - 25

· This is the city where Peter met with Cornelius and his household, Acts 10 -11.

· It’s where Herod Agrippa, grandson of Herod the Great, was afflicted with worms and died – Acts 12

Later events:

· Some of the riots that led to the Roman destruction of Israel began in Caesarea in 66 AD.

· After Jerusalem fell in 70 AD, Titus brought many captives to Caesarea and 2,500 Jews were slaughtered in gladiatorial games as part his celebration of his brother, Domitian’s birthday.

· According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, in 484 and 548 AD the Samaritans instigated bitter riots here against the Christians. This resource also states that Jesus visited Caesarea but it is not recorded in the Bible if He did.

· The Crusaders took the city in 1101 AD, lost it to Muslims, retook it, and lost it again in 1265.

Next we head north to the mountain range named Carmel. Note the “el” in the word Carmel.

January 19 - Day One Stop 3 – Carmel el-Machraqah

2012-01-14T09:40:00.000-06:00

Before leaving Caesarea, here is an interesting video of a reconstruction of what the city looked like when Herod completed building it.

And now we are off to Carmel to confront the false prophets of Baal.

Lanny’s Pictures of Carmel

Carmel is a mountain range. The name is from two Hebrew words: El for God and karm for vineyard, thus “God’s Vineyard.”

I Samuel 15:12 – Samuel went to find Saul and was told that he had gone to Carmel to set up a monument to himself.

I Samuel 25:40 – Abigail, who talked David out of killing her ill-tempered husband after Nabal insulted David, and later became David’s wife after Nabal died, lived at Carmel.

I Kings 18 – Elijah (El Yahu = Yahweh is my God) triumphs over Ahab, Jezebel, Baal, and the prophets of Baal by calling down fire from heaven to consume his sacrifice.

Baal, the bull, was god of storms, thunder, and lightening. He could not break the three year drought that Elijah had imposed nor could he bring down fire to ignite the sacrifice to his prophets. Elijah did both. In so doing, Elijah demonstrated that Jehovah was the true God and that Baal was nothing more than an idol.

Perhaps Jayson will want to pause here for us to sing “These are the days of Elijah” as we reflect on the awesome power of our God.

Leaving here we will make our way to the Kibbutz Maagan Hotel on the shore of the Sea of Galilee in the area of Tiberius. This will be our home for the next four nights.

We are thinking that we will try to find a location in the hotel where all who would like to can gather after the evening meal to share thoughts and impressions from the day and debrief in general. We will close with a prayer of gratitude for the day and ask God’s blessing for a restful night.

January 20 – Day 2 - stop 1 - Bet She’an (Greek name = Scythopolis)

2012-01-14T09:37:00.003-06:00

Lanny’s Pictures

Scythopolis (Bet She’an) was one of the 10 cities that formed the Greek Decapolis. They were grouped together because of their language, culture, location, and political status. The Decapolis cities in Jesus’ time were centers of Greek and Roman culture in a region that was otherwise Semitic. The original city may be as much as 7,000 years old. It has been conquered and re-conquered many times.

Matthew 4:25, Mark 5:20, and Mark 7:31 make reference to the Decapolis region in relation to Jesus’ ministry. Jesus probably had more contact with Gentiles in these areas than anywhere He went. This would account for the herd of pigs being present that Jesus sent the evil spirit Legion into (Mark 5) since Jews would not have been raising them.

Joshua 17:26 Bet She’an was inhabited by the Canaanites that Manasseh failed to drive out.

I Samuel 31:10 The Philistines fastened Saul’s dead body to the wall of Bet She’an. Men from Jabesh went and retrieved the body and carried it to their home in Jabesh where David finally claimed the bones.

I can well imagine that people hearing the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15) would immediately imagine Bet She’an or one of the Decapolis cities as they listened.

Bet She’an was one of the sites for the filming of the 1973 movie “Jesus Christ Superstar”.

This is one of the better preserved/restored sites that we will visit.

January 20 – Day 2 - stop 2 – Megiddo

2012-01-14T09:37:00.001-06:00

Lanny’s pictures

Tour Guide describing a scale model of Megiddo

Wikipedia article on Megiddo

We gather now on a hill (“har”) named Migiddo (Har-Magedon; Armageddon) that seems to be the place John envisioned in Revelation 16:12-16 as the site of the final conflict. It is certainly a fitting symbol of such an event since it is the scene of over 100 significant battles.

Originally occupied by the Canaanites 5,000 years ago, it has been the battle ground of Pharaoh Thutmose III of Egypt, Joshua, Jehu, Deborah, Solomon, Shishak of Egypt, Pharaoh Neco, Christian Crusaders, Napoleon Bonaparte, and, in this century, General Allenby as he drove out the Turks, to name a few.

Twenty six civilizations have been uncovered on this historic tel.

One of the most significant archaeological finds here at Megiddo is the city's water system. It consists of a vertical shaft 120 feet deep connected by a tunnel 215 feet long going to a spring located outside the city walls. The more adventuresome among us will want to climb the steps through this tunnel and shaft to the top of the hill. I have forgotten how many steps there are but I think the mathematical term is “a bunch”.

Standing on top of Megiddo, we will gaze across the Jezreel Valley and get our first glimpse of Nazareth on the side of another hill across the valley.

Some Bible references:

Joshua 12:21 – Joshua killed the Canaanite king during the conquest of the land
Judges 1:27 – Manasseh failed to drive the Canaanites out of the land
Judges 4:13-15 – Deborah and Israel’s commander, Barak, overcame the Canaanites
II Kings 9:27 – Jehu killed King Ahaziah here
II Kings 23:29 – Pharaoh Necho struck a fatal blow against King Josiah here

This may be a good place to pause and sing “The Battle Belongs to the Lord”.

January 20 – Day 2 - Stop 3 – Nazareth Village

2012-01-14T09:36:00.001-06:00

Lanny’s pictures

Bible Atlas Map

John 1:46 - “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?”

Today there are about 70 or 80 thousand people, all of them Arabian, living in Nazareth. When Jesus lived there you would have had to look hard to find 1,000.

Nazareth Village is a small area owned by a YMCA upon which has been constructed a re-creation of the community as it may have looked during Jesus’ time there. You will even have an opportunity to “pass through the eye of a needle.”

· Joseph, Mary, and Jesus moved to Nazareth, their home town, after returning from Egypt, Luke 2:39, Matthew 2:21-23.

· It was a simple village with fishing, vineyards, and olive groves.

· An interesting thought is that the word carpenter is an English translation for the Greek word tekton meaning an artificer, a fashioner, or builder; it means to fabricate something. Used in scripture of wood, brass, iron, and stone.

· Many of Jesus’s teaching used stone or rock. Rarely, if ever, did he refer to wood or metal. Example: the wise man built his house upon the rock; upon this rock I will build my church; raise up stones to become children of Abraham; stones to become bread; the stones will cry out; father will not give his son a stone for food; the stone the builders rejected. At the very least it needs to be understood that the Greek word tekton doesn’t automatically mean carpenter.

· Grapes were crushed bare foot so as not to crush the seeds which would have made the wine bitter.

· Olive’s seeds or pits were crushed intentionally because the seeds contained up to 30% oil. The oil is what they were harvesting.

· Three pressings of the olives:

(1) First pressing was dedicated to the Temple, was taken to Jerusalem

(2) Second pressing for consumption, cooking, food, and medicines

(3) Third pressing, the weakest oil, was used in lamps, illumination

· Nazareth today is home to a small Church of Christ congregation made up of Arabian Christians.

January 20 – Day 3 – Stop 1 Capernaum

2012-01-14T09:34:00.002-06:00

Lanny’s Pictures

Map

Capernaum is one of my favorite stops. It is a beautiful place on the north side of the Sea of Galilee where Peter and John and perhaps as many as 7 of the apostles lived at one time or the other.

Most fascinating is the excavated synagogue, or actually two synagogues, one on top of the other. Still visible is the foundation of the synagogue upon which Jesus stood to teach. Many places we visit “remember” events from Jesus’ day. This synagogue is the actual spot where Jesus stood.

· Matthew 4:13 Leaving Nazareth, he came and lived in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,

· Matthew 11:23 You, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, you will go down to Hades. For if the mighty works had been done in Sodom which were done in you, it would have remained until this day.

· Matthew 8:5 When he came into Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking him, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented." Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him." But the centurion said, "Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed.

· Matthew 8:14 Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law

· Matthew 9:20 Jesus heals the woman with an issue of blood

· Matthew 9:25 Jesus raises the dead daughter of the ruler of the synagogue

· Matthew 9:27 Jesus heals the blind and the mute

· Matthew 17:24 When they had come to Capernaum, those who collected the drachma coins came to Peter, and said, "Doesn't your teacher pay the drachma?"

· Mark 1:21 They went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath day he entered into the synagogue and taught.

· Mark 2:1 A paralyzed man was lowered through the roof to get to Jesus for healing

The traditional site of Peter’s home has been traced back to the 1^st century. An octagonal church was erected in the 5^th century on top of the spot to preserve its location.

January 20 – Day 3 – Stop 2 Chorazin

2012-01-14T09:34:00.001-06:00

Map

From Capernaum we will go a short distance (about two and a half miles) up to Chorazin.

Matthew and Luke name Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum as cities in which Jesus performed "mighty works". However, because these towns rejected his work, they were subsequently cursed (Matthew 11:20-24; Luke 10:13-15).

Chorazin is thought to be the same place as Korazim which is now the site of a National Archaeological Park. Extensive excavations and a survey were carried out in 1962-1964. Excavations at the site were resumed in 1980-1987. It is associated with modern day Kerazeh.

Chorazin was not included in our tour last January so this will be new territory for all of us.

Pictures of the excavations appear to be very interesting.

Here is a short YouTube presentation from Chorazin

Bible Walks pictures and comments on Chorazin

January 20 – Day 3 – Stop 3 Bethsaida (House of Fishing)

2012-01-14T09:33:00.001-06:00

Map

Lanny’s Pictures

Matthew 11:21 Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

There is confusion on exactly where the Bethsaida of Jesus’ ministry was and there is even a compromise suggesting that there were two villages of that name in close proximity to Capernaum. Part of the confusion has to do with Bethsaida needing to be on or near the shore of the Sea of Galilee while the traditional site (et-tell) that we will visit is some distance from the Sea. However, realizing that the Jordan River was 10 times as large as it is today, it is reasonable that the Sea of Galilee extended much further up the Jordan than it now does, putting it much closer to Bethsaida.

Key events:

· Feeding of the 5,000 – Mark 6:32

· Blind man healed – Mark 8:22

· Home of Philip, Andrew, and Peter John 1:44 (Peter’s mother-in-law lived in Capernaum and he, along with several Apostles, lived there for some period of time.)

· Jesus took the Apostles here after their limited commission Luke 9:10

Bible Walk pictures and discussion of Bethsaida

January 20 – Day 3 – Stop 4 Ancient Boat

2012-01-14T09:32:00.001-06:00

Lanny’s Pictures

This boat, discovered in 1986, and carbon dated to the time of Christ, is no doubt similar to the ones used by the fishermen Apostles and Jesus.

January 20 – Day 3 – Stop 5 The Sea of Galilee (Lake of Gennesaret, Lake Tiberias, Kinneret)

Lanny’s Pictures

Map

At its longest point it is 13 miles long. At its widest point it is 7 miles wide. It averages about 145 feet deep. It is hardly what you would call a “sea”. Yet it plays a very prominent role in the life of Jesus and His disciples.

It provided a livelihood for Peter, Andrew, James, and John. Jesus walked on it and around it and calmed the storm from the boat he was in. Peter walked on it (for a little while). If you want to try your hand at walking on the water where Jesus did, here is your chance, but you might want to bring a dry change of clothes.

Here Jesus multiplied the catch of fish and here He prepared a fish supper for his disciples after His resurrection.

The Sea of Galilee served as a back-drop for Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and for His miraculous feeding of the 5,000.

Our tour should get us to the dock for a ride on the Sea at a time when we can enjoy the sun setting on the Western edge. Hopefully we will have a clear day with calm winds. Even now the Sea can become too rough for the size boat we will be using.

This was a favorite part of our last tour and I am praying that we will be able to have an equally inspiring boat ride this time.

January 22 – Day 4 – Stop 1 - 2 Mount of Beatitudes Tel Dan

2012-01-14T09:28:00.000-06:00

Lanny’s Pictures

It is Sunday morning in Israel and this is our first stop. I am looking forward to this because it is our plan to worship and commune on this Lord’s Day on the hillside where it is believed Jesus gave His Sermon on the Mount. (If it wasn’t the exact site, it was near-by and similar.)

Hopefully it will be a sunlit day and we will be able to look across the Sea of Galilee as we hear anew the words of the beatitudes.

January 22 – Day 4 – Stop 2 Tel Dan

Map

Lanny’s Pictures

Located on the Syrian border in Northern Israel, it is often used in conjunction with Beersheba to define the length of Israel (from Dan to Beersheba).

Dan is rich in Biblical history. Here we will see and walk beside the headwaters of the Jordan (Jor-Dan) River.

Archeologists have uncovered a gate that dates back to around 1750 B.C. It is now referred to as Abraham’s Gate. It may be that Abraham visited this village in search of his nephew Lot. Genesis 14

This is where Jeroboam I set up one of the two golden calves (the other was in Bethel) so the Northern tribes would not try to go to Jerusalem to sacrifice when the kingdom divided. We will visit the visible site of this alter.

The city was destroyed by the Assyrian, Tiglath-pileser III in 733 BC.

Additional information

January 22 – Day 4 – Stop 3 Caesarea Philippi

2012-01-14T09:27:00.000-06:00

Map

Lanny’s Pictures

Brief YouTube presentation

The Gates of Hell – Andy Cook

In 2 B.C. Herod the Great’s son Philip named the city Caesarea in honor of Augustus and to differentiate from the Caesarea Maritima. It is situated some 25 plus miles north of the Sea of Galilee at the base of Mt. Hermon.

It is one of the largest springs feeding the Jordan River. Abundant water made the area fertile and attractive for building. Numerous temples were built at this city in both the Hellenistic and Roman periods.

The Greek god Pan, half man and half goat, was worshiped here, a cave, believed by them to be a gate into the hadean world, was considered to be his birthplace. He is often depicted playing the pan flute. He was the god of nature, fields, forests, mountains, and flocks.

The walls had many niches carved into them to hold statues of their deities.

As Rick shared with us in one of his sermons this year, Rabbi Jesus felt it important enough to lead His Apostles all the way from the Sea of Galilee up to this center of evil where parents sacrificed their children to Pan and worshipped Baal and Asherah with every perversion known to pagans to ask them one question.

“Jesus was standing on a road in an area littered with the temples of the Syrian gods, a place where the Greek gods looked down, a place where the most important river in Judaism sprang to life, a place where the white marble splendor of the home of Caesar-worship dominated the landscape. And here, of all places, He stands and asks men who they believe Him to be. Peter boldly answers that He is "the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16:16

It was here, on this rock of infamy, in this epitome of evil, that Jesus declared that He would establish His Sacred Community and that these Gates of Hell would not be able to prevail against it.

January 23 – Day 5 – Stop 1 Jericho

2012-01-14T09:26:00.000-06:00

Wikipedia - Jericho

Map

Jericho was not on our tour last year so we will all be first-timers here.

This area is rich in Bible history, being the first city conquered by Joshua as the Israelites began their conquest of the Promised Land.

Here, Rahab and her family were spared and she became part of the linage of Messiah.

It is also the place where Jesus met blind Bartimaeus.

It is perhaps one of the oldest continually inhabited places on earth. When the walls fell, Joshua prophesied that if anyone rebuilt it he would do so with the loss of life. 1 Kings 16:34 In his days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho: he laid its foundation with the loss of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates with the loss of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of Yahweh, which he spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.

This is the home of the tax collector, Zacchaeus who used a sycamore tree to see Jesus and then became his host.

January 23 – Day 5 - Stop 2 Qumran Qumran Caves

Wikipedia - Qumran

Last year we got to Qumran just after they had closed the park for the day so we didn’t get to see much. This will essentially be a first time for all of us.

Even though Qumran isn’t mentioned in the Bible that I am aware of, the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, beginning in 1947, and the believed Essene connection make this an important site.

January 23 – Day 5 – Stop 3 Genesis Land and lunch with Abraham

2012-01-14T09:25:00.002-06:00

Ok cowboys and cowgirls, time to put on your spurs and mount your camel. Your camel will considerately get down on his knees for you to get on but, unfortunately, that means he has to stand up with you perched precariously on his back. The trick is to know which way to lean and to not panic. But don’t worry about it, just remember to not panic. Oh, did I mention, it is better if you don’t panic.

After a short but bumpy camel ride, we will arrive at the tent of Abraham and Sarah where we will be treated to a sumptuous and graciously hosted meal served, as you would expect, on the ground.

If you want to defer your camel ride to the return trip, you might want to talk to Rick. I understand it is considerably more perilous, but only if you have concerns about narrow paths, steep cliffs, and loose rocks; more reason to not panic.

January 23 – Day 5 – Stop 4 Jerusalem

Lanny’s pictures from Mt of Olives

Lanny’s pictures in Garden of Gethsemane

Mt of Olives

Wikipedia – Mt of Olives

Leaving the Genesis Land, we make our way toward the Holy City, the most sacred, contested, contentious, and fought-over piece of real estate on earth.

Our first view of Jerusalem will be from the Mount of Olives looking across the Kidron Valley at the Eastern Wall of the Old City.

From here we will take the Palm Sunday walk and end the day in the Garden of Gethsemane.

· II Samuel 15 - David fled to the Mt of Olives to escape from Absalom

· Zechariah 14 – On the Day of the Lord, the Lord will stand on the Mt of Olives.

· Matthew 26 – In Gethsemane Jesus prayed three times that the Cup of Suffering be removed

We are truly walking on Holy Ground. Don’t rush. Calm your mind and let the full weight of this sacred place wash over you. Take time to talk to God. Recommit with “not my will but Thine be done.”

January 24 – Day 6 – Stop 1 Masada

2012-01-14T09:25:00.001-06:00

Wikipedia - Masada

Lanny’s Pictures

According to Josephus, Herod the (not so) Great fortified Masada between 37 and 31 BC as a refuge for himself in the event of a revolt. In 66 AD, a group of Jewish extremists, called the Sicarrii (part of the Zealot group), overcame the Roman garrison of Masada.

After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, the Romans laid siege to the refuge and built an enormous siege embankment that allowed them to breach the top.

According to Josephus, when Roman troops entered the fortress, they discovered that its 960 inhabitants had set all the buildings but the food storerooms ablaze and committed a mass suicide.

Masada is an exciting and interesting stop for us. There is a cable-car ride to the top unless you insist on climbing it on foot and you should be prepared for windy conditions while up there. A wind breaker will feel good.

We will have a wide panoramic view of the Dead Sea and the mountainous wilderness region while there.

January 24 – Day 6 – Stop 2 Arad

Map

Wikipedia - Arad

We will travel down the length of the Dead Sea and turn west for about 15 miles to get to the dry dessert village of Arad. People with asthma love to come here for the humidity.

Arad is mentioned 4 times in the Old Testament but only to identify the southern region of Judea.

We did not go here last year so this will be new for all of us.

January 24 – Day 6 – Stop 3 Beer Sheva

Wikipedia – Tel Be’er Sheva

Map

This is another place we did not go last year. In addition to defining the southernmost limit of the Land of Israel, it is rich in Old Testament history.

· Abraham sent Hagar out into this wilderness.

· In this Philistine land, Abraham made a treaty with Abimelech concerning a water well and here he planted a Tamarisk tree and called upon the Name of the Lord

· God appeared to Jacob in a vision at Beersheba.

· Elijah left his servant in Beersheba and went a day’s journey further to sit under a broom tree and have an encounter with an angel.

· Samuel’s two unworthy sons were judges in Beersheba.

January 24 – Day 6 – Stop 2 Ein Gedi

2012-01-14T09:24:00.001-06:00

Wikipedia – Ein Gedi

Lanny’s Pictures

Map

This stop is not on our original itinerary and we really appreciate Mickey (our guide) graciously adding it in for us. We really enjoyed this place last year and wanted all of you to get to see it also.

This is where David ran to escape King Saul and took refuge in its caves.

Located about mid-point on the western shore of the Dead Sea, it is a beautiful oasis in the wilderness. There is a lovely waterfall and an abundance of wild life. The cony, spoken of in Proverbs, lives here, as does the not-so-wild goat.

The stop involves a bit of a stroll but it is well worth the time and effort.

January 25 – Day 7 – Stop 1 Jerusalem

2012-01-14T09:23:00.000-06:00

Today is a very special day. We spend the entire day in the Holy City. I don’t know how Mickey will organize our time but places we expect to visit include:

· The Western Wall – the most sacred place now available to the Jewish people There is a separate section for men and women and all must have a covering for their head.

Lanny’s Pictures

· The Temple Mount – home of the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque; located on Mt. Moriah where Abraham prepared to offer Isaac; home of all three Temples (Solomon’s, Ezra’s, and Herod’s); now controlled by Muslims; no Bibles allowed
Lanny’s Pictures

· The Pool of Bethesda – where Jesus healed the lame man (location of St Anne’s Church) We will pause to worship in this acoustical marvel built by the Crusaders over the traditional birthplace of Anne (Hanna) mother of Mary.
Lanny’s Pictures

· The tunnels under the Western Wall – ancient aquifers and passages We expect to have an opportunity to lift our voices in praise of our Awesome God in one of the caverns.
Lanny’s Pictures

· The Via Delarosa – path thought to be taken by Christ on the way to the cross
Lanny’s Pictures

· The Church of the Holy Sepulcher – one of two traditional sites of Jesus’ burial
Lanny’s Pictures

· The Southern Steps – where we will take a group picture

· The House of Caiaphas – where Jesus was taken for trial
Lanny’s Pictures

We will have lunch and shopping time in Old Jerusalem.

January 26 – Day 8 – Stop 1 Israel Museum

2012-01-14T09:21:00.000-06:00

Lanny’s Pictures

We have come to the last full day in Israel.

Our time at the Israel Museum will likely be limited to visiting the model of Jerusalem as it was during the time of Christ. It is a large outdoor model that allows you to put all of the places you have visited into their proper geographic perspective.

January 26 – Day 8 – Stop 2 Yad Vashem – The Holocaust Memorial

Lanny’s Pictures

There will not be enough time to see all of this but there will be enough time to see more than you want to see. It is a somber reminder of unimaginable evil. Along with the museum there is a special tribute to the children who died and on the grounds you can walk among the trees planted in honor of the “Righteous Among the Nations” including such names as Corrie Ten Boom.

January 26 – Day 8 – Stop 3 Herodiom

Bible Walks Blog

Wikipedia says “Herodiom is a volcano-like hill with a truncated cone located seven miles south of Jerusalem, near the city of Bethlehem in the West Bank. Herod the Great built a fortress and palace on the top of Herodium, and may have been buried there.”

It is also home to one of the oldest synagogues in Israel.

We didn’t go here last year so this will be a first visit for all of us.

January 26 – Day 8 – Stop 4 The Garden Tomb

2012-01-14T09:18:00.001-06:00

The Garden Tomb web site

Lanny’s Pictures

This is our last scheduled stop on our tour and it is a wonderful way to conclude our examination of the Holy Land.

The Catholic Church rejects this site as a possible location for the burial and resurrection of Christ, preferring the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. It may be that neither place is the right one and it is likely that there is more evidence for the Catholic position than for the Garden Tomb which is favored by some Christians. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter since it is not the site, but the event that makes all the difference.

For me, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is garish, over stated, overcrowded, and much too secular. The Garden Tomb, on the other hand, is simple, natural, calm, and pulls one into a reflective state.

While we are here, we will have the opportunity to gather together in a somewhat separate place and linger over a sharing of the Lord’s Supper. We have suggested to our guide, Mickey, who is a Messianic Jew, that he lead us in this communion service. Regardless of how it is done, I anticipate that this will be a life-long memory for you and, quite possibly, one of the highlights of the trip.

Concluding thoughts

By this time, we will have travelled in the Bible world from the time of Abraham 4,000 years ago to the fall of the last resistance following the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Additionally we will have re-visited historic locations remembering key events in the history of the Jews up to the present day. You will have a new understand of the role of the ancient enemies of the Jews as well as the role played by the various caliphates, crusaders, and political powers of more modern times.

By this time, we will have traveled in the Bible land from the north (Dan) to the south (Beer Sheva) and from the west (Caesarea by the Sea) to the east (Jordan River). We will have tasted the land of honey and the land of milk. We will have walked along the shore of the Mediterranean, explored the head-waters of the Jordan River, sailed on the Sea of Galilee with its abundance of life, and sampled the Dead Sea where nothing lives.

And it all comes down to the Garden Tomb, which is the only reason we even care.

I pray that the trip will exceed your hopes and expectations. I pray that the Rabbi of Galilee will become more and more the living Messiah, filling you more completely than ever before.

Cambodia Day 19

2008-09-04T18:24:00.001-05:00

According to the CIA World Fact Book, Cambodia is 95% Buddhist; but they are not. If you ask 95% of the Cambodians what religion they are they would say Buddhist; but they are not.

Even though there are wats (pagodas) everywhere you look throughout the country, and even though these wats are home to Buddhist monks and their female counterparts, and although any Cambodian can be a monk if he chooses, the people at large know almost nothing about Buddhism nor do they care to know.

The religion I hear described by my students, my translator, and my host is a very individualized mixture of Buddhism, Hinduism, Ancestry worship, and uncategorized superstition.

Perhaps this accounts for the almost universal involvement with Spirit House worship. The only constant is that the Spirit House houses spirits. Who or what they are is very much up to each individual. The spirits may be ancestors who have not yet reincarnated or they may be good spirits that protect and bless a house or a business. The Spirit House may be home for a spirit that inhabited a grand tree that needed to be cut down to make room for a rice field. And, of course, there are the evil spirits, but we would rather not talk about them.

The mother of one of my students bought a new Spirit House last week for $50 US. He reasoned with her that she really needed to spend the money for rice but she believes it is money well spent. Some people pay as much as $3,000 for their Spirit Houses.

The landlord of the house I am staying in has a nice Spirit House in our front yard. Unfortunately his spirit has done a sorry job of protecting the house from thieves.

For the devout, the most common worship carried out with the Spirit House is to bring an offering of food every 8 days and to burn an incense stick daily. For the less devout, they make up their own schedule or let the spirit fend for itself.

Cambodia Day 16

2008-09-02T08:55:00.003-05:00

Saturday I was a tourist. When you are a tourist there are two places in Phnom Penh that you must see; not because you want to see them but because you must; because that is what tourists do.

The first place is a school turned prison turned torture chamber. It is called S-21. It’s Khmer name is Tuol Sleng Tuol simply means the highest point around. Sleng, when used as an adjective means “supplying guilt”. As a noun it refers to two different Cambodian trees, both of which are poisonous.

In 1975, under the infamous reign of Pol Pot, the school was converted into the prison that now stands as the genocide museum; home to unspeakable torture and death for huge numbers of political enemies, professionals, academicians, and not a few foreigners. Age and gender were no deterrents to the Khmer Rouge as they attempted to force a new society where all men are equal and some are more equal than others.

In a country the size of Oklahoma that has less than 14 million people today, 2 million men, women, and children were killed in a period of 4 years before the blood letting came to an end.

Many of the dead were buried in mass graves on the south edge of Phnom Penh in a place simply called “the killing fields.” Thousands of the skulls from bodies that were buried there are now on display in a solemn memorial structure with the hope that it will serve as a warning against such a thing ever happening again.

My interpreter, Tawn, was born in the middle of that atrocity. He survived because of relatives who were able to keep him in a hospital where there was still food and because he was “a cute baby.” He says that neither in jest nor as a matter of pride, but just as a matter of fact. Many of his relatives did not survive.

There are 13 students in class now. I asked how many had close relatives killed by the Khmer Rouge. All but two raised their hands. Their parents and grandparents have told them stories that are too sad to even think about.

How awesome it is that as Christians our Kingdom is not of this world.

Cambodia Day 13

2008-08-29T18:25:00.002-05:00

I suppose it had to happen; I have lost my solo-guest status. Dennis and Sharon Welch arrived from the States and are staying with us at the Dolan’s house while they find a place to rent. Dennis has just graduated from Sunset International and he and his wife have moved to Cambodia to assist Rich and Rhonda with the school.

They are committed to becoming fluent in the Khmer language in the shortest time possible. I admire them, but I don’t envy them. It is a most difficult language for us Westerners to learn. It has way too many consonants and way too many vowel combinations, and way too much variation in syntax, and none of the letters or numbers look anything like I ever saw.

I own a 1989 Toyota Camry that I bought new. Donna and I still use it as a second car. For several years after it came out it remained number one on the “most stolen car” list in the USA. Even today it is in the top ten. I never could understand why it had that distinction until now. Driving around Phnom Penh recently I saw a maroon 1989 Camry just like mine. I started noticing and I counted 8 maroon ones and I don’t know how many of different colors. Even our landlord has a 1989 Camry that has been converted to run on natural gas. Mystery solved.

I have just crossed the half way mark in my teaching here. The students took their final in Sacrificial Systems today. Fifteen hours is about all I can stand of that subject and probably more than the students wanted. But they stayed faithfully engaged and clearly saw the types of Christ that are so abundantly represented there. The morning class in Romans will continue another two weeks and the afternoon class will be devoted to looking at “Seven Habits of Highly Effective Christians” adapted from Dr. Steven Covey’s famous book.

I could easily be a weather forecaster here. The forecast is always the same: “hot with a chance of rain.” How easy is that?

Cambodia Day 9

2008-08-24T00:41:00.001-05:00

OK, so you don’t like to pay $3.50 for a gallon of milk. Here in Phnom Penh (pronounced Pnom Pen) that gallon of milk will set you back about $8.50. If it is any consolation, the milk we got today has an expiration date of February 2009.

The official currency here is the Riel. It has an exchange rate of about 4,000 Riel to $1 US dollar. There are no coins, but every place accepts US dollars and change is made with the local Riel. (1,000 Real is equivalent to a quarter.) A haircut is 3,000 Riel or six bits if you are an Okie.

We drove around Phnom Penh Saturday and visited the Wat Phnom. A wat is a place for the monks to live and for the people to bring their food offerings. They burn a candle while they offer the food and when the candle goes out that means the gods/spirits/whatever are finished eating so they then take the food back and eat it themselves.

Legend has it that in 1372 Lady Penh fished a floating Koki tree out of the river and found four Buddha statues in the log. She built a hill (Phnom means hill) and a small temple (wat) on the sight; thus the name of the city, Phnom Penh.

We crossed back and forth over the Mekong River a couple of times. I’ll have some interesting pictures to post when I get back home. We also visited the Central Market which is not to be confused with the Central Market operated by HEB in Houston.

This morning in church we had a visitor from Bangladesh. We sang “The Old Rugged Cross.” The Khmer sang in Khmer; the Americans sang in English; Jonathan sang in Bengali; and our awesome God understood them all. Jonathan is in Cambodia for a regional meeting of World Vision.

Cambodia Day 7

2008-08-22T04:52:00.000-05:00

One week of school is now finished; there are three weeks to go. I am well pleased with the participation and enthusiasm of the students. Some have had an amazing amount of training in the short time they have been Christians and a few of them are just starting out in their Bible study. It is nice to see the students who have been in the school a year or so go out of their way to help the new students get started.

Those of you who are Church of Christers will be thrilled to know that the church in Phnom Penh is now officially a sanctioned Church of Christ and on a straight path to heaven by virtue of the fact that I have taught them to sing 728b. True, it has been translated into Khmer (pronounced Ku ‘my) and it is not in any bound book, but it is 728b non-the-less. For those of you who don’t know what 728b is, just ignore this paragraph.

Since Cambodia is 95% Buddhist, I spent quite a bit of time studying Buddha and Buddhism before coming over here. Today I opened some dialog with the students to see how much they know about the national religion so we can do some comparisons between it and Christianity. What I am seeing is that they and the vast majority of the country know very little about the religion. They are born Buddhist but they receive little or no training in it. It is quite different from what I have experienced with the Hindu and Muslims.

The students seemed quite surprised to learn that Buddha himself taught that there is no god and that included him.

All of our students were Buddhists just a few years ago and most of them are the only Christian in their family. Their families don’t seem to mind them converting to Christianity but they are not anxious to follow suit. But our students are getting a good foundation in Christianity; they are putting down deep roots, and it will bear fruit.

Cambodia Day 4

2008-08-21T04:03:00.000-05:00

The Cambodian churches use a song book that has Western hymns that have been translated into Khmer in the first half and native Cambodian songs in the back half. The Cambodian songs are often native folk melodies that have Christian verses attached. They are quite lovely to hear. I can’t vouch for their messages.

They generally sing one of each to begin their service. (All services and Bible classes begin with two – and only two – songs and a prayer.)

Since they don’t read music and since they have only had an opportunity to learn a few of the Western hymns, they end up singing the same ones over and over.

I was asked if I would teach them the melody to some more of our songs and of course I am happy to do so. So I have them listen to me as I sing the song first in English; then they begin joining in, singing Khmer along with my English. I don’t know if the results can be called a joyful noise or not, but it is what it is and they are happy to be learning what to them are new songs.

We are beginning to fall into a routine. I have the same Tuk-Tuk driver every day but I still don’t know his name. I couldn’t pronounce it any way so we just bow and smile. The ebb and flow of traffic here is not describable, it has to be experienced to be believed.

I am actually getting the names of the students down much faster than I had hoped. Of course what I call them doesn’t sound like what they call each other but they don’t seem to mind. Several of them are able to communicate with me in English but they would miss a great deal of the material if it were not translated.

Today we had two girls and two more boys enroll in the school. All four of them are very shy but I expect that will change as they get assimilated into the program. There is still a Pakistani man we are expecting to return to the school if he can make his way back into the country.

I continue to enjoy good health, appetite, and sleep. God is good.

Cambodia Day three

2008-08-18T08:13:00.000-05:00

The first day of classes is now over. The attendance is still in flux as some students are not yet back from break and some new students are being considered. It is looking like we will have about 12 students. That seems like an appropriate Biblical number.

The students are very impressive. I am looking forward to getting to know them better. A fine Christian named Tawn is my interpreter and he is very good. He has great Bible knowledge and excellent English.

Let me introduce you to Cheav (pronounced Chew). He is about 22 years old, the second of five children. His father died when he was about 8. Ages and birthdates are kind of iffy here. They use two different calendars and don’t keep very good records.

Cheav is the only one in his family who is Christian. The rest are Buddhist, as indeed he was up until a year and a half ago. He was converted by Tawn, my translator. It is remarkable how quickly he has grown in his Christian walk and knowledge of the Bible. He gave the sermon during chapel this morning and he sounded very impressive. Of course I couldn’t understand a word but I could follow his thoughts through the passages of scripture he posted on the white board in English.

I had my first trips in a Tuk-Tuk today. Rich and Rhonda are in Cambodian language classes every afternoon so Rich was not available to shuttle me back and forth to school; thus the Tuk-Tuk. A Tuk-Tuk is a small carriage pulled by a smaller motorcycle.

Traffic in Phnom Penh is much like you would expect. The white strip down a few of the roads and the rare traffic light are merely suggestions. There is no such thing as a stop sign which would probably be a waste of material anyway.

Small motorcycles (motos) are the primary vehicles but the wealthy love the large expensive SUVs from the States and Europe. Everyone just assumes that anyone paying that much for a car automatically has the right-of-way; otherwise it is everyone for himself.

None of that is a problem for me. I’m just along for the ride.

Cambodia Day 2

2008-08-17T18:30:00.000-05:00

We have worshipped with two different congregations today. One is a house church that meets across from the school where I will be teaching. The other is a house church that meets in the Partners for Progress facility. This building houses a World English Institute program, a nutrition program, and offices for the Ship of Hope (a medical ship that travels the Mekong Delta.)

There were probably around 45 people in the morning worship and around 25 in the evening service.

It is always a challenge to know how to pack for a month in a place you have never been. One doesn’t want to omit things that would be very helpful but, at the same time, I hate to take things and then never use them.

I brought one pair of dress shoes, one pair of tennis shoes, and a pair of flip-flops, along with the appropriate socks. It now appears that everything except the flip-flops is completely superfluous. Proper church, school, and home attire is bare feet with flip-flops left at the front door. So far I am the only person with Wal-Mart camouflage flip-flops and no one has been begging me to trade with them. They may even be theft proof.

We stopped at a nice restaurant after church this evening and I had fried frog legs. Except for not having batter on them, they tasted just like the ones I cooked in Oklahoma. The menu had over 100 entries listed. You could die of malnutrition just trying to read to the end of the menu. My frog legs were entry number 79 in case you want to try them when you are next in Cambodia.

Cambodia Day 1

2008-08-16T18:18:00.001-05:00

Greetings from Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

I watched the sun set Thursday evening just before take-off at Houston Bush Intercontinental and didn’t see it rise again until 20 hours later as we landed in Taipei, Taiwan. From my house to the Dolan’s home in Phnom Penh is a journey of very nearly 30 hours. It is a fur piece across that big pond and it seems to get longer every time I make it.

The good news is that the trip was most remarkable for being unremarkable. The planes from Houston to Los Angeles and from Los Angeles to Taiwan were both completely full. Boeing 737s, though much smaller planes, have considerably more leg room than Boeing 747s and I think that China Air has added several rows of seats to take advantage of the shorter average stature of their people: or so it seems.

I am staying with Rich and Rhonda Dolan. Rich is the director of the Sunset ministry training school in Phnom Penh. They have a fabulous house. My room is on the second floor and right outside my patio is a very large one story building with a tin roof. I am listening to an afternoon shower play a soothing melody on the roof as I type.

We are exactly 12 hours ahead of the folks in Houston so I will be going to my first worship service about the time most of you are catching the Saturday evening Olympics.

Hopefully I will have my body on Cambodian time by sunrise in the morning. It would be nice if I could fix my internal clock as easily as I fix my watch. Oh well.

Thanks to all of you for your well wishes and prayers. I am looking forward to meeting the students and getting into our study of the great book of Romans.

Getting Ready

2008-08-09T14:58:00.003-05:00

Cambodia minus 5 days:

The lesson material is ready; all the paperwork is in place; I'm testing different luggage configurations to try to minimize hassle and comply with airline limitations.

Two days ago I got an email notifying me that there were significant changes to my flight itinerary and giving me a phone number to call.

It turns out that China Air has already cancelled one of my scheduled return flights because of "high fuel costs". Their solution was to have me fly out of Phnom Penh two days early and spend two nights in Taiwan. That might be fun if Donna was with me and the airline was picking up the hotel and living expense, but since neither of those is the case, I requested an alternate arrangement.

Three very courteous and efficient ladies (two from Orbitz and one from China Air) were able to get me back very close to the original schedule by adding a leg to the return flight that takes me through Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). The only down side is that I am now getting back into Houston at 5:30 a.m. (yes, as in morning).

Knowing how much Donna hates getting up early, she will probably stay up all night. I just hope she doesn't take a nap on the way to the airport.

The Shack

2008-06-18T11:35:00.001-05:00

I have just finished reading The Shack by William Young. It is an interesting work of fiction that deals with the relationship of the Trinity and how that carries through in the desire for relationship with us, the created.

William has woven an interesting story with challenging concepts that kept me engaged and provoked thought about the deeper issues of life.

If you have read, or choose to read, the book, I would love to hear your impressions.

You can see William's blog at http://windrumors.com/ but if you haven't read the book yet, be careful not to read anything that would be a plot spoiler.

Destiny

2007-06-18T18:16:00.000-05:00

Sign seen in the hall at Memorial Hermann Hospital:

Watch your thoughts

Because they become your words

Watch your words

Because they become your actions

Watch your actions

Because they become your habits

Watch your habits

Because they become your character

Watch your character

Because it becomes your destiny

Not Made With Hands

2007-06-04T10:34:00.000-05:00

Moses built the tabernacle and God made His abode above the Mercy Seat. Solomon built the temple and God moved with the Ark of the Covenant into the Holy of Holies. This Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians about 586 B.C. The Ark of the Covenant, along with the Mercy Seat, was lost forever. Not even Indiana Jones could find and restore it.

The temple was rebuilt seventy years later by Zerubbabel and the returning exiles. It was renovated by Herod beginning in about 20 B.C. and was demolished by the Romans in 70 A.D. But God had already left the building.

In John 2:19, Jesus said "destroy this temple and in 3 days I will rebuild it." The Jews said "Herod's been working on this temple for 46 years and you think you can rebuild it in 3 days?"

The Greek word Jesus used for temple was "naos" which refers, not to the temple complex but to the inner sanctuary, the place where God had once made his dwelling. It is the same word Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 6:19 where he explains that the holy place today is not a temple made with hands but that our body is the temple (naos) of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus was telling them and us that He was in the process of ushering in a new order, that God was getting ready to change His address again.

In John 4, Jesus told the Samaritan woman that the time was coming and now was that worship would not be identified with Jerusalem nor Mount Gerizim nor North Main Street, but that worship would occur in spirit and in truth.

Our beautiful bricks and stones are neither the temple nor the dwelling place of God. The only possible justification for owning them is to wear them out in service to "the least of these."

As hard as you might try, you can't "go to church" because you are the church.

To ascribe to our building any significance beyond a convenient place to assemble and to serve people is to miss the new order Jesus ushered in when He rebuilt the dwelling place of God with His resurrection.

Prayer For 9/11

2007-05-27T13:41:00.000-05:00

The following was written by Albert C. Bayer, father of Southeast's Al Bayer, shortly after September 11, 2001.

Oh, Father, we mourn for all mankind,

that life should end before it's time,

but especially those so young and bold

for their full life story is yet untold.

Many were apt and on the road to fame,

showing to the world it was their aim,

but alas, their souls now cry from graves of rubble

as they ask us, "why?"

Because we were old and wisdom prone,

pray forgive us, Lord, we should have known.

Now one hundred ten layers of sand, steel and stone,

an emblazoned hell of blood, flesh and bone.

Many dreams, love and memories now buried in sand,

pray, Lord, give them courage their new future to plan.

Past dreams now shrouded in smoke, dust and fumes,

toxic from the firing of those many tombs.

Pray comfort for the loss of spouse, parent and friend

only help from on high can change or amend.

Pray let much honor be on those that lost life

while saving others in the midst of that strife.

With only minutes to live some strove to change,

though death came quickly it was not in vain,

for a nation as one arose flags unfurled,

showing strength and purpose to all the world.

Still shocked and frightened, our tempers flare.

As we search for the enemy, though we know not where.

Pray help us to be brave, sure, wise and strong,

as we engage such a group where no honor belongs.

Lord, we seek not to avenge but deliverance from same;

knowing vengeance belongs to only Your name.

Let sound judgment and purpose direct those that go forth

with your blessing and strength abiding their course.

Obeying the Gospel

2007-05-26T10:24:00.000-05:00

In a recent sermon, Michael encouraged us as Christians to:

Walk in the Way
Lay down our lives
Make friends
Speak boldly and openly
Share our strength
Bear one another’s burdens

And to do it with joy!

How is that obeying the gospel, and is it too hard to do?

The Gospel

2007-05-21T10:24:00.000-05:00

Thought for the day from John Wesley:

"Do all the good you can, with all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can."

Jesus reduced the purpose of life down to two commands: love God and love your neighbor. Then he refined it by adding "as I have loved you."

What does this look like in your life?

Christ Formed

2007-05-18T09:16:00.000-05:00

In a recent sermon, Michael made a reference to Galatians 4:19 "My little children, for whom I am again in the pain of childbirth until Christ is formed in you."

What are your thoughts as to what changes occur in your life as Christ continues to be formed in you? Do you see those changes happening in yourself?

How to Get Through a Bad Day

2007-04-05T09:44:00.000-05:00

Leroy Garrett is nearing his 90th birthday. He has been a fresh breeze and a voice of reason for many years. He is in the process of moving, with his beloved wife, into an assisted living arrangement in North Texas. In the midst of this he writes:

How to get through a bad day

We all have them, don’t we? And some poor souls -- such as those shut-up in nursing homes or incarcerated or incurably ill -- seem to have nothing but bad days. This time I am not writing to them as much as to us average folk who have only occasional bad days.

That may serve as the first rule in surviving bad days -- to realize that most days are reasonably good days, and that a bad day soon gives way to a good one. And if we are grateful for the good days, and use them to store up reserves for the not-so-good days we are better prepared when dark clouds loom.

Gratitude is in fact an important part of the answer -- gratitude for the good and bad days alike. We would not know the joy of gorgeous weather if it were not for rainy and stormy weather, and except for problems -- sometimes painful ones -- we would not know the glory of success In Philippians Paul speaks of his imprisonment as having “fallen out for the furtherance of the gospel.” His bad days even emboldened his brethren to speak boldly for the faith.

And so the apostle rejoiced in his suffering -- for God can do things in suffering that can be done in no other way. As disciples of Christ we believe that buried deep in every adversity is seed for good that God will bring to fruition. We are ready for the rude shock of life’s shattering blows., for we understand that this is how God fashions the soul. The back of the tapestry is in disarray with dangling threads -- a fitting metaphor for bad days -- while the front side reveals the skillful plotting of the weaver.

An anonymous poem reflects this view of life’s walk:
I walked a mile with pleasure;
She chattered all the way.
But not a thing I learned
When pleasure walked with me.
I walked a mile with sorrow;
And nary a word she said;
But oh the things I learned
When sorrow walked with me.

This does not mean that God brings on the suffering, but it does mean that God uses it as the refiner’s fire to burn out the dross and preserve the gold. Hard days can be the flail that separates the chaff from the grain. Adversity is the workshop in which God beats out the character essential for salvation. It is one of the mysteries of the wise providence of God that he shapes the soul through the sharp tool of affliction.
But David said better than I and far more succinctly:
Before I was afflicted I went astray,
But now I keep Your word. (Psalm 119:67)

The Stone Face by B Shelburne

2007-03-31T10:51:00.000-05:00

He was walking ahead of the disciples. This says a lot about Jesus. Their destination was Jerusalem and the cross. Some of God's commands are a joy but some are extremely hard. In his place I would hang back, finding all kinds of loose ends to deal with first. But Jesus knew that if you give the flesh an inch it will take a mile. Our souls depended on his being faithful. So, as Luke records, "Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem" Literally, in the Greek, "He set his face like a flint stone toward Jerusalem."

Reading between the lines of Hebrews, you can eavesdrop on a conversation between Christ and his Father. God: "The humans I created have fallen into sin. Justice says they deserve destruction, but I love them and want to save them." Christ: "The animal lives they offer on the altar cannot really redeem human souls and satisfy your justice." God: I have prepared a human body for you. Will you go to earth and be the redeeming sacrifice?" Christ: "Yes, Father, I will go and do your will."

Jesus never lost sight of his Father's will. At age 12 it was on his mind. During his desert temptation and throughout his ministry, he would not let himself be sidetracked. "I have not come to do my will but the will of him who sent me." But being human as well as divine, he struggled. "He learned obedience from what he suffered." All his obedience in lesser matters prepared him for the ultimate obedience.

Jesus arrived at Jerusalem five days before his death. Always before, the cross had been somewhere in the future. Now he was in its shadow. Then it was the night before. He ate the last supper with the disciples he loved. He retreated to Gethsemane. His humanity cried, "Father, if it is possible, let this cup of suffering pass from me! But if I must drink it, your will be done, not mine." He walked out to meet his betrayer and on to the cross. With his last breath he cried, "It is finished." He had been faithful. What an example he has set for us!

Who’s Really in the Dark?

2006-12-12T20:32:00.000-06:00

The following was written by Dwight Whitsett, Lubbock, TX:

Look at a nighttime satellite view of the Korean Peninsula and you are immediately struck by the fact that North Korea lies in darkness while South Korea is twinkling with millions of lights. But, I wonder. Who’s really in the dark?

That was what kept creeping into my cranium as I watched Diane Sawyer’s report on Korea. A place she calls a “sealed universe” and a “Hermit Kingdom.” As her team entered the country, their cell phones and Blackberries were confiscated. Use of cell phones and the world-wide web is illegal as is listening to radio broadcasts from outside the country. “…just one of the ways they keep their closed society ‘closed’," said Sawyer. They know absolutely nothing about our world. I wonder what they would think if they did?

What would they think of a society with a “youth culture” that ridicules the elderly and idolizes the likes of bare Brittany Spears? What would they think about all of us overweight, undisciplined people and the way we constantly pursue pleasure and comfort (there are no obese Koreans in Pyongyang)? What would they think about our drug and sex saturated way of life? What would they think of our obscenity-spouting comedians? What would they think about the way we are pulling away from any kind of moral anchor? What would they think about the fact that light has come into our world but it is a world where people love the darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil”? (John 3:19).

I absorbed Sawyer’s report with tangled feelings of sorrow for the darkness of North Korea and shame for the darkness of Western culture. When and if the doors of North Korea crack open, I hope light overwhelms the darkness. I don’t know when that will happen but, while we wait, why don’t we do something about the darkness that surrounds us?

The darkness of North Korea and Western culture is the kind that no electric current can illuminate. It is a darkness only the light of Christ can dispel. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).Then, the people who are sitting in darkness can see a great light and those who sit in the land and shadow of death can have the light of Christ dawn on them (Matthew 4:16).

An opaque gloom hovers over our world. It is a gloom only those who claim to follow Him who is the light-bringer can dispel. God has given this job into the hands of those who were formerly darkness but now conduct themselves as children of light (Matthew 5:14-16; Ephesians 5:8; Philippians 2:15; 1 Thessalonians 5:5). What will the North Koreans see when God throws open their doors and windows? Will they detect any glimmers of true, pure light? Well, brothers and sisters, God has left that up to us.

It is time to cast off anything that hinders and let our light shine through the salt of our loving proclamation of the gospel and the light of our good deeds. Dwellers of the night are looking for the glow of dawn.

The hero is the one who kindles a great light in the world, who sets up blazing torches in the dark streets of life for men to see by. The saint is the man who walks through the dark paths of the world, himself a light. ~Felix Adler

100 People

2006-08-25T11:53:00.000-05:00

I recently received this through email so I don't know how accurate it is, but if it is even close (and I expect it is) it certainly helps put things in their proper perspective.

If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following:

There would be:
57 Asians ~ 21 Europeans ~ 14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south ~ 8 Africans
52 would be female ~~ 48 would be male
70 would be non-white ~~ 30 would be white
70 would be non-Christian ~~ 30 would be Christian
89 would be heterosexual ~~ 11 would be homosexual
6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth and all 6 would be from the USA.
80 would live in sub-standard housing
70 would be unable to read
50 would suffer from malnutrition
1 would be near death ~~ 1 would be near birth
1 (yes, only one) would have a college education

What in this list grabs you?

I find it very discouraging that only 3 in 10 people in the world can communicate through the written page. It was this lack of the most basic education that empowered the dark ages in history and that empowers the dictators and oligarchies of today.

I also wonder how the world would be changed if the 30% that identify ourselves as christian were to speak with one common voice instead of through the hundreds of fractured factions that make up our community.

Psalm 23

2006-08-23T15:01:00.000-05:00

The following is a unique view of the 23rd Psalm. I don't know who originated these thoughts, but I would like to share it with you in hope that your heart will be encouraged.

"The Lord is my shepherd" ... that's Relationship! "I have everything I need" ... that's Supply! "He lets me rest in green meadows" ... that's Rest! "He leads me beside peaceful streams" ... that's Refreshment! "He renews my strength" ... that's Healing! "He guides me along right paths" ... that's Guidance! "Bringing honor to His name" ... that's Purpose! "Even when I walk through the dark valley of death" ... that's Testing! "I will not be afraid" ... that's Protection! "For You are close beside me" ... that's Faithfulness! "Your rod and Your staff protect and comfort me" ... that's Discipline! "You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies" ... that's Hope! "You welcome me as a guest, anointing my head with oil" ... that's Consecration! "My cup overflows with blessings" ... that's Abundance! "Surely Your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life" ... that's Blessing! "And I will live in the house of the Lord" ... that's Security! "Forever" ... that's Eternity!

Face it, the Lord is crazy about YOU!!

Excerps from "The Missional Church" by Al Maxey

2006-08-02T23:40:00.000-05:00

I am convinced that one of the greatest failings of the modern church (and, indeed, the church throughout the ages, for the most part) is that we have largely lost touch with who and what Jesus has called and commissioned us to be. We frequently speak of "going to the church," "having a meeting down at the church," "inviting people to our church," and a thousand and one other such expressions, all of which chronicle our tendency to embrace an institutional, corporate model. We -- the church -- are neither!

The church our Lord established is not an institution, it is an organism; it is not a place, it is a people; it is not about programs, it is about purpose.

One of the primary challenges to the church today is relevancy. Are we impacting the world in which we live? Are we making a difference in the lives of those about us? Do we matter?! Or, are we an anachronism?!

So, what do we do?! We must awaken within the breast of each disciple of Jesus Christ a sense of purpose; an awareness of their own individual responsibility to be part of a community of believers with spiritual focus. Each Christian must come to a life-altering comprehension of their reason for being, and then act upon it. Individually and collectively we must recapture that missional vision. Which is?! Glad you asked! I like the way Bro. Fred Peatross, a friend and fellow author, stated it in one of his recent articles in his Abductive Columns --- he wrote, "Missional incarnation means trading church time for time in the water with the fish." That just about says it all.

When the church finally gets out of the building and begins becoming part of the daily lives of the people who live all around them, the church will then become truly relevant. A missional church is a body of believers who daily share Jesus, through all aspects of their lives, with their neighbors.

Kingdom Business vs. Church Business

2006-07-24T16:00:00.000-05:00

Howard Snyder: Liberating the Church

"If you're unfamiliar with the language of the Kingdom of God, think of it as God's present activity in the world, carefully restoring it to health and wholeness through his gracious love.
The church gets in trouble whenever it thinks it’s in the church business rather than the Kingdom business. In the church business people are concerned with church activities, religious behavior and spiritual things. In the Kingdom business people are concerned with Kingdom activities, all human behavior and everything God has made, visible and invisible. Kingdom people see human affairs as saturated with spiritual meaning and Kingdom significance.

"Kingdom people seek first the Kingdom of God and its justice; church people often put church work above concerns of justice, mercy and truth. Church people often think about how to get people into church; Kingdom people think about how to get the church into the world. Church people worry that the world might change the church; Kingdom people work to see the church change the world.

"When Christians put the church ahead of the Kingdom they settle for the status quo and their own kind of people. When they catch a vision of the Kingdom of God their sights shift to the poor, the orphan, the widow, the refugee 'the wretched of the earth' and to God's future. They see the life and work of the church from the perspective of the Kingdom.

"If the church has one great need it is this: to be set free for the Kingdom of God, to be liberated from itself as it has become in order to be itself as God intends."

April Fool

2006-04-01T18:15:00.000-06:00

April 1----Fool's Day. That surely is us.....fools for Christ! The world surely would regard us so.

That we are, if Christ was not ruling on a throne, having conquered death by his resurrection.
That we are, if there is no citizenship in heaven and no waiting home of the soul.
That we are, if there is nothing more important than what this world offers in promotions, possessions and positions.

I guess we have a choice of being fools before men or watching fools in judgment who said or lived as though there was no God. A better choice would be devoting our lives to keeping people from becoming fools both in life and in death.

Truman Scott

Who Started Christmas

2005-12-12T16:08:00.000-06:00

This morning I heard a story on the radio of a woman who was out Christmas shopping with her two children.

After many hours of looking at row after row of toys and everything else imaginable; and after hours of hearing both her children asking for everything they saw on those many shelves, she finally made it to the elevator with her two kids.

She was feeling what so many of us feel during the holiday season time of the year. Overwhelming pressure to go to every party, every housewarming, taste all the holiday food and treats, getting that perfect gift for every single person on our shopping list, making sure we don't forget anyone on our card list, and the pressure of making sure we respond to everyone who sent us a card.

Finally the elevator doors opened and there was already a crowd in the car. She pushed her way into the car and dragged her two kids in with her and all the bags of stuff. When the doors closed she couldn't take it anymore and stated, "Whoever started this whole Christmas thing should be found, strung up and shot."

From the back of the car everyone heard a quiet calm voice respond, "Don't worry we already crucified him." For the rest of the trip down the elevator it was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.

Don't forget this year to keep the One who started this whole Christmas thing in your every thought, deed, purchase, and word. If we all did it, just think of how different this whole world would be.

Merry Christmas to all, I wish the blessing of this season upon you and your house.

Thomas Bunkley

Here come the holidays

2005-11-09T10:35:00.000-06:00

In a recent comment, someone requested that we add a "yellow pages" type section to our members section on the web. This has been approved by the elders and we are in the process of setting it up so members who provide services can voluntarily submit their information.

We are coming into the holiday season. We invite you to share your thankfulness, thoughts, and plans for this special time of the year.

As always, we welcome your comments on how we can improve the usefulness of the web site as well as all other aspects of the family experience at Southeast.

Rita

2005-10-01T13:01:00.000-05:00

We have been visited by the wrath of Rita and, for the most part, have been spared the devastation experienced by our neighbors east of us.

Do you have any experiences you would like to share? If so, click on "comment" and let us hear from you.

Katrina

2005-09-03T13:34:00.000-05:00

We have all gone through many emotions the past week as we watch the events unfold along the Gulf Coast and as we see the wave of evacuees pour into Houston and the surrounding states.

Perhaps you would like to share some of your thoughts with our church family. Maybe you have ideas you would like to express. Maybe you just want to pour out some of your frustrations or hopes.

Please feel free to click on "comments" and let us know what is on your mind.

The List

2005-08-24T13:34:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday Michael gave us a 15 point list from Romans 12:9-21 of some of the things that God has in mind for our lives. http://www.secoc.org/sermons_pdf/082105_life%20that%20god%20has%20in%20mind.pdf

Are there any of them that speak loudly to you? Would you care to tell us which ones and why?

Breaking Boundries

2005-08-14T20:53:00.000-05:00

This morning Michael has challenged us with examining the boundries in our life.

What experiences / thoughts do you have with boundry breaking in your life?

What boundries do you see still existing in our church family?

Two Questions

2005-08-01T11:08:00.000-05:00

Sunday, July 31, Michael challenged us with two questions: Is heritage important and How far would you go for love?

What are your thoughts and experiences relative to those questions?

Welcome

2005-07-13T22:25:00.000-05:00

The purpose of this blog is to see if there is interest in having a forum that members of the Southeast Church of Christ will use to express ideas and encouragement among our Christian family.

Let's get started

2005-07-12T12:08:00.000-05:00

OK, so we now have a blog. How cool is this? So what is on your heart?

Maybe something happened during services or at home or work that blessed you and you would like to share.
Maybe Michael said something in his sermon or a teacher said something that you would like to discuss.
Maybe you would like to get some feedback concerning an idea for a ministry you have been thinking about.

Any subject is fair game. We just ask that everyone keep it positive. We have no interest in creating a gripe forum.

So go ahead, click on "comment", register, and let's get started and have some fun.