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Wow, so, yeah… only 4 weeks left for our time here in Israel for this season. it’s really snuck up on us and it will be hard to say goodbye and leave. however, we are certainly looking forward to what is to come and starting new chapters and ministry in the united states. it’s emotionally overwhelming thinking about it all and i must confess that today struck me with a bit of anxiety about the changes to come. so… a list will be made today to map out a small bit of the insanity. ha! from the practical things needed to do.. housing, insurance, a job, etc.. to things to wrap up here… projects to be finished, people and places to visit, etc.
we’re leaving here on April 24th and will arrive on April 25th in the States. we’re very excited to spend some time with our families and then return to TN in early/mid-May.
we’ve had some wonderful progress with our friend Akoon’s education opportunties and look forward to telling you more about that later as well. he’ll be doing some intense English training here in Jerusalem for the next 6 months and we really hope there will be an opportunity for him to attend school in the U.S. (i’ve mentioned to a few of you, but if you know an immigration attorney please let us know!). also, a big shout out to our friend, Mike Gras, for all the amazing work and care he has put into helping open educational doors for Akoon in the States… may the Lord bless you and the others from Texas that have been so involved thus far!
if you will, please pray for our transition to the U.S., safe travels and a solid next four weeks we have left here in Israel.
we had a fun staff outing up to the Golan Heights last week… here are a few pics of the amazing international staff we work with here at the embasy:
ICEJ hosted their first Pastor’s Conference & Tour on March 6-13th . Jon and I had the opportunity to go up to Tiberias and help with the music, sound, video and logistical things. I enjoyed taking snippets of video, which we’ll use to make a promo video for next year’s event.
There were about 50 ministry leaders from around the world. Our pastors from Murfreesboro, Allen & Phillip Jackson, were there to speak and attend… so that was great getting to spend a little time with them. The speaker sessions were excellent and everyone really enjoyed the tour in the Galilee and Jerusalem.
Towards the end of the week there was a really amazing session with a guest speaker from the Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation (google it, can’t put the link). Wow. What a dialogue that has begun between evangelical Christians and Orthodox Jews through this center/organization. I’m sure most of you know, but for 2000 years the Jewish people have primarily known Christians as persecutors and haters, so there are centuries of distrust built up for sure. It was so amazing listening to this 35 year old talk about his faith and how he and this organization have come to the point to begin this dialogue. It brought tears to our eyes knowing that this is another step in the direction of their hearts being open to the reality that their messiah, Jesus, has already come and wants to welcome them in!
Also, we have the privilege to hear Malcolm Hedding speak quite often. He’s an amazing speaker/author and has such a balanced and grounded view of the Word, Israel and the Church. Jon just finished reading “The Heart of Biblical Zionism” (book 2 of a 6 part series written by him) and we would highly recommend reading the series. I mention this just to be clear that we do not believe that Israel is “better” than any other nation, but that they have a unique calling and destiny in the context of the coming of the messiah, the end times and redemption for all mankind. It should certainly not be the focus of our existence, but an important part and marker of what God is doing in the earth.
Through the years, many of the pro-Israel supporters have been and can cross the line into placing love of Israel above the purposes of God (idolatry)… and that they can do no wrong. So, if you have encountered or all you know is this kind of person and you are turned off by it, we ask you to reconsider your understanding of Biblical Zionism. Here are just a few articles to start you off (scroll down to “key articles”). It is a different theology than that of Replacement Theology (google it), which believes that the “Church” has replaced Israel in it’s covenant with God. Biblical Zionism contends that the Church has been grafted into the covenant with Israel and that there is still a distinct covenant with the nation of Israel to restore her and bring her to salvation For us, this new understanding of Israel has opened up the Word in such new ways and has helped us understand a bit more about God’s timeline for the world.
Random: The weather has been so beautiful here this month! Spring is arriving and the pollen is attacking in full force.
Purim ::
We had the unique opportunity to celebrate Purim twice this year! Around the world, March 9-10th was Purim this year. We were in Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee on that date, so we had a small celebration there… However, in Jerusalem, Purim was on March 10-11th because it is a “walled” city. So, the celebration continued to the next day for us.
Purim is a holiday of remembrance and celebration of God’s deliverance of the Jewish people. Queen Esther, with encouragement from her cousin, Mordecai, approached the King on behalf of her people. She helped foil Haman’s plans and saved the Jews. Interestingly, God’s name is not directly mentioned in the book of Esther, but there is certainly the underlying presence of Him throughout and in Mordecai’s challenge to Esther:
“Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”
It’s such a reminder to us believers… that we are here and now… in our specific culture, time and place. God gives us a wonderful opportunity to know Him and to be part of what he’s doing in our world… and He will accomplish his purposes with our without us.
Typically, families read the story of Esther aloud and have several other traditions surrounding the holiday. Hamantaschen (“Haman’s pockets” in Yiddish) and Oznei Haman (“Haman’s ears” in modern Hebrew) cookies are sold all around town. Yum! When reading the story, they boo/hiss every time evil Haman’s name is mentioned (in order to “blot out the name of Haman”) and they cheer when Mordecai’s name is mentioned. Also, they dress up in various costumes, exchange small basket gifts, give money to the poor and sometimes get to the point of drunkenness that they can’t distinguish between “cursed be Haman” and “blessed be Mordecai!”
Several friends in the U.S. are doing the new Beth Moore “Esther” Bible study, and I hope to do that in the future as well. Hope it’s a great study girls!
On the 14th we did a post-Purim party for fun (we nixed the “too drunk to distinguish” part :)):
Queen Elizabeth & a Matador? or Captain Hook? 🙂
Oh no! We did not just do the Macarena!!
A group of ten of us decided to take a couple of days off of work and play in the desert. Our plan was to rent a car, drive to Masada, hike to the top, ride camels, camp out in the desert at a Bedouin establishment and swim in the Dead Sea before heading back up to Jerusalem. Out of this entire plan the only part that didn’t go so good was the rental car. It’s amazing how non-productive and how difficult it is here to get business accomplished in Israel. We spent almost an hour in the rental car company even after I had arrived at opening. Wow! I will not use this time to vent.
Anyway….our group consisted of 4 Swiss, 1 Brit, 1 Israeli, and 4 Americans. I say this because Kels and I absolutely love the international mix of people we get to hang out with on a regular basis. What a blessing to experience believers from such different backgrounds and that are stinkin’ funny. Here are some pics from our trip.
On the left is the beginning of our ascent up Masada. Our goal is the top flat part you see on the pic. On the above right you can see the view we had on the way up and on the bottom right is the whole crew at the top.
More pics from the top of Masada.
Kels and I riding our camel “Rufus!” I named him 🙂
The left pic is the tent we slep in fot the night. It really wasn’t bad. It had a generator so we had heat and lights. The right pick is us swimming in the Dead Sea right between some rain showers. Very rare to see rain in the Negev desert much less swim in a relatively cold Dead Sea.
Jon and Matthias are starting a fun project to put together a photo/video montage of 8 of the Old City Gates. The Golden Gate is currently closed up (it’s on the Temple Mount, which is Muslim controlled) and in Jewish tradition is the Gate which Messiah will enter Jerusalem. I snapped a few shots in and around the two gates they were filming/capturing a couple weekends ago: Jaffa Gate & New Gate.
There are so many things that we don’t post or are not able to post online that we wish we could share more adequately with you! It’s been amazing and the Spirit has revealed so many things to us regarding our world view, the Word, Israel, culture, Islam, worship, different evangelical backgrounds, everyday tasks, and on and on. I hope we’ll be able to share more in conversation and photos with you in person sometime soon.
Jon and I have been reading about how the “Land Covenant” (the promised land… the Covenant God made with Abraham) was not only an Old Testament (Tanach) promise, but an everlasting promise that is still valid today and can be found in New Testament scripture as well. One of several NT examples of this is that Jesus was circumsised… (after all, he is Jewish, and confirming the covenant and law) this was actually the first drop of blood spilled by Him and a fulfillment of scripture… he confirmed the covenant the God made with Abraham. God is a covenant keeper… if we can’t trust that He’s keeping His everlasting covenant with the Jewish people, how can we trust the Covenant we entered into with Him for Salvation?
Think about the NT writers… who were they writing for? Jews, many who knew their Jewish scripture… So, when Matthew wrote Jesus’ lineage in the first chapter, he was writing to an audience who knew the scripture and history of those people mentioned. Their scripture was the OT (Tanach) and they used it to teach, preach and live.
It seems like a “duh” thing, but in my mind I have too often segregated the two (OT/NT)… rather than each promise/covenant/event building on one another… all relevant. The question was raised, “Could you prove that Jesus was the Messiah by using OT scripture?” I have to admit that apart from some major research and a few of the verses referenced in the NT, I would not be able to. It was a good challenge to me… what else am I missing from not focusing on and understanding more of the OT? If Jesus was prophesied and revealed throughout… what else may be too? I don’t want to miss out on those things. What else can build our faith, challenge us, and help us love the King of Kings more?! I look forward to and pray for the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation to speak to us all.
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