REPORT NO. 5 FROM GREECE AND ISRAEL TRIP

Sunday, August 30, 2009: We woke up early as usual and watched the sunrise over Galilee – pretty cool just to write those words. We were happy to leave the hotel, which was not a fun place, although the setting near the water was very nice. We drove to Tabgha. This is a place of springs that flow into Galilee. There is a rock here where a church was built. The rock along the shores of the lake is supposed to be near the place where Jesus appeared after his resurrection and fed the disciples fish and walked with Peter and John on the beach, asking Peter about his love for Him. See the story in John 21. Through oral tradition of people in Galilee, in the mid 300s, this was identified as the site of that event.

We assembled on the rocky beach there around 8:30 a.m. for a worship service and teaching by Mark Driscoll. I was hoping that he would teach from John 21. Instead, because he is about to start a series in Luke, he taught from Luke 8:22-25, where Jesus was sleeping on the boat, the disciples believed they were going to drown, and Jesus woke up and calmed the storm. We saw a similar type of boat the day before, with a platform on one end where Jesus could have been sleeping. Mark pointed out how exhausted all of us are walking around in 100 degree heat with high humidity. Yet, Jesus walked hundreds of miles without air conditioning or a comfortable place to lay his head. The Bible says that often he and the disciples didn’t even have time to eat. So, Jesus fell asleep on the boat, demonstrating his complete humanity. He then stilled the storm in a demonstration of his absolute diety. The wind and the storm had to obey him.

By the way, we observed how windy and choppy the lake would become in the late afternoon. It would take strong men to row several miles across the lake in those conditions.

We next drove to Beit Shean. This is one of the oldest archeological sites in Israel. Bet Shean was built before the patriarchs and was controlled by the Egyptians at some point in time. This was a huge city. The ruins are more extensive than what has been discovered so far at Corinth, which was a city of 700,000 to 800,000 at its peak. The main biblical reference to Beit Shean is that a headless Saul and his sons were hung on the walls of the city after their deaths on Mt. Gilboa. The city was controlled by the Philistines at the time. Beit Shean later came under the control of the Greeks and then the Romans. Eventually, the city became a thriving city of the early church.

This was a wealthy city, with a huge marble amphitheatre (still mostly intact), a stadium, a hippodrome, a large bathhouse complex with multiple pools, extensive public toilets – perhaps 50 people could sit side by side and use the toilets at the same time (there was no privacy). A soft leaf was provided to wipe oneself. The city had many large marble colonnades with mosaic tile on public walkways, and large tile covered buildings and many other signs of wealth and prosperity.

It was incredibly hot in the ruins, but when the city was flourishing there were apparently a number of springs that provided plenty of water for pools, fountains and all of the water needs of the inhabitants.

Picture Pompei or another wealthy city that came to a screeching halt. There was an earthquake at Beit Shean in 749 A.D. Massive marble columns tumbled down, embedding themselves in the pavement and other places. The city was then abandoned with everything left in place. Thus, the city has a spooky feeling of having been lived in by people who were thriving when everything suddenly stopped on one day. People died or left and the city was never re-inhabited. I have seen many ruins in many countries, but this was one of the most extensive and impressive set of ruins I have seen, because it was easy to visualize what the city was like before the earthquake.

The lesson that I took from Beit Shean is that we can be living in prosperity and thinking we are leading a fine Christian life in our fine Christian community and then it can all come to a stop in a single day. We don’t know what our life tomorrow will be like, so we need to live wholeheartedly for the Lord today. Go where He calls you to go and do what He tells you to do. Don’t hold back, because tomorrow may be too late.

We dragged our sweat soaked bodies into the air conditioned bus and drove along the Israeli-Jordanian border (the west bank of the Jordan River) on the way to Jerusalem. This was the route usually followed by Jews in going from Galilee to Jerusalem. As we moved south, parallel along the Jordan River, the landscape went from fairly lush farmland and citrus orchards to barren moonscape-like desert. There were large areas with no evidence of any living plant – just bone dry dirt and hot rocks. Can you imagine Jesus and others walking through such areas in the blazing heat? It is amazing that Jesus had any energy left for ministry.

We saw in the distance (it is an area controlled by the military and now somewhat dangerous) the area of the Jordan where John the Baptist baptized Jesus. Again, only the area along the river had any green. After Jesus was baptized, he went away into the wilderness, and it was apparently the barren moonscape type of wilderness. There would have been nothing physical to distract Jesus from preparing for the mission before Him.

As we drove south, we saw the modern city of Jericho to the right – a city controlled by the Palestinians as Palestinian territory. We could also see the proximity of Jericho to the Jordan River and the area where Joshua and the people of Israel must have crossed the river and then set up camp before marching around the ancient city of Jericho.

As we are driving, we are climbing. Galilee is the lowest fresh water lake in the world. Jerusalem is 3000 feet above sea level. So, we must go from hundreds of feet below sea level to 3000 feet above sea level. Again, the highway (like many of the roads in Israel) is essentially built over the top of the ancient roads that were used in Jesus’ time. As we began the ascent to Jerusalem, we were driving through pure moonscape – there was no living plant to be seen. This was the road on which bandits used to hide and attack travelers.

We passed an archeological site identified as an ancient inn. Apparently, this was an inn like that referred to by Jesus when he told the story of the good Samaritan who bandaged the Jew who had been injured by bandits on this same road. Thus, the story came more to life.

Before getting to Jerusalem, I need to mention something that is very obvious to everyone in Israel. There are mosques everywhere in Israel and Israel does not prevent the Muslims from worshipping. There are many Muslims/Palestinians who are Israeli citizens. Thus, Arabic Muslims and Israeli Jews worked side by side at just about every establishment that we visited. Our bus driver is an Israeli Muslim from a Palestinian/Arabic background (as are most of the tour drivers). Most of the kitchen help and hotel help falls in this category. The tour guides are Jewish Israelis who work very closely with the Muslim Israelis. Thus, there is no apparent conflict between these people. The conflict is with the non-Israeli Muslims who would like to take back “Palestine.”

We also learned that the word, “Palestine,” comes from the mispronunciation of the word, “Philistine,” by the Romans, who refused to call this Israel.

Getting back to the trip to Jerusalem -- after climbing steep roads, we came around a bend in the moonscape and suddenly there was the old city and the Dome of the Rock mosque. It was stunning. We drove to a look out point above the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and took photos looking down on the old city. We then had a great time of prayer and worship, reflecting on what God had done for us in this city.

Jerusalem is huge and it is a series of hills and valleys – there is very little flat ground – kind of like the hilly parts of San Francisco. The temperature here is much more temperate, because of the altitude. There was a cooling breeze – quite a contrast to what we have been experiencing. We ate lunch at a Kibbutz and then checked into the hotel. The hotel has a nice view and looks impressive, but it is really just another tourist trap. Nothing is as nice or as clean as it first appears. We had to cross a sewage leak in order to reach our hotel room. However, the room is comfortable and there is a nice pool.

We have dinner at 8 p.m. and then will have an early start to a busy day. We will see the Garden of Gethsemane, the Garden tomb and the stations of the cross from Jesus’ trek to Golgatha. Mark Driscoll will teach us at Gethsemane in the afternoon. On Tuesday, we will head to Bethlehem, in the Palestinian territories. We have been encouraged to buy souvenirs in Bethlehem in order to support the harassed Christian minority there. Our guides cannot come to Bethlehem with us because they are Jewish and are therefore banned.

Thank you for praying for us. We look forward to providing more reports. God has been exceedingly faithful to us and we are grateful for His grace. May God bless and keep each of you abounding in His joy.

RePORT NO. 4 FROM GREECE AND ISRAEL TRIP

Saturday Evening, August 30, 2009:

We have not had internet access except at exorbitant tourist trap prices, so we have been waiting to send emails.

We had a good night sleep, but got up early. I watched the light dawn over the Sea of Galilee. There was a nice cloud cover. We had an early breakfast and we in the bus by 7:30 a.m. I washed some of my dirty clothes in the bathtub before leaving. The food at this hotel is not nearly as good as the other places that we have stayed.

This hotel is inundated with Jewish families. Since it is the Sabbath, the observant Jews don’t use the regular elevator, but the Shabbat elevator that stops on every floor without having to push a button! Palestinians prepare and serve the food and handle other tasks so that the Jews don’t have to work on the Sabbath.

Our first stop was the Mt. of Beatitudes – the area where Jesus gave one of his most famous sermons. In the 4^th century, Christians came to the area and identified (via local oral tradition) the area where Jesus gave this sermon. It is an area in the north west corner of the lake. There is a Franciscan monastery there and the grounds and buildings are very nicely maintained.

We sat in an amphitheatre overlooking the lake and Mark Driscoll gave a sermon the the beatitudes from Luke. The sun was starting to really beat on us, even though it was early in the morning, when the Lord provided a cloud to cover the sun and a nice breeze. After the message, our guide stated that Jews use 3 blessings and Jesus multiplied that by 3. Mark Driscoll emphasized the contrasts between the blessings and the woes.

We next traveled to a museum that primarily preserves a fishing boat from the first century – just like that used by Jesus and his disciples. The boat was found preserved in mud and was carefully saved over a period of nine years. The boat seats about 13 people, just enough for Jesus and the disciples.

We took a boat tour of Galilee – really just a brief excursion off shore in old wooden boats. I was asked on the spot to provide a devotional and quickly put together a message from Mark 6, where Jesus feeds the 5,000 and then walks on the water past the disciples – using Bob Cryder’s message that “whatever threatens to be over your head is under his feet.”

After the boat ride and the museum, we went to lunch to have St. Peter’s fish. Fortunately, Miles and I opted out of having the fish. My chicken was excellent and Miles just had salad and pita bread.

Next stop was Capernaum. This is a wonderful site, but for reasons that escape us our guide rushed us through the site in order to get to the Jordan River baptism site. Capernaum was Jesus’ adopted home, and the home of Peter, Andrew, James and John. Peter called those disciples at Capernaum. He healed the paralytic who was lowered through the ceiling and he healed Peter’s mother at Capernaum. Jesus healed the daughter of Jairus, the synagogue leader there.

Capernaum was wiped out by an earthquake in the 600s. All of the cities along Galilee where Jesus ministered disappeared. This appears to be in fulfillment of His prophecy that it would be better for Sodom and Gomorrah than those cities, because they saw the power of God come and still did not repent. In the excavation of Capernaum, archeologists are fairly certain that they found the remains of the home of Peter’s mother, who Jesus healed. This is about 100 feet from the water and between the water and the Synagogue. There were various inscriptions on the floor of the home from the 1^st century in the form of statements of praise to the Lord. The home was apparently converted to a church sometime early on in the life of the church. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to spend nearly enough time in this town.

One of the coolest things we saw there was a large group of Ethiopian Christians who sang praise songs and had devotionals at different spots within the ruins.

We next drove around the east side of the lake and crossed the Jordan River. We went to a baptismal site where Mark Driscoll preached again and where many in the group were either baptized or re-baptized.

The baptismal site was one of the most offensive tourist traps that I have ever seen. It was $10 per person baptized in the form of baptismal coverings. It was like walking into a center of the prosperity gospel in every language. The tourist shop marketed every conceivable Christian trinket, including “holy water” from the Jordan River there.

The good thing about the place is that every tribe and tongue was clearly represented in the people who came to the site. While we were there, tours of Asian, African, Russian, Polish, American, French, and others came to be baptized. The power of the Gospel’s reach to the far corners of the globe was evident there.

The commercialization and trivialization of the baptismal process was also evident. I watched two Hindu women from Mumbai (they said that is where they were from), baptize themselves in the Jordan there and take some of the “holy water” in bottles from the river. The people running the site sold “holy water” from the river in every imaginable form, including scented holy water.

Miles and I hung back, but we were able to hear Mark Driscoll’s message and he courageously blasted the operation even though the people running the place were treating Mark with great deference. I can’t wait to re-watch the lesson online.

After the message, Mark baptized one of his sons and then many others were baptized. Miles and I wilted in the heat. Many of the people with us were also offended by the place. We had a great conversation with the lady from South Africa who told us about climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in 2007 in order to pray for Africa fron the top of the mountain with 40 other people. She described how gracious the African Sherpas were. The Christians were so appreciative that they felt the best symbol of appreciation they could provide was to wash the feet of the Sherpas, which the Sherpas apparently really appreciated. Wow, what a way to be a humble blessing to people who have been a blessing!

I know that Jesus didn’t want his ministry turned into a tourist driven “trinkets and trash operation.” What a tragedy that more than 2,000 years after Jesus ministered here in Israel that people come to it as if going to an amusement park instead of coming to know Him and love Him more intimately. The most valuable aspect of being here is to understand the context of His ministry, to see the Word come to live in geographical and historical context, so that we can better understand and communicate Who His is in the context of our world.

One other observation. There are many observant Jews in the hotel where we are staying. They continue to seem trapped in ritual. They don’t appear happy. They are pushy and rude. The non-observant Jews and the non-observant Muslims seem much freer and happier and open to conversation about spiritual things. In this context, I can see the prison of the law over people’s lives and the longing to break free of the law of sin and of death. As Paul said, thanks be to God who has provided a way out of this bondage.

Tomorrow we head to Jerusalem, stopping at several places on the way.

REPORT NO. 3 FROM GREECE AND ISRAEL TRIP

I apologize for the delay in reporting. We have not had access to the internet. We are now in Jerusalem and I broke down and paid the tourist trap price for internet access. We are already in awe of Jerusalem, but I will report on that later. The posts below are from the previous two days. Miles is much better - praise God! I look forward to sharing more later.

Friday night, 8/29. Tonight we are reporting from the town of Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee. We are in a hotel room with a view of the lake. A number of us went swimming in the lake. The water was fairly warm, probably in the low 80s.

We started the day with a good breakfast, then headed out to Caesarea, which is north of Tel Aviv on the Mediterranean. Several new people joined us for the Israel only portion of the tour, including a couple with an 8 month old baby.

Caesarea was built by Herod. He built his palace out into the sea using sunken concrete. This is the same palace where Paul was under house arrest for two years after being arrested in Jerusalem. In Caesarea he appealed to Caesar. Caesarea is also where Peter entered Cornelius’s home and shared the gospel with Gentiles for the first time. Caesarea was also home of Phillip, one of the original seven deacons, and the same Phillip who shared Christ with the Samaritans and the Ethiopian eunuch on the road to Gaza. Paul stopped in Caesarea and stayed with Phillip before he went to Jerusalem for the last time and was arrested. We read several of these stories while in Caesarea.

We traveled to Mt. Carmel, where Elijah confronted the prophets of Bael and God poured down fire from heaven. The road to Mt. Carmel goes through a very green area of Israel, with vineyards, orchards, olive groves and pine trees. The east side of Mt. Carmel drops off fairly steeply in the Jesreel Valley – also known as the valley of Armageddon (the valley of the Mt. (“Har”) of Megiddo). This valley is primarily rich farmland. The Kishon brook runs along the main highway. Elijah slew the priests of Bael by the Kishon brook down in the valley.

From the top of Mt. Carmel, on a clear day you can look west and see the Mediterranean (Caesarea) and look east and see back of Nazareth on the far side of the valley. To the south (right), is the Tel of Meggido. Meggido sits along the main highway, which has been in that location for at least 3,000 years. By controlling the road and securing payment for safe passage, Meggido became a wealthy town. We went to the top of the Tel and then climbed down into a deep well. The builders of the town dug the well and connected it with a tunnel to a secret spring outside the town so that they would have plenty of water in the event of a siege.

It is kind of surreal to look across this rich valley and imagine it some day filled with blood and corpses at the battle of Armageddon, as described in Revelation 16.

After Mt. Carmel and before traveling to Meggido, we stopped at a Druze restaurant for lunch. The food was similar to Persian food.

We next traveled past Mt. Hazor/Tazor – the Mt. of Transfiguration. That small mountain is a sister mountain to Nazareth and is probably only 3-5 mile walk from the top of Nazareth. Mt. Hazor is a perfectly shaped mound, covered with trees. The only building we saw on it was a monastery at the top.

We wound around Mt. Hazor and past the front side of Nazareth to the road that leads down the hill to the Sea of Galilee. Galilee is probably 15 miles east (and slightly south) from Nazareth. The valley in which the lake sits is very pleasant. It is fairly green on the west side (the approach from Nazareth). We wound down into Tiberias, which was built in 18 A.D. Our Israeli tour guide kind of scoffed that Tiberias is never mentioned in the Bible, even though Jesus had to go through it many times.

We took photos around Galilee. Tomorrow, we will leave by 7:30 a.m. to go to the Mt. of Beatitudes. Mark Driscoll will be sharing a message with us there from the Sermon on the Mount. We are thankful this will be in the morning, instead of when the temperature has climbed past 100. We will also take a cruise on the lake and visit what is left of Capernaum and the other ancient towns along the lake and go to the Jordan River for baptisms. We are scheduled to eat St. Peter’s fish for lunch.

As I look at the bustling tourist trade around the lake and the remnants of a crusader’s fort, mosques, run-down hotels, tourist shops and other enterprise that dominate the Tiberias area, I can’t help but think this was not what Jesus had in mind when he ministered on these shores. So many people come here and learn about Jesus but never know Jesus, and certainly never know him as Lord and Messiah.

Miles seems stronger every day. God is truly to be praised and glorified. This is probably the first day that we felt relatively caught up on sleep and on a normal schedule. Miles was very tired this evening and went to sleep very early.

REPORT NO. 2 FROM GREECE AND ISRAEL TRIP

We are in Tel Aviv, about to go to sleep before another early morning. Miles is doing better each day and can pretty much eat anything now.

What a long day yesterday. I woke up at 4:30 a.m. Athens time. We had breakfast by 6:45 a.m. and were on the road by 8:00 a.m. We went to Corinth, first stopping to view the canal that runs between the Ionian and Aegian seas, a canal that was first planned in 700 B.C., but that was not completed until the late 1800s. The canal meant that ships would not have to travel around the Peloponnesian peninsula. The commerce between the countries surrounding those two bodies of water is what made Corinth such a thriving city when Paul stopped there in the first century. Corinth was probably a city of 700,000 at that time and Athens was a city of only 30,000 or so at the time.

I was in Corinth in 1980 and the excavation seems 2-3 times as big as it was then. Some highlights from ancient Corinth. First, this was a really elaborate city and was probably the San Francisco of its day. There were baths for the people arriving at the city from out of town as well as public restrooms. The restrooms including strings of toilets side by side and cut out of slabs of rock. The water flowed through a plumbing system that started at natural springs, fed the baths, and then flowed under the toilets and took everything down to the sea. Kind of interesting to think that the apostle Paul probably sat on one of those toilets.

Corinth is where Paul worked as a tent maker and met fellow tent makers, Aquila and Priscilla. Several influential gentiles (Roman and Greek) came to Christ here as well as Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue. Sosthenes was beaten by the other Jews at the Bema Seat, where the Roman governor judged cases. The Bema Seat is still there. The city treasurer, Erastus, came to Christ and assisted Paul in his ministry. There is a stone pavement honoring Erastus in the ancient city of Corinth. Paul spent a year and a half in the city and his ministry became more focused on the Gentiles during his time in this city.

Paul in the patron saint of the Greek people. 97-98% of Greeks consider themselves to be “Christians,” nearly all of them Greek Orthodox. Their faith is clearly cultural, not a living faith for most Greeks.

From Corinth, we went to Mars Hill, where we gathered to hear Mark Driscoll preach a message using Paul’s message to the Areopagas on Mars Hill. Paul’s first convert in Athens was Dionysis (our name, Dennis), a leader of the city. He eventually became the bishop of Athens and many monuments around the city honor him.

It was kind of surreal watching Mark Driscoll preach there with three cameras and an elaborate sound system. We will also hear Mark preach on the Mount of Beatitudes in Galilee.

We went back to the hotel in Athens, showered, took a brief nap, ate dinner at 9 p.m., then got on the bus by 10:30 p.m. in order to get to the airport. We killed a lot of time on the bus and at the airport. Miles and I got to nap for an hour or so at the airport. The flight didn’t leave until 2:30 p.m. What a miserable night. We arrived in Tel Aviv at 4:30 a.m. and the airport was in full swing – very busy.

On the flight, I sat next to a woman from Germany who is on the trip. We have 3 Germans along with people from South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and England. They all follow Mark Driscoll online.

The Tel Aviv airport is only 4 years old and is very clean and modern. We went to a Kibbutz for breakfast, where we had very fresh and tasty food. We next went to Joppa, where Peter raised Tabitha from the dead and stayed on the home of Simon the Tanner, overlooking the Mediterranean. It was there that Peter received his vision of the food on the sheet. Messengers Cornelius met him there and took him to Cesaerea. We will go there tomorrow. Joppa is next to Tel Aviv. Joppa is also where Jonah caught the boat when running away from the Lord.

Our tour guide is Jewish, but he has a working knowledge of the New Testament. It amazes me that he can know who Jesus is and know the stories and know of the resurrection and ascension and the book of Acts, but not be a follower of Jesus Christ as Messiah!

The beaches in Tel Aviv are very nice and the water is 86 degrees! The water is blue and fairly clear, but this time of the year the current brings raw sewage into the area, so we are not going into the water.

We took a 6 hour nap this afternoon and then had a great dinner. Again, the Israeli food is fresh and tasty. The salads are as fresh as any salads that I have ever tasted. The fruit markets are packed with beautiful fresh fruit. We can see why the Israelites were told that this is a land flowing with milk and honey and why fruit is such an apt illustration of what should flow from our lives.

REPORT NO. 1 FROM GREECE AND ISRAEL TRIP

Since I only recently secured reliable internet access on our trip with Mars Hill Church to Greece and Israel, I will publish these travelogue posts in chronological order.

8/26/09: I am writing from the hotel, where there is no internet reception unless we want to pay a small fortune for a short period of time – a complete tourist trap. So, I am writing this in my journal in the hotel lobby and will send it when I find more cost-effective internet access. It is a little after 5 a.m. I can’t sleep any longer.

We arrived in at the airport in Athens, which is about 40 minutes outside the city – on the other side of a mountain range. We have nice busses – 8-9 busses for the entire group. Miles was doing better by the time that we arrived. We were, of course, going on very little sleep. I did not sleep on the plane. Miles probably slept for one-third to one-half of the flight. He really missed his pillow.

We were taken on a tour of the city. The city is in a valley surrounded by mountains on three sides with a long slope down to the Aegean Sea, interrupted by various hills. Within the valley, there are several hills, one of which is the Acropolis, where the Parthenon was built along with various other temple buildings. Mars Hills is a large rock outcropping below the Parthenon. The remains of the marketplace where Paul walked are down below Mars Hill. We took photos of everything and we will send or download photos (via facebook?) when we have the chance.

We saw the 1896 Olympic Stadium and then went to the Acropolis, where we hiked to the top and took lots of photos. It is around 100 degrees, but there was shade from Olive trees and various buildings. We were at the Acropolis for about an hour and a half and then took the bus back to the hotel.

The hotel is a typical tourist hotel – the lobby is nice, but the rooms are tiny with small, hard single beds with one pillow each. Fortunately, the rooms are airconditioned. While Miles showered, I walked to McDonalds and bought chicken Caesar salads, water and milk shakes. We ate and then slept for about 2.5 hours before dinner.

Dinner was good. The desserts were especially good. Miles ate adequately, but not well. His throat was sore by the end of this exhausting day. Athens is 10 hours ahead of California, so our scheduled is completely off. We slept for about another 6 hours, then I got up and left Miles trying to sleep. He said that his throat pain is down to about 6.5 out of 10. So praise God for the improvement since it was 9.5/10 in the NY ER.

We saw Mark Driscoll briefly at the Acropolis, but that is it. He is supposed to give a Bible study to us at Mars Hill this afternoon or evening. The film crew is essentially just filming his bus, which includes the doctor and his wife from Auburn. I did run into them at the Acropolis and introduced them to Miles.

We are scheduled to drive to Corinth this morning after breakfast. We will stop at Mars Hill on the way back. Miles is looking forward to eggs for breakfast.

COINCIDENCE OR GOD’S PROVISION AND DIRECTION?

I am posting this blog from New York, where my son, Miles, and I are spending the night before catching a plane to Athens on our tour of Greece, Israel and Jordan. We have been praying for rapid healing for Miles as he recovers from mono. His main problem has been an incredibly sore and swollen throat. Saturday, he went to the doctor in the morning and the ER late at night. At the same time, we were trying to complete the parent activities connected with our daughter’s first week at Biola. Linda missed several activities as she assisted Miles. Melinda is thrilled to be at Biola and is ready to get on with college. We are very proud of her and we are grateful for God’s work in her life.

Getting back to Miles’ story, I attended the parent lunch with Biola’s president yesterday. As an aside, his message was excellent. I met up with another parent from Sacramento and we “randomly” sat at a table with strangers. There were 130 tables set up with an average of 8 parents per table. Two sets of parents at the table turned out to be from Auburn, just east of Sacramento. One dad is an ER doctor with Kaiser in Sacramento. I started sharing with him about Miles having mono and our trips to the ER, as we debated taking him on a tour to Israel that left the next day. He told me that he and his wife were also going on a trip to Israel, but they were leaving Monday from San Francisco. He said they were going with Mars Hill Church, in Seattle, where their son-in-law is an associate pastor. I let him know we were going on the same trip and we would see him in New York on Monday afternoon!

I sat at the table in wonder at God’s sovereign grace and provision. I had just prayed that morning over the phone with my parents as I went for a walk, that God would clearly provide and direct. I concluded that God clearly answered the prayer by letting us know that He would take care of us, including by providing a Sacramento area doctor for our trip to Israel with a Seattle church.

So, was it random coincidence that out of 130 tables at a Biola lunch, I sat at a table with an ER doctor from Sacramento who was going to Israel with a Seattle church at exactly the time that we were trying to decide whether to take Miles on the trip? What do you think? Was that the hand of God? Was God clearly directing and leading and providing?

When we are daily praying and seeking God’s will and His direction and provision, we tend to see Him answer and we have the opportunity to give Him praise and glory for His provision, instead of just saying, "gee, how lucky."

Our Heavenly Father knows every detail of our lives "even the hairs of our head are numbered" and most of you have a lot more hair than me. God doesn’t miss anything. He is longing to be daily trusted and loved and honored in our lives. Are we listening? Are we looking for His work? Are we living lives of thanksgiving and praise and gratitude, because of Who He Is and what He is doing? May God’s life in you come alive more and more every day.

The students who worked the Biola orientation wore shirts with the brightly written word, "abound." Our God wants to "abound" in us and wants us to "abound" in this life and in the world. May the world see us abounding this week regardless of our circumstances, because our Heavenly Father is at work in us that we would abound for His glory.
Postscript: Last night, Miles throat pain was unbearable, so we went to the local ER at NYU Medical Center on Manhattan, near Wall Street. By God's continuing and amazing grace, we got in to see the ER doctor quickly and she was excellent, prescribing steroids and antibiotics. He got his first dose last night and I picked up additional meds this morning, as well as walking around Wall Street. Miles had a good night sleep and we are ready for the ride to JFK and then Athens. Please pray that the fires in Athens would be contained soon. Bon voyage.

LIVING WITH UNDERSTANDING

The "peace sign" seems to be making quite a renaissance. Most people wear it and use it without any conscious thought of its meaning and origins - they just assume it is an innocent symbol that communicates a universally accepted longing for peace. This reminds me that many of us fail to live on purpose. We just go along and get along without asking deeper questions and without thinking through life.

For the follower of Jesus Christ, we have a higher calling, a holy calling. We are called to do everything for the glory of God. We are to live with the Holy Spirit directing our hearts, minds, desires, the words of our mouth and the mediation of our hearts. As has been said many times, "the unexamined life is not worth living." So, we are to examine everything and pursue what is good and glorifying to our Lord and a blessing to others.

The "peace symbol" is an ancient sign that was originally a very anti-Christian symbol from the reign of the Roman Emperor Nero - Jerusalem was destroyed under his reign, Christians were burned and impaled by him for sport, and Peter was crucified on an upside down cross in this time period. The broken, upside down cross became a symbol in opposition to the Christian church. The symbol was later used as an occult symbol and made its way into the images of pagan tribes in northern Europe. Hitler and a Nazi Panzer division used the symbol.

A famous athiest thinker (aggressively anti-Christian) of the last century, Bertrand Russell, was active in the "peace movement." A fellow peace activist (they worked closely together on the Direct Action Committee for Nuclear Disarmament), Gerald Holtom, was commissioned to come up with a new peace symbol. The upside down, broken cross was chosen. The explanation at the time was that it represented the naval codes for N and D (semaphore code), representing "nuclear disarmament," but the clear anti-Christian history of the symbol lingered in the background and Bertrand Russell's strong anti-Christian sentiments certainly affected his support of this symbol. Even the "Church of Satan" adopted the symbol for its altar. Most of this history is discussed and supported at the Teach Peace website, http://www.teachpeace.com/peacesymbolhistory.htm.

The question for followers of Jesus Christ is whether to use or accept a symbol with such a clearly anti-Christian past. Jesus said that "blessed are the peacemakers." We clearly want to pursue and encourage godly peace - the kind of peace that passes all understanding. Should we do this using a symbol that has traditionally represented opposition to Jesus Christ? When we stand before the Lord some day, will this be an issue?

May you live with wisdom and truth and peace that is permeated by grace. May everything that you do be done for the glory of our God.

THE APOSTLES CREED

In the 2nd century, the church came up with a creed that summarized the essence of the Gospel. This creed was later expanded in the mid-400s. The creed is known as the Apostles Creed and its present form is copied below. In an age when many people were illiterate or when written copies of Scripture were few and far between, a creed that presented the essence of the Gospel was essential as a reminder of the key elements of our common faith.

Today, we have ready access to the Scripture. We have the right to study it and memorize it and meditate on it. We can sing it and pray it and share it and listen to it on cd or dvd. Most of us, however, neglect God's Word and miss God's best for us because of that neglect. The failure to know and live out the Gospel results in spiritual malaise and leads to spiritual error in our thinking. Thus, even for us, the most privileged and blessed of all Christians in history in terms of access to the Word, we still need the basic creeds of the faith to remind us of the essence of what we believe and what we need to live out in our daily lives.

THE APOSTLES CREED

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic* church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

*that is, the true Christian church of all times and all places

ON TRIAL FOR FAITH IN JESUS: WOULD YOU PASS THIS TEST?

Sunday, August 09, 2009

“We will not deny our faith” declare Iranian women

We have just received an update Elam Ministries regarding the situation facing two Iranian Christian women, Maryam Rustampoor (27) and Marzieh Amirizadeh (30), who have been detained for five months in Evin Prison in Tehran for their conversion to Christianity. You will recall that last night we received news from Elam Ministries that these two courageous women had unexpectedly been told that they would brought before the courts on Sunday morning at 7:00 am. Here is what happened:

In a dramatic session before the revolutionary court today in Tehran, Maryam Rustampoor (27) and Marzieh Amirizadeh (30) were told to recant their faith in Christ. Though great pressure was put on them, both women declared that they would not deny their faith. Maryam and Marzieh were originally arrested on March 5, 2009 and have suffered greatly while in prison, suffering ill health, solitary confinement and interrogations for many hours while blindfolded.

On Saturday August 8, Maryam and Marzieh were summoned to appear in court on Sunday August 9 in order to hear a verdict on their case. The chief interrogator had recommended a verdict of ‘apostasy.’ However, when they arrived, no verdict was actually given. Instead, the court session focussed on the deputy prosecutor, Mr Haddad, questioning Maryam and Marzieh about their faith and telling them that they had to recant in both verbal and written form. This made it clear that in the eyes of the court, Maryam and Marzieh’s only crime is that they have converted to Christianity.

Mr. Haddad, asked the two women if they were Christians. “We love Jesus,” they replied. He repeated his question and they said, “Yes, we are Christians.”

Mr. Haddad then said, “You were Muslims and now you have become Christians.”

“We were born in Muslim families, but we were not Muslims,” was their reply.

Mr. Haddad’s questioning continued and he asked them if they regretted becoming Christians, to which they replied, “We have no regrets.”

Then he stated emphatically, “You should renounce your faith verbally and in written form.” They stood firm and replied, “We will not deny our faith.”

During one tense moment in the questioning, Maryam and Marzieh made reference to their belief that God had convicted them through the Holy Spirit. Mr. Haddad told them, “It is impossible for God to speak with humans.”

Marzieh asked him in return, “Are you questioning whether God is Almighty?”

Mr. Haddad then replied, “You are not worthy for God to speak to you.”

Marzieh said, “It is God, and not you, who determines if I am worthy.”

Mr. Haddad told the women to return to prison and think about the options they were given and come back to him when they are ready (to comply). Maryam and Marzieh said, “We have already done our thinking.”

At the end of the session, Mr. Haddad told them that a judge will give them his verdict, though it is not clear who will be the judge in their case now. He also allowed Maryam and Marzieh to have a lawyer represent them in the case for the first time since their arrest.

Both women are back in Evin prison tonight. During their five-month ordeal, both have been unwell and have lost much weight. Marzieh is in pain due to an on-going problem with her spine, as well as an infected tooth and intense headaches.She desperately needs medical attention. Two months ago the prison officials told her the prison had proper medical equipment and that they will attend to her, but so far no proper treatment has been given.

Despite the concentrated effort of officials to pressure them into recanting their faith, Maryam and Marzieh love Jesus and they are determined to stand firm to the very end no matter whatever happens. They have demonstrated their love for Jesus and would offer their lives for Him if they were called to do so. After today’s court session they said, “If we come out of prison we want to do so with honor.”

Maryam and Marzieh’s case is a clear and harsh violation of human rights and religious liberty by Iran’s authorities. They deserve the support of all those who respect human rights and to be released without charges so they can pursue a life of freedom.

Please uphold Maryam and Marzieh in your prayers. Pray that God would minister to their physical needs and give them the courage to continue to witness boldly for Christ before authorities and their fellow prisoners. We invite you to post a special prayer on their behalf on our online Persecuted Church Prayer Wall.

We also recommend IRAN 30 as a valuable resource in praying daily for Iran. Visit www.iran30.org to learn more.

THE GIFT OF EXPUNGEMENT

A woman that I know has a criminal history.  Her past crimes would not allow her to gain custody of her grandkids.  However, several years ago she became a new person in Christ.  Her alcohol and drug addictions, her anger and hatred and bitterness were all removed from her life and replaced with grace and forgiveness and mercy and peace and the fruit of the Spirit.  She began to treat others with compassion and become a light in the darkness of her community.  

By God's grace, the law in the State of California acknowledges that people can be transformed and such people may apply for "expungement" of their crimes. That means that they satisfied their debt to society and their past crimes and punishment will be forgotten and treated as if they never happened.  This woman applied for expungement and the expungement was granted.  Her criminal past was wiped clean.

She then re-applied for custody of her grandkids.  The State started to look at her past criminal record in order to deny her custody, but she pointed to the expungement.  The State had to admit that it could not count her past against her.  She was a new person in the eyes of the State.  They could only look at her present life and the evidence of the fruit of the Holy Spirit.  They granted her request for custody and recommended that she adopt her grandkids - a result that was impossible without expungement.  

The gift of expungement is for everyone.  God has offered you and me expungement of our sinful nature and our past offenses against Him.  Jesus Christ is our expungement - He took our punishment on Himself and declares us innocent of crimes that can no longer be used against us.  He has cloaked us with His holiness and entrusted us with the Holy Spirit, that we might never look back, but instead reflect the power of a transformed life.  As holy children, God has adopted us into His family and given to us of His nature, that we might reflect His presence in this world.  

Expungement was God's idea.  The State of California was influenced by God's idea of redemption and transformation.  We can all celebrate with my friend.  

THE UNIQUENESS OF EARTH IN THE VASTNESS OF SPACE

Today, the LA Times published the linked article describing recent data from an advanced spacecraft intended to find another "earth-like" planet in our vast galaxy. The following quote from the article indicates the uniqueness of the earth:

"Of the previously discovered 350 or so extra-solar planets -- those that lie outside our solar system -- none is a candidate for the "Goldilocks" planet, or one where things are just right for life to gain a foothold. Teams in Europe and the United States have found several super-Earths, planets that are slightly larger than our home planet. But all are either too close to their star and thus baking hells like Venus, or too far away and therefore ice cube worlds like Pluto."

This uniqueness is evidence of creation - of a plan and purpose - as discussed recently in a post by Christian astrophysicist, Hugh Ross, whose Reasons To Believe ministry discusses how recent scientific discoveries point us to the Creator. http://www.reasons.org/HowUnlikelyIsOurPlanetarySystem The issue is not just that a planet must be located a perfect distance from a sun, but that the distance must be maintained within an orbit that doesn't stray too far or go to close or that is not intersected by other planets or debris. All of the conditions must be perfect, and stay perfect over many, many millennia of time, as if they were designed that way!

LONGING FOR RELEASE FROM CAPTIVITY

I paid special attention to the sage of Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who were imprisoned in North Korea for trying to document human trafficking between China and North Korea. Laura is from Carmichael, where I live. Everyone thought very highly of her and her family. Groups of diverse people from all over the world prayed for Laura and Euna. I pray frequently for transformation of the government of North Korea, that the people in bondage would be freed.

The question that comes to mind is whether God made any breakthroughs in the hearts of these women during their 140 days in captivity. For someone who may not know the living God (I have no idea whether either woman has placed her faith in Jesus Chrsit), is there is a point during such an imprisonment where God broke through? I am eagerly looking forward to what the women have to say once they have time to decompress from their ordeal. The journey from captivity to freedom is always worth following.

There is a clear analogy of this captivity-to-freedom story to our spiritual journeys. Every person who is held captive to the evil in this world, to sinful desires, to affliction from evil people, to hopelessness, to purposeless, to self-centeredness and greed and sensuality, and other vices and trauma, at some point becomes aware of the need for release, the need for freedom from the weight of this world that is suffocating their heart, that is crushing the person that God designed them to be. We all need someone who can intervene and bring our release, someone who can pay the price needed to set us free.

That person is Jesus Christ. His mission to earth was to pay the price, to crush the enemy and destroy the enemy's rights over our souls, to replace captivity with holy freedom, to replace hopelessness with confident hope, to bring joy and purpose and value and immortality to every human being in captivity.

So, how can we be set free? First, by acknowledging that we are captives to sin, that we don't have any assurance of heaven, that we have given in to the enemy and have become enemies of the only One who can save us. Second, by recognizing that the only way out of our hopeless predicament of captivity to sin and certain death is to accept the free pardon given to us by Jesus Christ. He alone accepted our punishment and took our fate, and then conquered the power of death by His glorious resurrection. The gift that he offered must be accepted, received into our lives.

Third, Jesus Christ is offering us His righteousness, His holiness, because God cannot allow anything that is not holy in His presence. Thus, as we accept the salvation offered by our God (the forgiveness of our past, present and future sin) and the promise of eternal life, He gives us His Holy Spirit, to direct us and lead us in holiness, so that we don't have to continue to live as if we were still in captivity to sin.

Fourth, Jesus Christ gives us His Word - the Bible - the truth of God, to direct and guide our lives. Fifth, He gives us the church - the family of followers of Jesus - to come alongside and encourage us and within which we can exercise our gifts and talents for the glory of God.

So, as I praise God for the freedom given to Laura Ling and Euna Lee, I am reminded of the freedom that Jesus Christ has given me. I want to be a faithful steward of that freedom. How about you?

HOW CAN WE LIVE OUT BOLD TIM TEBOW-LIKE FAITH?

The July 24, 2009, cover-story in Sports Illustrated is an article on Tim Tebow's bold, unflinching life of faith. The writer makes the following statement, "Having covered Tim for three years, I would say he's the most effective ambassador-warrior for his faith I've come across in 25 years at SI." Wow! How does such a life of faith develop? How does such a young man have such a courageous and contagious faith in this day and age? His school, the University of Florida, is listed in the top "party" schools in the country. So, how can Tim Tebow chart such a different course with his life?

In the article, even his coach has been affected by Tim's faith. His coach, Urban Meyer, decided to take his family on a summer missions trip instead of a cruise as a result of Tim's influence. Tim spends his summers working with slum children in the Philippines. Tim rates leading people to Christ as more important than winning national championships - he has led his school to two national championships and been named the top college football player. How can we raise up Tim Tebows in our families and in our churches?

Part of Tim's appeal is his charisma. He is a fired up guy, on and off the field. People respond by wanting what he has. How do we communicate the same kind of enthusiasm and joy in our faith? Are people being attracted to Christ because of what they see in us?

One of the influential men in my life was Bob Cryder. I learned today that Tim Tebow's dad, Bob Tebow, escorted Bob Cryder and Dave Cetti around the Island of Mindanao in the Philippines. Both Bobs tell stories of carting movie projectors into the jungles and showing the Jesus video and seeing entire remote villages come to Christ, all the while evading Islamic terrorists.

Bob Tebow and his wife, Pam, prayed for a son who would be a pastor, an emissary for Christ. God gave them a quarterback who is an emissary for Christ. May we all seek after the heart of God with the courageous passion of this family. By the way, this is the link to the Bob Tebow Evangelistic Associations, http://www.btea.org/

http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1158168/index.htm

GOD DOESN'T WASTE PAIN

GOD DOESN'T WASTE PAIN!

A year ago, pastor Greg Laurie's oldest son, whom he passionately loved, was killed in a car accident.  Greg experienced that unspeakable pain, that unconsolable loss.  He knew all of the right things to say and what to think, but the pain was greater than he expected, the loss was deeper and more permanent and more pervasive than he ever imagined.  The why questions continued to flood his mind.  

God has taken that tragedy and used it to help Greg better understand heaven and our stewardship on this earth.  The pain is still heavy, but the hope is also there.  God is using Greg's authentic and unshakable hope through that loss to draw many more people into the Kingdom of God.  As a result of that loss, heaven is expanding and hell is shrinking.  

1 Corin. 1:3-4:  "the Father of mercies and God of all comfort . . . comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction" with the comfort that we receive from God.  (ESV)  Greg has hope. He knows his son is better off.  He knows his son is rejoicing.  He knows that it will be but a moment in eternity and he will see his son again as if they were never separated.  

That kind of hope can't be bought with money.  It can't be thought into existence with intellect.  It can't be earned with hard work.  That kind of hope can only come from the God of all comfort.  That kind of hope is contagious. That kind of hope shines in the darkness and nothing can put it out.  The world only offers despair and hopelessness.       

So, how does God want to use pain in your life to display His hope, to communicate His comfort, to let His light shine in the darkness?  Who in your world needs to see that hope and experience God's comfort?  

THE SHOCKING POWER OF THE GOSPEL

"I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. . . ." (Roms. 1:16 ESV)  

Have you seen the "power of God for salvation" in the gospel lately?  Jesus said that the fields are white for the harvest, and that continues to be true.

This morning, in one worship service, I saw several hundred people come forward to surrender their lives to Jesus Christ in response to the clear presentation of the gospel.  Wow!  How does that happen?  How is it that out of the 3,000 people in attendance at one August worship service, several hundred would be ready to give their lives to Christ in response to the gospel?  

The answer is the power of God in the authentic presentation of the truth of the gospel.  It isn't logic.  It isn't intellect.  It isn't a bait and switch.  It isn't toning down the message to make it less offensive.  It isn't trying to make the Christian life really fun.  It is the power of God in the truth of God by the Spirit of God. There is no other explanation.

I saw whole families get up and go forward.  An Indian family sat near me.  The young daughter through the grandmother, most of them in Saris, all got up and went forward.  Wow!  

God is calling people to Himself.  He is preparing their hearts.  He is working out His story in their lives.  They just need to clearly hear the gospel!  Let's not miss the power of God.  Let's do church and the Christian life His way and let Him do His part - He will always be faithful.  

IMAGO DEI

What are the implications of the fact that God created YOU in His image - imago dei. His imprint is stamped on your life.  (Gen. 1:26-27.)  

Ephesians 2:10 says that YOU are God's workmanship (i.e., His masterpiece, his work of art), created in Christ Jesus for good works. You reflect His glory.  When people look at you they should see Him.  

The enemy of our souls is busy trying to adulterate and destroy the image of God in us and in this world. From the very beginning, in the garden, Satan confronted mankind with two themes:  (1) you can be like God, and (2) you will never die.  In other words, each of us can take control over our own lives and be our own God - supplanting the imago dei in us.  And, if you are your own god, you don't need to worry about death and accountability for your life to the Creator God.  

These lies continue to permeate this fallen world.  They work themselves out in several major ways.  Abortion takes over God's role in life and death - using our rights as "god" to destroy life that is imago dei.  Homosexual activity is to take the imago dei and twist it to suit our pleasures, attempting to remake ourselves in our own image.  Divorce is to take the oneness of the community of imago dei and tear it apart. Alcohol and drug addiction is to take what God created as imago dei and subject it to chemicals that destroy the imago dei.  

We praise God that He can take what is dead and dying and assaulted and vandalized and transform the life of death into the newness and glory of imago dei again.  And such were some of us, but we were washed, we were sanctified, we were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.  (1 Corin. 6:11 ESV.)  What a glorious experience to see what was dead become alive by the power of God - there is nothing more convincing than the power of a testimony of what God has done.  As I heard in a testimony recently - we are "vandalized works of art."  God comes alongside what the vandals have done and restores us and uses us for his glory.  This is like the child on the piano who is bumbling his way through a simple song.  When he is finally invited to join the music, the master pianist comes alongside the child on the piano and brings soul stirring coherence and beauty out of what was painful just moments before.  

You were made imago dei, for the glory of God.  You are a masterpiece with a stewardship of God's presence.  As you go into the world, you take Him with you.  May the world see Him in all that you do.  As we are imago dei, we will also see the power of God continue to transform vandalized works of art around us into imago dei.  May we daily live for the glory of God.