Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Trippin' by Kristi Graves

For those on the trip and others who will hear the stories… let’s just say I’ve had a series of spills and fumbles. I have scars to serve as reminders of where I have been…from falling while descending the tall, magnificent Masada, to cutting my foot on the heavy salts of the Dead Sea and finally clumsily stumbling down the Southern Steps. I would have attached pictures of my battle scars, but trust me in saying…. You wouldn’t want to see them.

Through all my travels across the Israeli countryside, I can now say, “I tripped where Jesus walked.” I truly believe this parallels my life. No matter what I do, I will always fall short and never measure up to the grandeur of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. As I began thinking of my shortcomings, I came to the realization that God does not call for us to be perfect, but simply to believe in him and follow him; relying on him in both good times and bad. Jesus continues to love us, despite the scars and embarrassments of “tripping” up in life. I consider myself blessed for having the opportunity of tripping, where he once walked with such dignity. But, nothing can compare to walking with Jesus daily and having the joy of eternal salvation.

Kristi Graves

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Unity by Steve Browning

We've arrived back in the states. It's 6:45am and we're into a 4 hour layover at Atlanta International Airport after a 13 hour flight. I'm too wired to sleep so I spent some time looking through the footage from our last day. I have been trying to find out how to express how we all feel now that we have experienced Israel. I think I finally found my feelings wrapped up by the message Charlie talked about while we were on the southern steps of the temple in Jerusalem. Perhaps as I will be able to put more into words as the trip really begins to sink in.
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Thursday, March 19, 2009

It Is Well With My Soul by Steve Browning

videoAs I prepare for our departure, I again listened to the recording of "It Is Well With My Soul" that we sang at St. Anne's Church. This will be my last memory as I lay my weary head on my pillow. Here is a sample...

Inside Jerusalem Part 1

Walking inside the walls of the Jerusalem you are greeted with an overwhelming sense of history. Jerusalem, the capital of ancient Israel, stand as one of the most important cities in the entire world; however, its importance comes not from man but by God. It is “the city the LORD had chosen…in which to put his Name.” (1 Kings 14:21). It is clear upon entering this great city that it occupies a primary place in God’s work on earth today. Six different groups claim it as a holy site and all of them seek to ultimately control both its politics and its geography. For example, The Dome on the Rock, a Muslim holy site, sits on the Temple Mount where Solomon’s Temple once stood. The very wall that supports the Muslim’s holy ground is venerated by the Jews as daily its priests and rabbis come to pray at what has become known as the Wailing (Western) Wall.

However, regardless of the internal struggles of the religious groups there is still a sensation that I felt while walking through the city. The Via Dolorosa, while albeit is covered in commercial trade, remains a moving spiritual experience. The narrow streets and rugged terrain transports you to an ancient time, a dark time when the Lord struggled to bear his cross on streets such as these. At the same time, this is the city where the early church was born. The Holy Spirit descended on the disciples here (Acts 2), Peter and the other apostles preached at the Temple (Acts 3), Stephen was martyred here in Jerusalem (Acts 7), The first church council convened in this city (Acts 15) and Paul walked these streets (Acts 21; 23). All of these thoughts linger in my mind as I walk through the ancient walled capital of Christianity. As I make my way to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the traditional place of Christ’s crucifixion, I am greeted by the reminder that dark heart of man will always seek to replace the true worship of God. In other words, the heart of man will venerate the wrong thing in an attempt to come close to God.

This was immediately pictured for me as I walked in the church doors. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is a Catholic Church that was built over both the site of the cross and tomb of Christ. Embedded in the floor of the church is said to contain the actual stone slab where the body of Jesus was prepared for burial. The faithful line up to kneel, kiss and rub the stone. The sad reality is that the stone is marble. Marble was not indigenes to the area during the time of Christ. Also, the church has had to replace the stone on at least three occasions because it was worn away from daily rubbing by thousands of people. I desperately wanted to remind those seeking to draw close to Christ, those kneeling around a false stone, that he is not here – he is risen!

That reality returns again and again to my mind as I walk from holy site to holy site, each with a church or shrine built over and around it. As badly as the human heart seeks to know God it will equally seek its on method to achieving that knowledge. Jerome Murphy-O’Connor captures my feelings. He writes,

“One expects the central shrine of Christendom to stand out in majestic isolation, but anonymous buildings cling to it like barnacles. One looks for luminous light, but it is dark and cramped. One hopes for peace, but the ear is assailed by a cacophony of warring chants. One desires holiness, only to encounter a jealous possessiveness: the six groups of occupants – Latin Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Armenians, Syrians, Copts, Ethiopians – watch one another suspiciously for any infringement of rights. The frailty of humanity is nowhere more apparent than here; it epitomizes the human condition. The empty who come to be filled will leave desolate; those who permit the church to question them may begin to understand why hundred of thousands thought it worthwhile to risk death or slavery in order to pray here.” (The Holy Land, new ed., pg. 49)

The Pools at Bethseda by Steve Browning

videoIt's our last night in Jerusalem and our last night in Israel. We leave for home late Friday night. It will be about 4:30 Ohio time when our plane departs Tel Aviv. This is a video from our visit to the Pools of Bethseda. Read John 5 for more reference.

Today was another fantastic day! We headed to the Temple Mount where Charlie expounded on his teaching about the temple. We headed in to St. Anne's Church, where Charlie led us in singing "It Is Well With My Soul" and the acoustics were absolutely amazing. This was one of the more emotional moments on this trip for me. It's difficult to keep a camera in focus when tears are filling your eyes. So many elements of this trip have brought me to tears. Even as I write and I remember, the emotion swells in me. I've never felt closer to God before in my life. We all met with Charlie this evening and he finished up by requesting we bring home five things from Israel.

1. The Bible is true. So many places we visited and people we read about in scripture that come alive because we are here.

2. God is in control. He answered our prayers for good weather, good and security.

3. I need to trust and obey. "'While we do his good will, he abides with us still, and with all who will trust and obey."

4. Mountains are always followed by valleys. This has been our mountain. We will be in valleys soon. And it will be difficult for you to understand all we've encountered but we will try to remember that you might not care as much about our pictures as we do!

5. Jesus is coming again. He is my Savior. It is well with my soul.

Outside of Jerusalem

The last two days have been a whirlwind of activities mostly centered in or around the Holy City – Jerusalem. We began on the Mount of Olives. It is a hill that rises to the east to a height of almost 2,500 feet that provides a beautiful picture of the city and the Dome on the Rock. The Mount of Olives is inseparably linked historically to Jerusalem throughout the United Kingdom era to the time of Christ. It received its name because it was and still is covered with olive groves. It might possibly be the most serene place to meditate within Jerusalem proper because once you descend from the Mount you immediately are immersed into a flood of people, peddlers, and indescribable traffic.

The Mount of Olives is mentioned many times in relation to Jesus and his ministry, most notably, when he road down the Mount on a colt as he entered Jerusalem and wept (Luke 19:28-44). However, my personal favorite reference to the Mount is when Jesus returned to there in Luke 22:39 to pray. The passage reads: “And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him.” My heart is drawn to that verse because it provides a window into the private life of Christ. He would often go to the Mount of Olives, “as was his custom.” Possibly, he would go to be alone and pray or to find a “lonely place” (Luke 5:16) to mediate and listen to his Father. The Mount was also the place he took his disciples to teach them privately.

This passage was stirring within me as I walked among the olive trees and looked out over Jerusalem. It is a strange sensation to think you are walking where your Lord spent so much of his earthly time. I was soon to learn that that very sensation would be experienced repeatedly as I entered the city.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Garden of Gethsemane

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