DAY 7: JERUSALEM

If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill.  May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy (Psalms 137:5-6).

Touring the Holy Land is not easy, but it is good.  One of the good things one receives from the tour is good physical conditioning--we all went home in better condition than we came, not only physically, but spiritually, and emotionally as well.  This day, March 19, 2014, we spent all day on our feet, as much below ground and above it.  We became very intimate with this city, learning and experiencing much of its history.  If a person does not go to Jerusalem then he has not gone to the Holy Land!

We started the day at the Jaffa gate where the "tower of David" stands.  It was originally built by Hezekiah some 2700 years ago, having been knocked down and rebuilt no less than 7 times since then.  At the Jaffa Gate citadel we ascended to the ramparts, top of the wall, at walked up and down and over very irregular walkways to the Zion Gate.  One gets a real sense of what it must have been like to defend the city from these walls that have withstood onslaughts for literally hundreds of years--there are bullet scars from 1967.

We descended the wall at the Zion Gate and walked to see David's Tomb at Mt. Zion.  While there we encountered a great number of black folks from Nigeria.  Keren told us the Nigerian government was paying the travel expenses for Christians to see Jerusalem and for Muslims to see another of the Islamic holy cities.  David's Tomb is a traditional site, but it is next door to the upper room, site of the Last Supper and the site of the disciples being overwhelmed with the Holy Spirit.  If those are actual places it makes Peter's statement in Acts 2:29: Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day,  much more colorful.  Peter says these words and gestures in the direction of David's tomb.  But of Jesus, Peter declares: God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses to this fact (Acts 2:32).  Praise the Lord!!!  Jesus Christ has risen!

We walked the "Cardo" of Jerusalem, an 1800 year old shopping mall, still in use today.  The Broad Wall is near the Cardo, and was the next place for us to visit. The BW  is the remnant of the city fortifications dating to the eighth century b.c. built by Hezekiah.  The wall is 22 feet thick.

We stopped for lunch.  There were quite a lot of choices for lunch, but I kept it simple: pizza and a Coke Zero.  After lunch I needed a bathroom break and it was here that we had our first experience with a unisex bathroom.  Helen and I both looked straight ahead--no looking around!  We have no pictures of that.

When we gathered after lunch, we walked to the City of David--the original Jerusalem.  This was the Jerusalem that David captured from the Jebusites (2 Samuel 5:6-17).  Some of our group walked through the wet Hezekiah water tunnel, but Helen and I walked through the dry section.  Hezekiah's water tunnel is an amazing fete of engineering that no one today is quite sure how they accomplished it, but it did bring water into the city which was especially import during times of siege.  Hezekiah was quite a builder and engineer.  Check out 2 Kings 20:20 & 2 Chronicles 32:2-4 & 30.

At the end of Hezekiah's tunnel was the Pool of Siloam, and important place in the gospels (See the man born blind, John 9).  Siloam was excavated in 2005. Since I was there in 2008, a walk way has been excavated that the pilgrims of Jesus' day would have taken from the pool of Siloam to the Temple.  Back in the day it would have been an open-air walk, but now it is a long, narrow, rough, wet tunnel.  It was a difficult walk for our seniors, but we imagined what it must have been like for pilgrims eagerly anticipating worship in the Temple of God.

We walked to the southern wall of the Temple Mount and walked the teaching steps of the temple where Jesus taught his disciples and the Apostles taught those first members of the infant church and preached their first sermons.  We visited the holiest place of the Jewish people, The Western Wall and we were guided through the tunnels of the Western Wall, by a young man specifically trained to do this.  He gave us a very good lecture on the construction and history of the Temple Mount and then asked if there were questions.  I asked, not intending to cause trouble, what he thought about the different theories of the placement of the Temple on the Mount.  He acted as if I had asked the stupidest question in the world.  'The only place the Temple could have been located,' he said, 'is where the Dome of the Rock now sits,' "There are no other choices!" I didn't say, though I should have, "I'm sorry, but there are some credible scholars that believe otherwise."  I'm too easy.

Heim met us with the bus.  We were glad to see him because we were tired, having walked about 6 miles that day.

Our Father's Love
Tom

Hezekiah's tunnel was 1700 feet long--a 3rd of a mile. Two crews worked, one from each end and they met.  They didn't have time to waste, the Assyrians were coming and they needed a safe water supply.

DAY 6: ON THE JERICHO ROAD

A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers.  They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead (Luke 10:30).

On March 18th we did a road trip from Jerusalem to Masada and the Dead Sea.  It makes a lengthy trip through the desert to get to those places, so there was a lot of bus riding.  As we descended from Jerusalem towards Jericho, we stopped at the Church of the Good Samaritan.  It would have been at about this location that the good Samaritan in Jesus' parable discovered the man who had been beaten, robbed and left half dead.  The Jericho road was notoriously dangerous, being infested with crooks, robbers and the violent.  In ancient times the church occupied this spot, but now only a part of the church mosaic floor exists.  Actually, the Israeli government funds this site.  It has now become a place where mosaic floors from other archaeological sites are restored and exhibited.  The Israeli government is doing God's work, I truly believe that, and will explain it as I close out this Israel tour series.

We continued east, down the steep Jericho road from Jerusalem. About 3-4 miles from Jericho we made a right turn and headed south towards Masada and the Dead Sea. It should be noted that there is, in the 20 miles from Jericho to Jerusalem a 3300 feet difference in elevation, Jericho being 740 feet Below Sea Level.  The Dead Sea is 1401 feet BSL and is 1237 feet deep.

Before we reached the DS and Masada, we made two stops: one, for Helen to ride a camel and two, to visit the ruins at Qumran. Helen looks great on a camel, or anywhere for that matter, but as a matter of history,  Qumran is very important.  For about 300 years, 250 B.C. to 70 A.D., the Essenes occupied Qumran.  What is most important about them is the copying and preservation of Scripture--they produced the DS scrolls.  Because of their work, the Old Testament is, from a historical perspective, a credible document.  And we know that Daniel is what it claimed to be, inspired predictive prophecy, not history written as prophecy as some of the critics claimed.

Masada was the next stop.  Masada is an amazing mountain-top fortress over-looking the DS.  It was built by Herod the Great before the birth of Christ for his own personal protection.  However, Jewish zealots used it to hold out against the Romans after 70 A.D., but by 73 they could hold out no longer.  The Jews committed mass suicide rather than surrender to the Romans.  That story is embedded in the Jewish psyche to this day.  It was at Masada that we encountered the "Insight For Living" tour group.  They had 18 tour buses, which translates conservatively into 720 people.  In a group that large each person has to be tagged and numbered like cattle.  I would never go on a celebrity tour like that.  I loved our little group of 21! Keren was able to count noses.  Because of the crowded conditions, Keren was able to pull us into one of the many rooms Herod built and talk to us about what we were seeing.  Keren was a gem! And, we did not see Chuck.

Our final stop was at the DS for some bathing.  Any Holy Land tour is deficient without floating in the DS. I enjoyed the half hour in the sea, but I wanted to share some quick facts about it: 1. There are dry-valley lakes in Antarctica that exceed the Dead Sea's 33.7% salinity. 2. Many cosmetics and fertilizers are made from the DS's minerals. 3. People come here for health treatments.  Because of the minerals in the sea, the low pollen, reduced UV rays and higher atmospheric pressure, bathing and just laying out in the sun is good for what ails.

After all of this activity it was time for lunch, even though it was late afternoon.  This was our evening meal, and we ate at the resort hotel dining room.  After eating, it was a long, sleepy bus ride home to Jerusalem.
It was dark by the time we arrived at our hotel in Jerusalem.  Some of us were hungry again, so several of us who liked to walk, walked about 10 blocks to a McDonald's.  It was not kosher.  Helen and I bought "Big America Juniors" to eat.  They were considerably more expensive than an American equivalent, but there was also an 18% tax.  I have eaten at McDonald's in Romania and Israel.  Even though MD's tries to have uniformity, to me, there is a distinct national flavor to each one, but they are all good.

Our Father's Love,
Tom

The view from the top of Masada towards the Dead Sea.  Notice the square?  That is the place of one of the Roman encampments that circled Masada.

DAY 5: ST. PATRICK'S DAY IN JERUSALEM

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you!  How often would I have gathered you children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! (Matthew 23:37).

Sometimes my notes are a little sketchy about the events of a day.  I never carry a note book with me during the day to record the events of the day as they happen, rather, I rely on my keen memory.  In the evening I write down the events that readily come to mind, my reasoning being that the events that readily come to mind are the events that impressed me and interested me the most and they are the ones that should be recorded.  For some unknown reason, day 5 is really sketchy and we covered some of the most interesting ground of the trip.

We started the day on the Mount of Olives, located across the Kidron Valley, east of Jerusalem.  Jesus was sitting on Olivet when he spoke about the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple and the last days--he had a perfect view of the Temple and the city from there (see Matthew 24).  The Mount of Olives is where the Lord will return, so it seemed logical to ask one of our co-pilgrims to take our picture there with the Dome of the Rock in the background.

We descended the Mount to the Church of All Nations, which is in Gethsemane.  It was in Gethsemane that Jesus spent his last free hours before his betrayal, arrest and crucifixion in prayer.  Olive trees never really die.  It is alleged that a couple of those very old trees in Gethsemane came from the very roots of the trees that were there in the time of Jesus.  Most likely, the Romans cut all the trees out of Gethsemane in 70 a.d..

We next walked into the old city of Jerusalem and walked the Via Dolorosa, the way of sorrows, the route Jesus carried the cross from the place of trial to Golgotha, the place of crucifixion.  There is more tradition than history in this route, but as old and narrow as the streets are, it gives one a strong sense of reality.  The way of sorrows ends at the Church of Golgotha and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  I care not for the old churches but I do care about the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord Jesus.  There is more history associated with these sites, than the other site that seems more plausible to me.  We next walked to the Garden Tomb.  To me it seems much more likely that this where the crucifixion and resurrection took place, but it does not have the weight of nearly 2,000 years of tradition on its side.

Supper time found us eating supper with a couple of Israeli soldiers, a young man and a young woman.  These soldiers were called "Lone Soldiers" because they have come from abroad, without their families, to serve in the Israeli Defense Forces.  I hope we were good company for them.  The young woman was Shara from Philadelphia.  She said her service in the IDF made her appreciate history more, especially American history.  She doesn't take the Fourth of July for granted any more.  The young man was Philip from New York.  He wanted Americans to understand that Israel is not all about military and defense, it is about culture and Americans should make an attempt to understand Israeli culture.  Both these soldiers were bright, articulate and unafraid.  I was glad we had the opportunity to share some time with them--I hope they were rewarded as much as we were!  I would say Israel is in good hands.

Our Father's Love,
Tom

Helen and I are standing on the Mount of Olives, the Dome of the Rock and old Jerusalem being in the background.  This was about where Jesus was when he spoke to his disciples Matthew chapter 24.  Notice, I did wear green for St. Patrick's day.

ADDENDUM: DAY 2

This is a real picture that I took in 2008 at Caesarea.  It is a picture of the aqueduct that brought water to the city.  That this piece of architecture still stands so strong after more than 2,000 years is a testimony to the engineering skills and the masonry precision of that day.  I do not know why our tour of Caesarea did not include this, but we had more to do than we could get done anyway (note day 2).  It was kool knowing that I had seen something the others hadn't.  I mentioned it to Helen, but to no one else--I didn't want to stir up dissatisfaction.  Note the blue Mediterranean through the arches of the aqueduct.

Our Father's Love,
Tom

DAY 4: NEVER PASS UP AN OPPORTUNITY

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.  But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"  Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness" (Matthew 3:13-15).

Helen and I were awake at six.  We bathed and packed our bags and ate another delightful breakfast.  Our first stop that day, Sunday, March 16, was the traditional baptismal site on the Jordan River.  Two of our group were baptised that day.  The Jordan is a muddy river in that location, it made me think of the leprous captain Naaman who was commanded to dip seven times in the Jordan and he protested that the rivers in Syria were much cleaner.  I'm sure he was right, but it is not the cleanness, but the obedience that heals (see II Kings 5:1-19).

We spent a short time shopping, though Helen still spent a lot of money, and we were off to Beit she'an, one of the cities of the Decapolis.  The Decapolis was a group of ten cities dedicated to the promotion and preservation of Greek and Roman culture.  The New Testament tells us that Jesus traveled within their scope of influence.  Beit She'an was the only city of the ten located west of the Jordan River.  This was the city, according to Keren, where Saul and Jonathon's bodies were hung from the city walls.  Beit She'an was, in Greco-Roman times, a metro area of roughly 40,000*, having all the trappings of wealth, theater, hippodromes, baths, saunas and gyms.  It had all the sophistication of Roman culture but was decadent and cruel with ritual prostitution and blood sports.  So it was interesting that we paused for Sunday morning worship within the ruins of Beit She'an.  We sang hymns and prayed.  We had a short message and celebrated the Lord's Supper there too.  I wonder if Beit She'an had ever had a Christian worship service in it?

We were beginning to know our fellow travelers from Oklahoma--we couldn't have picked a better group to travel with.  Most of them were seasoned, sophisticated travelers, but very humble and loving, so we did not feel like the novices that we were.

We ate lunch at Beit She'an.  I ate a piece of pizza and a 20 ounce Coke Zero.  I tell you this because I did not take time to use the men's room before we got back in the bus for the long drive to Jerusalem.  The drive down the Jordan valley was an interesting one, but it would have been much more interesting if I would have followed my traveling policy of never passing up an opportunity to use the restroom.  By the time we reached Mount Scopus for a view of the whole city in which we would be staying for the next 4 nights, I was in absolute agony.  When the bus stopped and we exited the bus, I asked Haim, our driver, if there was a men's room around here, "I need one bad."  He said, "It is not good to keep poisons inside; find a tree."  Haim was a pragmatist in his approach to life.

Our first night in Jerusalem we slept well.

Our Father's Love,
Tom

*The picture is of the theater in Beit She'an.  It's a 4,000 seat theater indicating an approximate drawing population of about 40,000 people.  In 2008 a Jordanian tour guide said the 3,000 seat theater at Jeresh indicated a population of about 30,000 people.  Keren did not agree with that assessment saying the population was way below that.

DAY 3: GALILEE TO THE GOLAN (Peace to War).

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew.  They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen, "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men" (Matthew 4:18-19).

It was a peaceful night of sleep in the historic city of Tiberius that night.  We awoke refreshed, and having broke fast with hearty Mediterranean fare we were on our way by 8:15 to another big day of touring.  We started the day by taking a boat ride on Galilee.  Most of our group thought this to be the highlight of the trip, it was still early and quiet, and not hard to imagine being with Peter, Andrew, James and John helping them to fish.  Yes, Galilee is only a lake, but still plenty big enough for a person to die in a storm.

We next stopped at Kibbutz Ginosar to see a 2,000 year old fishing boat that had been excavated from the mud of Galilee.  It was a fishing boat like the disciples would have used.  The boat was made of 12 different kinds of wood, the reason being there was a shortage of wood.  By the 19th century there was not a wooden boat to be found on Galilee (James Michener, The Source).

Our next stop was at the Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5,6,7).  It was a peaceful, quiet place for meditation, but it is more of a traditional place than a historical place.

Capernaum is a historical place.  We know Jesus was there!  Jesus spent most of his ministry in north Galilee, in a 12 mile arc on the north side of the lake.  Capernaum is about in the center of that arc--it is known as the 12 miles that changed the world.  At least 8 miracles were performed in Capernaum, still there were many who did not believe.  To whom much is given, much is required.  We saw the synagogue in which Jesus taught and Peter's mother-in-law's house.

From the shores of Galilee to Caesarea Philipi was our next trip.  It was here Jesus asked the 12 to tell him who men say that he is, and then "Who do you say that I am?"  Here is the temple of Pan, the gate to the underworld (Hades) which would not prevail against the Church, Jesus told his apostles.

We hadn't stopped for lunch yet, and it was about 2 p.m. so we stopped in a Druze village on the way up to Mount Bental.  We had a delightful lunch of falafuls, swarmas and Coke Zero.  There were armed Israeli soldiers in the restaurant too--Syria was not very far away.

Upon reaching the summit of Bental, an extinct volcano, Keren, our guide, explained to us the border with Syria and told us about the war of 1967 and the real acts of heroism that were required for Israel to survive. After hearing that I mentioned to her that I thought it was Divine providence. Keren did not respond, so I am not sure if she heard me, or, that she did not agree with my belief.* I do believe, however, that there have been so many near miraculous outcomes with the Israelis that the hand of the Divine had to be in it.  We were so close to the war in Syria that we could hear it going on.

Our Father's Love,
Tom

Tom and Helen on Galilee.

*Keren was a delightful guide, and, I believe, very accurate in her presentations.  There were some matters in her presentation that were veried from what my previous guides told me.

DAY 2: MORE TO DO THAN WE HAD TIME FOR

Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea (Acts 8:40).

Food in the hotels in which we stayed was very good, so we ate a hearty breakfast in Tel Aviv, loaded our luggage on the bus and headed north to Caesarea by 8:30.

Caesarea was a city built by Herod the great as a gift to the Roman Caesars.  It was a beautiful city with all the amenities that a royal visitor or government official would expect: a 4,000 seat theater, a hippodrome, pools, baths and saunas were all there.  Caesarea became the defacto capital of Herod's kingdom.  The weather on the Mediterranean coast was much better than in hot old Jerusalem, and the people were not as contentious either, so government officials much preferred Caesarea to Jerusalem!

In the book of Acts there are 15 references to Caesarea.  There is evidence that Philip established a church there (see Acts 21:16),  Cornelius and his family became believers there and Paul was imprisoned there for 2 years as well, so Caesarea is an important place in Christian history.

Since I visited in 2008, quite a lot of restoration work had been done on the theater.  We made an attempt to demonstrate the acoustics of the theater, but there were many tourists there so it did not work out so well.  The theater in Jeresh, Jordan, is much superior--I was there in 2008.

Our next stop was Mt. Carmel where the prophet Elijah smote the prophets of Baal.  From both Carmel and Megiddo one can view one of the most fertile valleys in the world.  It is beautiful so it is hard to believe that the last battle will be fought here.  Northern Israel is where most of the fertile land is and where most of the prosperity is.  Could it be that partially explains why the northern tribes fell into idolatry more quickly because of too much prosperity?

Just next-door to Mt. Carmel is Meggido.  This site was important to the kings of old because it was a strategic location.  Meggido is a tel with 28 different layers of civilization to it. James Michener used Megiddo as a model for his novel, "The Source."  "The Source" was required reading for our Hebrew History class at Nebraska Christian College.  BTW, Bob and Polly Pat Michener were on the tour with us.  It was interesting to converse with them about their famous cousin.

On to Nazareth, "Shootsville" (The August 23, 2008 archive, "He Shall be called a Nazarene" explains it. ) to visit the church of the Annunciation.  It was there Gabriel announced to Mary that she would conceive and bear a son as a virgin--a son who would be the Savior of the World.  The church and its symbolism were impressive.  In stark contrast to the church was a sign placed by the Muslims warning Christians not to worship the Trinity because only Allah is God.

Though it was on the schedule, we did not stop at Cana where it is recorded that Jesus did his first miracle of turning water into wine.  It was getting late and dark so we drove on to Tiberius on Galilee to spend the night.  It was a long day.  Touring the Holy Land is not easy, but it is good!

Our Father's Love,
Tom

This picture is of Jerusalem, taken from the Mount of Olives.  I will try to do better in picture selection.

TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL UPDATE

If you remember the "Touched by an Angel" bullet of March 02, I said I would keep you all further updated on my mother's visitors that enter her apartment bedroom, but never leave.  I could just write them off to hallucinations, but I want to keep an open mind.  Mom saw one of these visitors yesterday, it was a male, the others being female.  She thought it was me so she didn't say anything.  I said, "Mom, if I enter your apartment I will say hello."  I asked her if she saw the man leave and she said, "no."

One would think if an elderly woman saw an unidentified person entering entering her apartment that she would be afraid.  My mother is not.  These visitors do not inspire fear, only curiosity.  I asked her again to ask the visitors to identify themselves.  I have my own theory and will share it at the appropriate time, but I will keep you updated.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

DAY ONE: OLD JAFFA

Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter.  He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea (Acts 10:5-6).

At the airport in Tel Aviv we were introduced to our guide, a charming 40 something female who both entertained and informed us about what we were seeing.  Her name was Keren. Keren has a great speaking voice making her easy to listen to Our bus driver was Heim.  To me it is amazing how he could navigate the crowed narrow streets with a tour bus and never put a scratch on it.  We were all very thankful for his important skill as a driver!  We tourists came to love them both.

Jaffa was an old city even during the time of Jonah.  When God commanded Jonah to go to Nineveh, Jonah left Joppa (now Jaffa) headed in the opposite direction.  Archaeologists have unearthed remains dating 2,000 years before Christ, establishing it as one of the world's oldest sea ports.  We saw archaeological evidence that the Egyptians were a significant part of the city's history.

Significant Biblical events happened in Jaffa other than Jonah's disobedience.  Tabitha/Dorcas was raised from the dead here (Acts 9) and Peter had his vision here in which God communicated to Peter that anything that God has made pure shall not be called impure, speaking of the conversion of Cornelius and his family which was soon to follow (Acts 10).

We walked the streets of old Jaffa.  The old streets are dark and narrow and turn alot--it wouldn't be hard to get lost. We met a woman who had moved there from Oklahoma, making Jaffa her home.  We saw the traditional home of Simon the Tanner as well as St. Peter's church where the alter faces west, symbolizing the church's openness to the Gentiles because of Peter's vision.  One of the items of interest is that there are so many cats in Jaffa.  Keren said the British (Brits) brought them to deal with all the rodents.

The Mediterranean coast reminds me a lot of California.  The weather was somewhat stormy that first day, the surf was up and there were surf-boarders surfing.  We had a festive supper, but were very tired, and eagerly went to bed.  March 12 and 13 blended together into one long day.  We spent the night in the next-door city of Tel Aviv.

Our Father's Love,
Tom

This wasn't the 777 we flew in on, but it is amazing to me that we can load up 300 people and all of their stuff and fly them at 500 miles per hour across the ocean.  What an age we live in! Below is Simon the tanner's front door. (A traditional site.)

THE TRIP TO ISRAEL (keeping the appointment)

Do two walk together, unless they have made an appointment? (Amos 3:3).

For Helen and me, the trip to Israel began much earlier than the 12th of March, we had many chores to do and responsibilities to make arrangements for before we could leave.  We left home on the evening of Tuesday, the 11th, because the flight out of Omaha was at 6 in the morning.  We checked into the motel, but did not sleep well due to the anxiety of checking in on time and of the flying itself (The missing 777 out of Malaysia was a big news item).

The alarm went off at 3:30 a.m. and we were out by 4:15.  We went through the checking-in process only to find out that, because of bad weather in Chicago, the flight would be delayed 2 hours.  Still we made the flight to Chicago in time to catch the flight to New York.  Even though we were late to New York, we were able to board El Al to Tel Aviv on time.

The 777 was packed with Jewish people going to Israel to celebrate the feast of Purim.  Seated next to me was a Jewish man who struck up a conversation with me.  By this time of the day I just wanted to relax my brain, but he didn't let me.  So we talked of our families, our occupations, and even politics (I asked him why Jewish people support Obama even though he is anti Israel.)  But then we got to religion.  For me, my mind being what it was, it was like bringing a butter knife to a sword fight.  My seat partner had a law degree from Georgetown University, but was a financial planner.  Who am I, but a lowly Iowa farmer.  So he tried to impress on me the superiority of Judaism over Christianity by saying, "A whole nation witnessed the giving of the law and they passed it on to their children.  In Christianity only a few people witnessed the resurrection, and who knows if they saw anything or not?"

I wished my reply would have included this, but it did not, "Your law, witnessed by a whole nation, says a fact is established by 2 or 3 credible witnesses, and the credibility of those witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus Christ is well established."  What I did say to him was still pretty good.  "Yes, a whole nation did witness the giving of the law, and they all died in the wilderness because they did not believe God."  That pretty much ended our discussion.  He had a lavatory stop to make and prepare for prayers at 6 a.m. on the 13th, which it was because of time-zone loss.  I'm not sure why God made the appointment for us to sit together.  My argument was not impressive, but perhaps God thought he needed to hear it.

We arrived at Ben Gurion airport at 4:30 p.m. and we immediately started our tour at old Jaffa.  (Continued tomorrow).

Our Father's Love,
Tom

WE ARE HOME (for a while)

Jesus did not let him, but said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you" (Mark 5:19).

Helen and I are home.  We departed the 12th of March, 2014, on a trip to Israel.  It was the second one for me, but the first time Helen was willing to travel outside the United States.  We went with a group from the South Yukon Church of Christ let by pastor Dr. Perry Greene.

It was a great trip, blessing both body and soul.  Basically, our diet was Mediterranean fare, though one night some of us went to McDonald's to eat.  We walked close to 5 miles each day--one of our group had a pedometer.  It was not easy walking either, walking up steep stairs or down steep inclines, through narrow tunnels, both wet and dry.  We all came home in better shape than we left.

I was in the Holy Land 6 years ago.  There has been much excavating and discovery since that time that it was very interesting to return.  One of my personal beliefs which I came to hold from my first visit, and this visit only strengthened it, is that the place of Israel in these last days is to be the developer and protector of artifacts and antiquities for all the world to see.  People are coming from all over the world to see the story of the Bible told there.  I'm not sure how many are being made believers in Jesus Christ, but I know that some are.  If the Muslims had full control over what is now Israel, very little Biblical evidence would exist because the archeology does not tell the story of Islam.

When we arrived in Israel the CEO of the tour company met us in Tele Viv.  As he shook each of our hands he said, "Welcome home."  He meant, of course, that Israel is our spiritual homeland, the place where the events that paid the price of our pardon actually happened.  Helen and I are now at home in Iowa--not quite Heaven yet--trying to bear witness to the truth of the Bible until we are finally home with the Lord.  Over the course of the coming weeks I will try to share a few of these important things with you.  

Our Father's Love,
Tom  

The picture of the "Dome of Rock" is a holy place to Muslims.  The most holy place to the Jewish people today is the Western Wall.  It is located below and to the right of the DOTR.

NO MAN'S SLAVE

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed (John 8:36).

If I remember correctly, I am currently watching the mini series, Centennial, for the 13th time.  It was given to me for Christmas in 1998 by the lovely and gracious Helen in video casett form.  I took a couple of years off watching it because of not having a VCR player that worked.

My favorite episode of the mini series is of the cattle drive of 1868 when John Skimmerhorn and R.J. Poteet and cowboys trailed 3,000 cattle from Texas to Colorado to start the Venneford Ranch.  The foreman of the cowboys was a black man named Nate Person.  Nate had been a slave before the Civil War, now he was free.  One of the great lines of the episode was when Nate said, "When you are a cowboy you are no man's slave."  There's something about a cowboy.  I've raised cattle and hogs.  The hogs make the money, but nobody writes songs about farmers who raise pigs.  There's some romance and freedom in being a cattleman.  The cattleman is out in the open spaces making his own decisions--cattleman walk a little taller than other men.

Still, when one is a slave to Jesus Christ, he is the most free that he will ever be because he belongs to the family of God and heir to His wealth.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL?

Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? (Hebrews 1:14).

My mother will be celebrating her 94th birthday the 28th of this month.  One of my daily tasks is to stop and visit with her and make sure all is well with her.  One day during my visit she told me that a woman enters her apartment and goes into her bed room.  She waits for the woman to come back out, but she never does.  I told mom that sometimes we think we see movement out of the corner of our eyes and think it is a person, but it is not. Emphatically she said, "NO!"  "I see the door open and a woman comes in, but I never see her go out!"

I am not sure what to make of it.  It could well be just a hallucination, but there could be more to it than that. I have told mom to let me know when it happens again.  It has been over a week now and she has said nothing.  I am going to ask mom about it again and ask her to talk to the woman and find out what her name is and what she is doing.  I was thinking that maybe it is an angel sent to minister to my mother.  I will bring up-dates as this plays out.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

ALEXANDER MCKEAG'S LOVE

. . . Love your enemies . . . If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? (Matthew 5:44, 46).

"A love that risks nothing is worth nothing" (Alexander McKeag).*

Our Father's Love,
Tom

*A favorite character of mine in James Michener's Centennial.  Perhaps the mention of his name will stir up some Centennial fans.  In any case, McKeag's thought about love is true.

THAT WHICH CALLS FORTH LOVE

Finally, brothers, whatever is . . . lovely . . . think about such things (Philippians 4:8).

Last Thursday, about noon,  the parking lot of the local convenience store was clogged and I was in a hurry--not a good combination.  Helen and I were going to travel to my daughter's to celebrate her birthday and to watch my grandson play basketball.  When I pulled into the parking place, I thought I needed to square up, so I backed up, not noticing that a young man in a 2014 Chevy Cruze had pulled in behind me.  He honked the horn to warn me, but it did not register in my hurried brain.  I did stop, however, but not before I scraped his new car.  The young man was very angry and said some very bad things, but I did understand his feelings.  It was his first new car after years of driving old "clunkers." I have had that same kind of experience.  We exchanged insurance company information and the local police came and investigated the accident.  Prior to our leaving the scene the young man apologized to me for his behavior.  I was truly amazed.  He didn't have to do that.  I am pretty sure if I would have given the young man the same behavior that he gave me at the beginning there would have been no apology forth coming!  I do give this young man a lot of credit!!

The Greek word is prosphile, lovely, in Philippians 4:8.  In his commentary, The Daily Study Bible, William Barclay says that this word could be translated, That which calls forth love.  One of the things that Christians are called to consider is, What do my thoughts, attitudes and behavior "call forth" in others?  Fear and bitterness will call out the same in those around us.  Criticism and rebuke can call forth resentment and anger in others.  However, empathy and kindness can well call forth the best in others--I found that to be true in the convenience store parking lot that day.

Our Father's Love,
Tom

HOW TO EVALUATE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers.  Anyone who does not love remains in death.  Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him (I John 3:14-15).

I was motivated to post this Scripture because a little congregation I am currently serving is going through some strife right now.  I ask for your prayers.  Our labors are in vain if our people are unconverted in their hearts and do not love.

Our Father's Love
Tom

JESUS CHRIST: SOURCE OF GRACE AND PEACE

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 1:7).

Isn't it interesting that what God does Jesus does?  God the Father and the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ are the source of grace and peace.  The greeting that Paul uses to address the Christians at Rome is duplicated in nearly each of his epistles.  With out Christ there is no grace--You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace (Galatians 5:4)(See also 2 Timothy 1:9-10).  The "Bullets" I write are not comprehensive studies, but are only intended to plant seeds and be thought starters.  Many, many scriptures could be added in terms of reference for Jesus being the source of grace.

Grace isn't just about justification, it also has to do with training in righteousness; it isn't just about getting to Heaven, it is about how to live on this earth.  These words from Paul to Titus are instructive: For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.  It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ . . . (Titus 1:11-13 emphasis mine).

Being taught by the grace of God, being assured about life after death brings peace to the lives of those that have faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Those who possess true faith in Jesus are committed to replicate His life in theirs--to be like Him.  It is in that effort that Holy Spirit strengthens and gives peace to the believer.

In Hope,

Tom

JESUS CHRIST: CREATOR AND SUSTAINER

I am the Lord, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself (Isaiah 44:24).

. . . yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live (I Corinthians 8:6).

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made;  without him nothing was made that has been made.  (John 1:1-3).

He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born over all creation.  For by him all things were created: things in heaven and things on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created for him and by him.  He is before all things and in him all things hold together (Colossians 1:15-17).

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.  The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word . . . (Hebrews 1:1-3).

I have simply chosen to use Scripture to communicate the truth that Jesus Christ is the creator and the sustainer of the universe.  To believe that Jesus is a created being is to believe in a Jesus who is less than he is.  A faith in a false Christ is a false faith, unable to save.

In Hope,
Tom

JESUS CHRIST: KING OF KINGS

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).

I am now just recovering from an intense cold--I haven't been able to put together a coherent thought in close to a week.  I hope these thoughts make sense.

Our current president would like to be king because working with congress is such a messy and cumbersome business.  Congress has made it almost impossible to get the president's agenda passed into law.  That means, of course, that the government is working exactly as the framers of the Constitution intended.  We have lived in a democracy so long that we do not appreciate what it was actually like to live under a king who had executive, legislative and judicial powers to use at his whim.  Life and death could be executed at his word.  That kind of power makes government very efficient and can be very good if a good king is the ruler.  But, our fore fathers were Christians and they understood the Biblical truth that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.  Men of earth, sons of Adam, cannot handle that kind of power.

There is one who wields that kind of power and authority already: But about the Son he says, "Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom" (Hebrews 1:8). 
There is no higher authority than the authority of Jesus Christ. His rule is incorruptible!  Even with all the checks and balances in our constitutional government we still have to deal with plenty of corruption.  We look forward to the day when government will be perfect: They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of Lords and King of Kings--and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers (Revelation 17:14).

In Hope,
Tom

JESUS IS TO BE WORSHIPPED

But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son . . . (Galatians 4:4).

If God could be fully comprehended He would not be God--some of what the Bible says about Him is difficult to understand.  We only know about Him from what He has created,  from what He has chosen to reveal to us in the historical records and in His Spiritual revelation, the Bible.  History tells us that Jesus Christ was born about 6-4 BC.  More than any other person, Christ has shaped the cultures and the history of the world in which we live.  Today, for every eight people in the world, one of them is a practicing Christian.  While Islamists use force, violence and death to convert people to Islam, Christians use the Divinely powerful weapons of truth and love to bring people to submission to God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

One of the characteristics of Christ is that He is worthy of worship: Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9-11).  What legitimate prophet would accept worship?  In the Bible there are none.  The Bible does not record angels accepting worship either.  Anyone professes to be an angel or a prophet who accepts worship is false and not to be believed!

One of the reasons Jesus is to be worshipped is that He is in the form of God and equal with God (Philippians 2:6-8).  Jesus did not count equality with God a thing to be held on to, but He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant and was born in the likeness of a human being.  He submitted Himself to the Father, becoming obedient unto death on a cross to pay for the sins of humanity.  If that great act of love does not touch your heart to worship, most likely, nothing will.

Our Father's Love,
Tom

WHO DO YOU SAY JESUS IS?

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do men say that the Son of man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, other say Elijah,  and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 16:13-17).

The truth that is one of the foundation rocks of the Christian faith is that Jesus is the Christ, the one specifically appointed and annointed by God to be the Lord and Savior of the world.  Muslims call him a prophet, and that he was, but he was much more than a prophet.  "Jehovah's Witness" call him an angel, but he was much more than an angel, being the very Son of God (Hebrews 1:1-4).

"Trinity" is a word used in Christian theology to partially describe God.  "Trinity" is not found as a word in the Bible so it must be understood that it is not a word that was inspiried by the Holy Spirit to be a description of God.  It was on that basis that a number of great Christians were not "trinitarians" in their Christian theology, Isaac Newton being one of them.  One of the problems with using non-inspired words is that they can be deficient in communicating the exact truth that God wants communicated, though they can be helpful in bringing a truth into clarity.  In the coming "Bullets," the use of the term, "trinity," will be avoided, leaving the reader to draw his own conclusions about who Jesus is.

One truth that is clear about Jesus, if he is not believed to be the Lord of your life and the one and only savior from your sin, your faith is deficient.  Who do you believe Jesus is?

Our Father's Love,
Tom  

FAITH IN CHRIST IS CRUCIAL

He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him (John 3:36).

Recently, a "Jehovah's Witness" stopped at my house intending to "witness."  At the time it was not convenient to visit so a lively discussion did not happen, but that encounter made me think that I should make a special effort to communicate to all that one's believe about Jesus Christ is the most crucial belief one can ever have.  It makes the difference between life and death, salvation and hell.

A person cannot read Matthew, Mark, Luke or John and not be confronted with a decision to make.  One can read about any other person in history and his thinking about that person makes little difference--Mohammed pales in comparison.  Not so with Jesus.  An encounter with Jesus Christ in the gospels forces one to make a decision about him.  Is he the Lord and Savior? Or, is he a liar and fraud or lunatic?  Those are the only choices that can be made about him.

So, the next few "Bullets" will be about Jesus Christ because what you believe about Christ is crucial!

Our Father's Love,
Tom  

CHRISTIAN CONFLICT RESOLUTION

For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12).

I am the chairman of the board of a small non-profit service organization.  At a recent board meeting our director did not like the direction the board was taking so she made an emotional display and left the meeting.  At that point it was not possible to continue the meeting so the official meeting was adjourned even though there was business that needed attention.  Though our director was successful in short-term control of the meeting, in the long term, business has to proceed or it will mean the death of our non-profit.  No business can be emotionally directed without failure.

How to proceed?  First, pray a lot.  The real adversary, who can stimulate our emotions so that we act in a manner that is not wise, is active.  We need God's help.  In these kinds of situations it is always necessary to remember that satan is the one behind the event.  Satan is a destroyer, not a builder! 

Second, we must remember that our director is a sister in Christ, not an enemy combatant!  She is due the respect of her Christian family.  Being a Christian, I have every confidence that she will consider the difference between what her flesh desires and the legitimate direction of the board of directors.

Third, keep meetings logical and fact-based, do not allow emotions to rule.  This is the mark of emotional maturity. 

Our Father's Love,
Tom

FAMILY: FOUNDATION OF A NATION

. . . let each of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband (Ephesians 5:33).

The family is the foundation of the nation.  According to a Family Research Council study cited in "The Foster Report,"*  a married couple's decision to stay together is more influential in lowering the number of teenage out-of-wedlock births, unemployed dads, and Americans on welfare than any other factor.  Family cohesion is the main factor in determining whether a child will graduate from high school, families will end up on welfare, and young men will be employed or not.

Encouraging and cultivating good marriages is very very difficult in our present culture, but it must be done--the health of a nation depends on it!

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

*The Foster Report is page of cited trends and facts in The Christian Counseling Connection. 

MINISTERING TO THE WHOLE PERSON

May the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

At my home church, the sign over the main entrance to the gymnasium reads, "FAMILY LIFE CENTER, Ministering to the WHOLE person."  One of the foundational beliefs of my church is that a person is not just a spirit, though he is a spiritual being. That is what it means to be created in the image of God.  Jesus also spoke of our spiritual nature when quoted from Psalms 82:6 which speaks of humans as being gods (See John 10:34).  Certainly, the ministry of the Church of Christ has to be a ministry that feeds the spiritual nature of a person.

A person is a body as well.  The genetic code of each person is a little different, perhaps by degrees of minutia, but still making each of us different and unique.  Medical science would not be possible if there were huge differences in people's physical make up, so while being more alike than we are different there are still enough differences to make each of us unique as a snowflake--and we are all a little "flaky" at times.  The body is a temporary dwelling place of the spirit/soul until its death.  The stewardship of the body is essential, enabling us to serve the Lord as best as we can as long as we can.

The soul is the result of spirit and body coming together.  The basic outline of this is Genesis 2:7 which says that the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into him the breath of life and man became a living soul.  The soul is the image of God expressed within the framework of the body's genetic code.

So, what do we do as a church to minister to the whole person?  First and foremost, we worship our God, and the Lord Jesus Christ.  We teach the word of the Spirit, the Bible, to nourish and strengthen our spirits. We emphasize Christian fellowship because God intends for us to be social--we need "Jesus with skin on" for mutual support as we live in this.  We work together, doing acts of service.  We pray together.  We have a community vollyball league in the gym opening opportunities for relational evangelism. 

At my church, we want our people to do well in every way.  We want them to be spiritually healthy, physically healthy, financially healthy, and have emotional/social health.  One of the signs of the presence of the Kingdom of God is wholeness.  My church can do better in ministry to the whole person--we are not there yet.  With God's help, we will do better, that is our goal.

Grace&Peace,
Tom

NO PAIN NO GAIN

Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing ( James 1:2-4).

My grandson, Alex, is already training for the track season.  Every athlete can relate a saying or anecdote that his/her coach is fond of using.  Alex told us a saying that his track coach uses: "Pain is weakness leaving the body."  I think it is a good saying for athletes because it takes a lot of pain to prepare for competition.
It is also true for us who are competing for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Pain helps us to become toughened for the battle as we serve Him.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

THE ECONOMICS OF CHRIST 4

I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of equality your abundance at the present time should supply their want, so that their abundance may supply your want, that there may be equality.  As it is written, "He who gathered much had nothing over, and he who gathered little had no lack" (2 Corinthians 8:13-15).

The wealth of a nation, more than any other factor, is the character of its people. 

The attitudes and values of a person or nation are more indicative of personal or national success than any other factor.  When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, his purpose was the collection of a free-will offering to aid the extremely impoverished Christian brothers and sisters in Jerusalem--he was not advocating taxation to fund a government program.  But Paul was engaged in character building when he said that there must be an economic balance in the kingdom of God.  He told the Corinthians to remember the example of Jesus Christ, who, though he was rich, became poor so that by his poverty they could become rich (8:8-9).  Having the character of Christ is true wealth.

  As servant/slaves of Christ, all of the income or wealth we create belongs to the master.  He is the one who has ownership of it, but, His servants have stewardship of it, using it according to the Master's will.  Is it the Master's will to economically support those who are in legitimate need?  Yes.  Is it the Master's will to provide economic support to those who think they are entitled to it whether they work or not?  No.  The Old Testament reference to which 2 Corinthians 8:15 refers is Exodus 16:18.  It is about gathering manna, the food God sent the Israelites from heaven.  Some were physically able to gather more than others, but to each it was just enough.  Though it was free food, it still had to be gathered, and each who gathered had enough.  Though the manna from heaven was a gracious gift, it still had to be gathered.

In the economy of Christ there is balance.  Christians have a responsibility to each other.  The Old Testament shows us that there is economic balance under the Law.  How much more so should there be balance in the New Covenant economy.  In my view, the church must be more involved in the lives of its people, developing Christian structures for health care and financial management because the old structures are breaking down. 

The true wealth of a nation is the character of its people who freely serve from their hearts, not because of any kind of compulsion other than the love of Christ.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

THE ECONOMICS OF CHRIST 3

For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: If any one will not work, let him not eat.  For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work (2 Thessalonians 3:10-11).

I was surprised to learn that verse 10 has been a favorite of marxist/socialist proponents--it even appeared in the Soviet constitution.  One of the inherent problems with socialism is that there are a lot of slackers and freeloaders that contribute nothing and are a drag on the economy.  In cases of old-age and disability there has to be some allowances made, otherwise everyone has to contribute equally to receive equally.  It sounds good in theory, but in socialist/marxist economies some are more equal than others.  Party elites and cronies make out like royalty while common folks work and are deprived.  Socialism and marxism sound good in theory, but the reality is quite different.

The Bible does not endorse one form of earthly government.  It may be that the church in Thessalonica, like the one in Jerusalem, formed a more socialistic relationship because the return of the Lord Jesus would be soon--it was a temporary relationship.  But as in all socialistic relationships there were the lazy idlers and slackers and that is why Paul said what he said.  The problem with earthly socialistic governments is that they do not follow God's word and they give to those who refuse to work while taking from honest workers and achievers.  Socialistic experiments in Jerusalem and Thessalonica were voluntary, they were not forced on the members of the church.

I had always assumed that verse 10 was only used by people who favored a market economy.  In a market economy people are free to work as much or as little as they want, but there is always the understanding that the one who works little will receive less than those who work more.  When one experiences the natural consequences of eating less, one will, most likely will be spurred on to work more.  I'm being cynical here, but they will work hard at forming a political party to get the money out of your pocketbook and into their hands.

What is true here is that able bodied people who can work must not be enabled to not work by giving to them inappropriately--it's a sin.  Natural consequences are important teachers if one will be taught.
 
It is interesting to me that both liberals and conservatives claim verse 10.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

THE ECONOMICS OF CHRIST, part 2

Not that I complain of want; for I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content.  I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound; in any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and want.  I can do all things in him who strengthens me (Philippians 4:11-13).

Helen and I started farming during the farm crisis of the 1980's.  Many were leaving the farm, we were just beginning.  When we were going over the rental agreement with my parents, the lawyer told us that we would be living on "bread and water" for quite a while, and that we did.  During that time I remember reading Paul's words here and thinking, "Ya, but he didn't have a wife and three children to support."  By the Lord's providence we made it through the farm crisis, though I can't say yet that I have the faith of Paul and can be content in all circumstances.

One thing to be noted here is that Paul, like Jesus, does not contend for a political/economic system to deal with the needs of people, rather, contentedness comes from putting first things first and second things will follow.  Discontent comes primarily from a lack of faith that God will provide for his children the things which they need.  Beyond that, discontent comes, not because there is a lack of necessities, but a lack of personal desires, vanities, as I call them.

One of the mistakes a discontented person makes is to assume that one's present situation is the last word on a person's future. It is not!  The wealth of the world is God's, he owns "the cattle on a thousand hills," so in his providence he makes provision for his children in many different ways.  Stop and think for a moment, "How is it that you are where you are?"  What part does God have in that?

One of the foundation stones to the economics of Christ is not a certain political or economic system, though Satanic ones can certainly bring general poverty, but focusing first on Christ and his kingdom and, as a result, our existential needs will follow in abundance.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

THE ECONOMICS OF CHRIST

One of the multitude said to him, "Teacher, bid my brother divide the inheritance with me."  But he said to him, "Man, who made me judge or divider over you?"  And he said to them, "Take heed and beware of all covetousness; for a man's life doesnot consist in the abundance of his possessions." (Luke 12:13-15).

I have been doing some reading about economics lately.  As a pastor/counselor it has motivated me to think about how Christ and Christianity fit into today's world.  It is important to think about because, though the American economy maybe nearly last in the race to the bottom, it is still headed for the bottom.  So what should be our concerns and our responsibility right now?

My "Silver Bullets" have never been thoroughly refined, but are, rather, thoughts that have come to me as a result of reading, study and conversation with others.  There might be some gapping holes in my reasoning, but putting my thoughts into writing helps me to think things through.

In the time of his flesh Jesus was among people who were taxed to death, paying taxes to the Romans, to the "Herods", client kings of the Romans and paying the temple tax for the building and maintaining the temple.  Though there were wealthy people, most were poor.  If a day's labor was missed, a day's eating, if not missed, was very slim.  In this kind of poverty, the teaching of Jesus did not champion a particular kind of economic system or political system, though I do believe Adam Smith's "invisible hand" connects with Christian teaching far more than socialism or marxism.

What we know about Christ and economics from this text is that Jesus was not a materialist.  If we reduce life to materialism then life becomes meaningless and without value.  It is important to note that the economic systems that do this are inherent killers.  In the 20th century, socialist/marxist/facist governments destroyed way over one hundred million of their own people.  Life consists in putting first things first and then an abundance of good second things will follow.

Until next time, read Luke 12:16-21.

Love & Prayers,
Tom 

THE ONE LIKE MOSES

The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him (Deuteronomy 18:15).

Moses said, "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren; to Him you shall give heed to everything He says to you"  (Acts 3:22).

I am currently reading through the book of Deuteronomy.  Reading this inspired me to write this advent meditation.  One of the foundation stones of Christian apologetics is the fulfillment of prophecy.  It was essential for the apostles, preachers and teachers of the New Testament to show how the coming of Jesus, the Christ, fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament.

Fourteen hundred years before Christ, Moses prophesied that God would raise up a propet like himself.  In the apostle Peter's second sermon, he says that Jesus is the one like Moses.  Being like Moses was one of the necessary qualifications of the Messia that people were looking for (John 1:45).  There are many similarities between Jesus and Moses.  The following list only contains the salient similarities:
1. They were both born under difficult circumstances in which their lives were in danger.
2. They both came out of Egypt.
3. They both enjoyed intimate communication with God (Deut. 34:10 & John 1:18).
4. Moses was the mediator between God and His people.  Jesus is the great mediator between God & His own (Hebrews 4:14-16).
5. Moses delivered Israel from slavery.  Jesus is the great deliverer from sin.
6. Both Moses and Jesus were miracle workers to credential their authority.  Moses parted the waters of the Red Sea; Jesus calmed the storms on Galilee.  Moses brought manna from heaven; Jesus multiplied the loaves and the fishes to feed the fultitudes.  Moses turned the waters of Egypt to blood; Jesus turned the water to wine at a wedding feast in Cana.  Truly, Jesus Christ is the only one who fulfills the prophecy of Moses.  So, as both Moses and God said (Matthew 17:1-5) we must listen to Jesus.

Our Father's Love,
Tom

WHAT IS LIFE?

And you he made alive, when you were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience (Ephesians 2:1-2).

I came that they might have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10b).

I typed into my search engine, What is life?  Anticipating a lot of Christian references in answer to my question, I was shocked to find not one.  There was, however, a science text written in 1944 with that question as the title as well as a hit single by George Harrison with that tital in 1971.  Thus, I titled this "bullet" with that question.

A dictionary definition of life goes something like this, 'Life is the condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter.  Life grows, reproduces, has functional activity and continually changes until death.'  All living things die while inorganic matter will never live, thus inorganic matter can never die.  The Arapaho Indians had a saying, "Only the rocks live forever.*"

I. Life is a loving relationship with God (Luke 15:32).  When the lost son came home he passed from death to life.

II. Life is the awareness that God knows all and He strengthens all who wait on Him (Isaiah 40:27-31).

III. God defines life differently; not as the world defines it--note Ephesians 2:1-2.  "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33).

Life is Jesus Christ.

Our Father's Love,
Tom

*From James Michener's Centennial
**Factoid from Forbes magazine October 12, 2013: Forty people per day are accidently deemed dead by the Feds each day.

America Needs Farmers

Back in the early 1980's, Iowa's legendary coach, Haden Fry, wanted to support the moral of Iowa's farmers during the farm crisis so, as a result of his concern, from that time to this day, Iowa Hawkeye football helmets have sported the "ANF" decal. No land-grant university in the country did anything similar, which might say something about where their true sentiments lie. In all the intervening years, I have not had an Iowa Hawkeye ANF t-shirt or sweat shirt. If my own family does not step up to the plate and buy me one for Christmas, I will get one for myself. Just letting my request be known. Tom

ASSUMING HOLY SPIRIT'S WORK

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit (II Corinthians 3:18).

Spiritual formation is a fashionable topic these days.  It would be a mistake to think that Spiritual formation is not occuring if the church is not specifically programming for it.  I have been involved in Christian ministry for nearly fifty years.  One of the things I know about living the Christian life and the life of the church is that is cannot be done by our own "steam."  If Holy Spirit is not in us, molding, shaping, empowering and leading us, all of our programming is simply perpetuating a social club or a service organization.

Certainly, Holy Spirit will not be present where disrespect, gossip, fighting, selfishness and immorality are present, but I do understand that we can assume Holy Spirit's active presence when a place is made for Him.  Having said that, I'm going to share ten verbs from the New Testament that describe Holy Spirit' work in our lives and in the church.*

1.  Holy Spirit fills us (Ephesians 5:18).                          2. Holy Spirit teaches us (John 14:26).
3.  Holy Spirit reminds (John 14:26).                              4. Holy Spirit guides us (John 16:13).
5.  Holy Spirit searches (I Corinthians 2:10-11).             6. Holy Spirit testifies to us (Romans 8:16).
7.  Holy Spirit helps (Romans 8:26).                               8. Holy Spirit intercedes for us (Ro. 8:26-27).
9.  Holy Spirit convicts (John 16:8).                               10. Holy Spirit enlightens (1 Corinthians 2:14).

Our Father's Love,
Tom

*These verbs were taken from an article in the Christian Standard (Feb. 2013) by J.K. Jones

YOUR ATTITUDE IS SHOWING

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross! 

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:5-11).

The third in a series of sermons from Philippians is about attitudes.  How would you define attitude?  If one is in aviation, attitude, or the position of the airplane means everything--it is the difference between flying safely or crashing.  It is a little tougher to define what a human attitude is.  I have read a half dozen different definitions in dictionaries and on line and each one has a little different shade of meaning.  But one thing is consistent with the attitude of an airplane; it is the difference between flying safely or eventually crashing.  More than any other factor, attitude determines a person's success.

Here is my definition of attitude that, I think, is true to the grammar of the scripture text and fits human experience as well: Attitude is a settled way of thinking and feeling that is reflected in a person's behavior.  Attitude is not simply a result of intelectual exercise, emotion is involved as well.  And, it should be mentioned that, sound thinking drives healthy emotions rather than emotion driving the thinking.  If a person is primarily emotionally driven, crashing and burning is a virtual certainty.

Attitude development is a project that a Christian should work on each day, checking our thoughts and feelings so that they are consistent with the word of God.  In verse 5 Paul strongly suggests that you check your attitude with Christ's.  If one's attitude conforms to the attitude of Christ then: . . . the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (4:7).

Our Father's Love,
Tom

TEARS OF JOY

. . . always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now.  For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:4-6).

I'm working on the 2nd in a series of sermons from the book of Philippians.  In the first, I pointed out that the Church, and individual Christians, are out-posts of Heaven.  Like the city of Philippi was an out-post of Rome, committed to Roman law, culture and defense, so the Church, and its members, are committed to Jesus Christ, his law, his culture and his defense--For our citizenship is in heaven . . . (3:20).

The 2nd in the series, I am looking at joy as the theme.  How are we able to be joyful in the face of adversity?  The culture of Christ is not one of "gloom and doom" in times of adversity and trials, but of optimism and joy.  I will freely admit that there are times when the trials come that we are "misty optics" rather than "optimistics" as we look at life through a vale of tears.  In a recent Christian Counseling Today I read an article written by Gary Oliver called, Lessons Learned from the Doorstep of Death.  In it he chronicled the deaths of his dad, wife, son, sister and his own personal battle with cancer.  As a result of his tribulations, Dr. Oliver shares this wisdom, I have discovered there is a big difference between surviving and thriving and know Christ did not die and rise again for us to merely survive. Just treading water is not what He meant by "becoming more than conquerors." (emphasis is mine)

In faith we draw on a resevoir of Divine grace, hope and fellowship so that we can live out our days, until His return, with joy.  The Christian does not deny the pain of tribulation in his life, but, while acknowledging it, chooses to be joyful because Christ is working in us and he will keep his promises.

Our Father's Love,
Tom

CLEAN UP YOUR PLATE, IT DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE

And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, that nothing may be lost."  So they gathered them up and fill twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten (JOHN 6:12-13).

Feedstuffs is a newspaper for agribusiness that I receive each week.  In a recent issue Rod Smith wrote a column called, "Food waste astounding."  He begins the column with these words and basic statistics: In a day and time when agriculture is under increasing pressure to produce 70% more food for 30% more people in 40 years, it's incredible that one-third of food production is wasted every year, yet that's the estimate from the U.N. Food & Agriculture Organization.  That's a lot of waste!

Waste is part of living in a fallen world; it can never be eliminated.  Nevertheless, it should be a high priority to reduce it as much as possible.  In America we have been bountifully blessed, so much so that American waste as much as 40% of their food and food waste is the largest single kind of waste entering land fills. If just 25% of what is wasted in America and Europe could be reclaimed there would be enough to solve world hunger.**  I might add that politicians are the biggest obstacle to solving world hunger.

Jesus did not believe in wasting food.  That which was left from the multiplication of the loaves and fishes was saved to be distributed to the poor and needy.  Christians must understand that it does make a difference to someone else in the world if they waste their food.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

*EPA Acting Administrator Bob Perciasepe

**food waste expert Tristram Stuart

A TASTE OF NEW WINE

Every man serves the good wine first; and when men have drunk freely, then the poor wine; but you have kept the good wine until now (John 2:10-11).

The United States has a long-standing tradition of temperence.  We owe the Methodist circuit riding preachers a debt of gratitude.  They recognized what unrestricted consumption of home-brewed alcohol was doing to children and families.  They preached against it and worked for legislation against it.  Thomas Welch was a Methodist minister who started making non alcoholic grape juice with which to celebrate the Lord's Supper.

Today, within the Stone-Campbell restoration movement, there are quite a number of preachers, ministers and pastors who regularly drink alcoholic beverages.  The purpose of this bullet is not to consign such leaders to hell, but it is intended to remind each one of their responsibility to be an example.  I have known of such drinking leaders who, when they go on paid leave to a Christian convention, will, skip the convention to celebrate their "freedom in Christ" by partying and drinking.  They wouldn't be employed at my church very long.  The Church must be a safe place for addicts and sinners! 

In the United States, each year approximately 80,000 deaths are directly attributed to alcohol consumption.  Gun violence, domestic abuse, automobile accidents all increase as alcohol consumption increases.  Because of how alcohol effects the brain, one under the influence KNOWS what he is doing, he just doesn't care.  There are 14 million alcohol addicts in the United States.  The cost of alcohol to the U.S. economy is about $230 billion dollars each year.  Is it any wonder that Solomon warned his sons, 'Do not even wish you could have some wine' (Tom Steele paraphrase of Proverbs 23:31).

I do not believe Jesus consumed wine with alcohol.  I know there are scholars who will "guffaw" this and think I am ignorant, so be it.  But I am willing to do a word-study with you if you like.

Experts say that the use of yeast for making alcoholic wine has been around since about 4,000 BC.  That is fairly consistent with the Biblical record of Noah's wine making.  Generally, from the beginning to the end, the Bible takes a dim view of alcohol consumption, but commends those who abstain.  Among those are the Rechabites of Jeremiah 35 of whom God said they "shall never lack a man to stand before me" because they obeyed the command of  Jonadab, their father, to not drink alcohol.

What would Jesus do?

Our Father's Love,
Tom

*It's just an opinion of mine that the water Jesus turned to wine was what wine will be in the new creation. 

COMMUNION: LET US USE WHAT JESUS USED

Let us, therefore, celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth (I Corinthians 5:8).

Recently, I had the opportunity to teach a class of 5th and 6th graders about communion, as a result, it made me think that it is important for all to understand.  A couple of  points about communion that are important for Christians to understand are what the elements were that Jesus used to institute the memorial and why.

When Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper he used a couple of the elements of the passover meal that he and the disciples were eating (Read Matthew 26:26-29).  The bread that Jesus used was unleavened bread.  Leaven, throughout the Scriptures, is symbolic of sin.  The Jews were to search out all leaven in their houses and dispose of it at this time.  The spread of leaven is subtle, but it always spreads.  It is symbolic of sin's influence, relentless and malignant.

The contents of the "cup" that Jesus used was nonalcoholic wine, "fruit of the vine."  I say this with confidence that what was used to celebrate the Passover, and what Jesus used to institute his memorial was not wine as we think of it today.  Making wine with alcohol required yeast, otherwise known as leaven.  The same leaven that makes the bread ferments the wine.  It would not have been on the passover table.

The body that was broken for us and the blood that was shed for us was without sin.  The emblems that are used in this memorial should not be that which contain the symbols of sin.

Our Father's Love,
Tom

GOOD TO SEE AN OLD BROTHER

It is good to see a cherished brother or friend not often seen (a paraphrased proverb somewhere in the Bible).

To make this a matter of historical record, my brother Kieth made a quick visit to Iowa, visiting friends and relatives.  His wife Vonda was unable to accompany him.  Helen and I took him to Sutherland's finest dining establishment (The Old P.O.) for supper.  It was a good good time talking memories, philosophy, theology and family systems.  We hope something like this happens again.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

THE MIDDLE EAST: THE TRUE FACE OF ISLAM

You will know them by their fruits.  Are grapes gathered from thorns or figs from thistles? (Matthew 7:16).

Islam reveals its true face in the Middle East.  What has followed in the wake of Islam is war, famine, pestilence and death.  Egypt, at least, has had the sense to reject the Muslim Brotherhood.

When a counselor counsels, the actual behavior of the client reveals the nature of the client more than anything the client says.  Likewise, the actual result of a belief system reveals its true nature.  It clearly is on display in the Middle East.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

*It must be added: There are apparently peaceful Muslims, but they will not speak up when atrocities happen.  They will not condemn the sensless slaughter of innocents.  They remain silent either because of fear or because they approve in their hearts what is going on.

 

AN EXAMPLE TO MICAH

Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6). Sunday, the 18th of August, 2013 my newest grandson was dedicated to the Lord. Grandson, Micah, is going to be a fine servant of the Lord as he grows in wisdom and stature and in favor of God and man. I am not going to absolutely guarantee outcomes, but if Micah's parents and grandparents keep their vows, Micah will have a solid foundation on which to build his life. One of the absolute essentials in successful child rearing is congruence--congruence between what a parent says he believes and how he acts. If a parent says he believes one thing and behaves in a different manner, kids will spot those inconsistencies and conclude the parent's values are not that important. Eventually, everyone differentiates from their parents, they take ownership of the values they have. A child will depart from the way he should go if parents do not live in the way they say they believe. Our Father's Blessings, Tom

PRAYER THOUGHT: HELP ME TO SEE

. . . let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us . . . (Hebrews 12:1).

I have been reading through the book of Hebrews in my daily Bible reading.  The translation of the Bible I am using is the New American Standard Version.  The author strongly urges us to let go of our sins which trip us up as we live for the Lord.  We know what sin is--the Bible defines them.  What isn't so easily understood are the "encumberances".  Encumberances are not sin, but they are, nonetheless, obstructions and burdens that hinder our service to the Lord and cloud our witness as we live our Christian lives.

Encumberances are not so easily defined.  What might be an encumberance to me might not be one to you.  It might be a good thing that is taking the place of a better thing.  It might be placing undue importance on things that do not matter that much.  I am not going to be specific beyond this unless someone would ask me. It could have to do with money and debt.  It might have to do with sports or politics.  It might have to do with hobbies and entertainment.  It might have to do with employment or even have to do with church work.

Since this is a more personal matter to which one might be blind, it is essential to ask God to help you to see and understand the encumberances to our Christian lives.

Love & Prayers,
Tom

PRAYER THOUGHTS: PRAYERS OF THE RIGHTEOUS

The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much (James 5:16).

One of the foundation stones of the reformation is, "the priesthood of all believers."  It is based in I Peter 2: 9 which says, But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a people for God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.  This was written to Christians in general, not to a specific class of clergy.  The reason this is important to bring up is that it isn't just clergy who can offer up effective prayers.  In the New Testament God makes no distinction between clergy and laity.  Every Christian has the responsibility to pray for each other and to share the gospel with others.  Granted, there are differences of spiritual gifts, but God hears the prayers of each committed Christan whether he or she is "clergy" or "laity."

I tell you all this because it is important for you to understand that your prayers prayed in faith are just as effective as any pastor, priest or pope!

Love & Prayers;
Tom

PRAYER THOUGHTS: PRAY WITH AUDACITY

And he cried, "Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!"  And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" (Luke 18:38-39).

Because we are humans, we will make mistakes when we pray; we might ask for things that are not theologically correct.  That's okay.  I believe God welcomes passionate mistakeness more than luke-warm correctness.

In 1540, Martin Luther's great friend and assistant, Frederick Myconius, became sick and was expected to die within a short time.  On his bed, he wrote a loving farewell note to Luther with a trembling hand.  Luther received the letter and instantly sent back a reply, "I command thee in the name of God to live.  I still have need of thee in the work of reforming the church.  The Lord will never let me hear that thou art dead, but will permit thee to survive me.  For this I am praying, this is my will and my will be done, because I seek only to glorify the name of God."  One week later, Myconius recovered and died two months after the death of Luther (I found this story in a sermon by Peter Marshall--it is supposed to be historically accurate).

What audacity!  Audacity is boldness and brashness.  It is willing to ask for outcomes that cannot succeed unless God is in them.  Have you prayed with audacity lately?  Be done with praying wimpy prayers!

Love & Prayers,
Tom