Touring Israel: A Trip of a Lifetime
December 1, 2009
I had wanted to visit Israel for nearly three decades. Just ask Karen! Finally, we went, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
For me, there's something profound and inspiring about walking where Jesus walked, seeing what he might have seen. Israel is a special place. After all, God put into play his plan of redemption through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ in that geographic location.
I have to give credit to Pastor Greg who told us about Jerusalem University College, which is located in the Mt. Zion area of Old Jerusalem, Israel. We signed up for one of their adult education offerings, a study tour of the land of the Bible. They prep you with 100 pages of map/bible/context study to complete before the trip. So I started three months out, and I'm glad I did. It gave me a strong context in which to put everything I saw and heard.
What did I appreciate the most? Having a Ph.D. Old Testament scholar, Jack Beck (a former professor), ranks high on my list, and traveling in a relatively small group of 17 people gets high marks.
What did I like most? I liked the emphasis on connecting the geography, culture of the times, natural history, and archeological insights with biblical events. At every site we visited, Jack Beck would make these connections after reading relevant portions of scripture.
What did we do? The first five days we stayed in one location just inside the Jaffa Gate in old Jerusalem. The first two days we walked about Old Jerusalem: the first day, we focused on Old Testament perspectives and on the second day, New Testament ones. We sat on the Temple Mount steps in front of the Huldah Gates, facing the City of David, as our guide read relevant portions of Scripture. We visited the western wall and the men were allowed to enter the synagogue under Wilson's Arch, frequented by Orthodox Hasidic Jews who spent their time praying and chanting. What an experience. Several of us chose to walk through Hezekiah's tunnel that connects the Gihon spring, outside the city of David, to the pool of Siloam inside it, constructed by King Hezekiah in anticipation of the siege by Assyria (1 Kings 1:32-40). It was an incredible experience, and knowing that Solomon was crowned king at that very spring made it that much more memorable.
We spent the following 3 days traveling in ever larger concentric rings around Jerusalem, visiting Old and New Testament sites, ranging from the ancient tel of Jericho, to the ancient city of Shiloh. I loved visiting the tel of Azekah, where we overlooked the valley of Elah where Saul's army engaged the Philistines: where David fought the Philistine champion Goliath. We spent a day down on the Dead Sea and visited Masada, Qumran and En Gedi, each of which will ring OT and NT bells for you.
On the sixth day, we traveled north along the coastal highway and visited Caesarea Maritima, Mt. Carmel, and Nazareth, on our way to our kibbutz at En Gev, located on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee where we stayed for the next two nights. While there, we visited the Golan Heights, Caesarea Philippi, Dan, Hazor, and the "miracle triangle" of Capernaum-Chorazim-Bethsaida. We visited the ruins at Gamala, about 5 miles NE of the Sea of Galilee in the Golan Heights, where I had the privilege of preaching a homily during a spontaneous worship service in the ruins of an ancient synagogue. Our guide surmised there was a strong likelihood Jesus preached and taught in that synagogue since the Gospels say that when Jesus was in Galilee he was teaching in the synagogues throughout the area. I was humbled and inspired.
There was so much more we saw and did and studied. But I will save that for a slide presentation and question/answer period with Karen we'll schedule this January. Watch for the announcement. Let me add that we ended our Israel study tour with a three day trip to Jordan to visit the Decapolis cities of Gadara, Jerash, and Rabbah (present day Amman) and the highlight, Petra. For the sake of space and brevity, I will only say WOW!
I hope these few words have piqued your interest in making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Karen and I would love to go again but with you this time and to be a part of your spiritual experience as you connect the geography and culture of this ancient land with the biblical texts. Just writing about it gets me excited all over again. We do have a great God who revealed himself to us in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ who by the grace of the Father and ministry of the Holy Spirit is our Lord and Savior. What a privilege it is to walk where he walked.
A Message of Hope
November 30, 2009
I'll never forget one of the last things my dad told me. He knew he was dying. He was under hospice care. As he lay in bed with his body filled with cancer he said, "Mike, it's all about love isn't it." It wasn't a question. It was an epiphany. During his life, his focus had been on money and status. A few days after he said this, dad died. During the last few days of his life, he couldn't' tell his ten children enough how much he loved them. These were new words for him.
Mom is nearing the end of her life. She's down to 90 pounds and cancer is spreading throughout her body. When I visited her recently, I asked her, "Mom, what's the most important thing to you now?" She said, "Family! Family is most important."
When all the game is taken out of life and we're held to account, the priorities in life seem to boil down to loving relationships. At least that was true for my parents. In my gut, I believe they're right though I would add God to the list: God and loving relationships.
Hope Taught
Why? God is love. And our triune God is all about relationship. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are in perfect relationship: perfect unity. A loving relationship, or love-in-relationship, is Godly in nature, and we're blessed to be able to choose to be loving: toward God, ourselves and others.
Here's what's great! Unlike a house or car or money or things, love doesn't decay, tarnish, or get old. It doesn't have a shelf life. It is priceless and timeless. To invest my time, energy and talents in something that is eternal gives me hope!
Knowing this, I choose to give priority to developing loving relationships. That, in turn, requires me to be more loving, to serve others and seek their welfare. This doesn't mean I'm not concerned about this crazy economy or housing and transportation for me and Karen. What it does mean is that I order my priorities to align with God's: majoring in the eternal, minoring in the temporal. And that gives me hope. Jesus said, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21. Having right priorities --- God and loving relationships before things, is fuel for hope.
Hope Observed
Notwithstanding the economic landscape, the debacle on Wall Street, and myriad other things people could point to as cause for despair, I see reasons for hope springing up all around me. Let me start within arm's reach, right here in our church. Sure, times are hard, but the upside is that hard times bring us together.
Small communities are springing up at Malibu Pres! Our Life Groups are thriving and meeting our need to be in smaller community with one another, where we can both listen and be heard and where we can pray for, encourage, and support each other, come what may.
I've recently spoken with women who sense a need for deeper community and ministry among the women and are willing to collaborate to meet that need: events, retreats, and breakfasts, planned by and tailored to the women of our church and community.
Our families are getting involved more and more with Mending Kids, and the stories of outreach, hospitality, not to mention heartache and prayer, make me "proud" (in the most positive meaning of that word) to be part of this church.
I've spoken with couples who are going through rough times in their marriage, yet they want to work at it. They see the value in loving relationship. They believe God still works miracles. If they only water dormant seeds of love, they'll be surprised! That gives me hope.
Our Deacons are active, energized, and onboard to serve. Their servant hearts are manifested in the most tangible ways on Sunday mornings with every cup of coffee you drink, donut you eat, and bulletins you hold --- all delivered with a smile and the love of Christ. What you may not see are the instances when the Deacons pray, hand out gift cards to those in need, provide funds for those who have lost everything in local fires, deliver vans of food to other ministries, handle parking issues for major holiday worship services, and send cards to those in hospital or grieving the loss of a loved one. The list goes on! God's people responding out of their hearts is ample cause to be hope-filled!
When I hear a story on Sunday about a person who visits others to pray for them, take them a meal at home, or visit them in the hospital, I am hope-filled.
When I see guests of S.O.S. attend our service on Sunday, and when I see our members serving S.O.S., I know we're sailing in the right channel where the water is deep. That inspires hope.
When I attend meetings of the Session and those of committees that handle our insurance issues, rebuilding issues, admin issues, personnel issues, financial and budget issues, etc. --- I see men and women working together because of their common faith in Jesus Christ and their desire to ensure that the light of the Gospel continues to shine from Malibu Pres. This fills me with hope for the future.
There are other acts of loving kindness, other "fruits of the Spirit" popping up all around me, too numerous to list. I truly think it is because we endeavor, by God's grace, to keep our priorities aligned with God's: loving the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength, and our neighbor as we love ourselves. Ah, the priorities of God and love-in-relationship --- my parents were on to something!
So, why am I hopeful? Because I'm part of Christ's church here in Malibu. When we major in things that have eternal value, that means our focus is to the future, toward eternity. Our aim is heavenward. Regardless of the circumstances and obstacles at our feet, we will keep our eyes on Christ, for our hope is in him. He is our strength.
I'm filled with hope. I hope you are, too.
A Special Community
January 2, 2009
My dad used to take me flying when I was a kid. He was an old Navy fighter pilot and he never lost his love of flying. His enthusiasm was contagious, and while he was still flying I'd jump at the chance to go up with him. I remember one day he took us up and it was heavily overcast. As we climbed through the clouds it got a little bumpy and I couldn't see a thing. It was unsettling to say the least. Dad assured me everything would be all right and sure enough, as soon as we broke through the clouds, it was like a miracle. Below us were white, billowy clouds and above us only sky - a bright, blue, sunny sky, and I could see forever! I'll never forget it. At times, life reminds me of that plane ride. It gets overcast and you can't see the sun. Visibility is limited, and sometimes you wonder if you'll ever climb through the clouds and see the sun again. In the life of our church, last year's fire that destroyed our church building brought in a weather system. It became seriously overcast, and we're still climbing through the clouds. Even now, the ride seems a little bumpy. Visibility is limited, but we're still climbing and we're still on course. It's o.k. to fly by instruments from time to time; life demands it! This is equally true in our family, professional and community life.
I'm confident that as the church of Jesus Christ, we'll break through the clouds. As long as we remain on our knees, praying to hear, discern, and obey the will of our Lord, we'll remain on course even in the clouds.
I'm confident because God's word tells us so. "Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." (Isaiah 40:31) The prophet is responding to the exiles in Babylon who were concerned that their plight was of no concern to the Lord; that they were not on God's radar screen. Not so, says Isaiah! (40:27-29)
So, what will it look like when we break through the clouds? Here's what I see: a community of Christ-followers who, with compassion, embrace a preference for the interests of others over their own. Faith filled community. No "Lone Rangers." In Hebrew, this dynamic is called hesed, and it's based on a love for each other. It's one of the main themes in the OT book of Ruth. It's the ingredient that transforms a story about two widowed women at risk into a story of redemption and salvation. It's a story of God's sovereignty and divine love that manifests through human life, and converts two separate lives into a beautiful community. Life springs from death, a child from a barren womb, and a peaceful community from two separate lives.
Does Ruth's story apply in our lives or in our church? Yes! God is our great redeemer. We are members of his church. He is forging us into a community, one that gives him glory and praise. He is taking our ashes and building his church. And he's giving us the opportunity now to grow in community as we turn more from self toward each other.
At Malibu Pres, this community life is springing up all over. Life Groups continue to grow, giving people a platform to grow spiritually in relation to one another. People volunteer for mission trips to Baja, Brazil, inner-city Los Angeles, and elsewhere, to serve Christ by serving the less fortunate. Others serve in community as deacons and elders; worship leaders, technicians, and worship artists; pre-school teachers/principal and Sunday school teachers; volunteers for the "building resurrection" and related committees; university, youth, and children's groups; Mommy & Me and M.O.P.S., and host of other groups. Each small community is filled with new life transformed by faith in Jesus Christ. In them, we grow and continue to be transformed, we're challenged, and equipped to be sent in our Lord's name. As a friend of mine says, our small group purpose is "to get skin in the game." We learn and grow in community in order to be sent out into the world to serve in Christ's name. No more time on the sidelines.
The community that the Holy Spirit planted at Malibu Pres nearly 60 years ago continues to grow, not only in numbers but in spiritual depth and richness. And with the airspeed and altitude only the Holy Spirit can provide, our future in community looks brighter than ever. With lives committed to Jesus Christ, we continue to soar on wings like eagles.
Big Tree, Deep Tap Roots
May 20, 2008
I've been to Maui a few times, and one of her landmarks is the majestic Banyan tree in downtown Lahaina. It's over 100 years old and will live several hundred more. It has more than 12 trunks, approximately 200 large limbs, encompasses more than 200 square feet and is over 60 feet tall. It cries out "climb me, climb me" and, if it were in my back yard, I'd do just that! People congregate under the tree for shelter and shade, and birds flock to her branches. It's the local meeting place and a nice place to savor your morning coffee, people-watch, or enjoy the scenery.
I love majestic trees. Recently, I enjoyed the beautiful "old-stand" Redwoods up at Mt. Hermon Retreat Center. But why? What's the lure?
For me, these trees are living examples of God's truth. If we stay connected to God as our source, and rely on Him, we too will grow strong and healthy, and we'll prosper. It's about having deep tap roots into the source of water. Psalm 1 captures this truth so well: "Blessed are those who delight in the law of the Lord and meditate on his law day and night. They are like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither --- whatever they do prospers." (Psalm 1-3)(NRSV). There is nothing I want more than to experience success the way God defines success. I need roots that continuously tap into the Word of God. More