Reflections

I'm ending the evening excited about speaking to the Retired Teachers Association tomorrow. I can only imagine what my high school counselor, Mrs. Barger would be saying if she were living.....I can hear her saying "I thought we'd never get you out of high school". Admittedly, she did metaphorically kick me across the graduation stage, and for that, I;m glad. I will be speaking to the group about the Triad Flight of Honor. Being June 6, my mind has been on the shores of the Normandy coast. Our entire family was blessed to spend two weeks in this now peaceful French countryside. As we strolled by the white wash granite grave markers, so perfectly lined up at Colleville-sur-Mer, Franch, Omaha beach. I felt so humbled to realize that approximately 2,500 Americans and 3,000 other Allied troops died on D-Day. Most of them 18-20 years old. Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno & Sword....these are words that should never leave the tenancy of the American mind. This generation unde...

You may know that in 1994, after two years of searching, God pointed me in the direction of Edmonton, Alberta Canada to locate Elizabeth's birth mother. This blog day is not long enough to share with you that story. You may be interested in watching this 21 minute video about that part of our lives. While the experience of connecting a 27 year division was fulfilling to all parties, the part that I remember today was a letter that Elizabeth received about a week after that telephone reunion. Overnight, Elizabeth learned about her 4 new siblings. I look back and now realize what a pill to swallow. Two brothers and two sisters.  The letter was from a sweet little 12 year old name Erin; Elizabeth's new Canadian sister. To begin the letter, she acknowledged that her mother and father shared with her the revelation that she had a sister in North Carolina. In that first paragraph, in her young innocent way, she said the news was like "winning the lottery". She ...

Going through the Dung Gate of the City in Jerusalem, it was as if we were going back into time. It was our first up close meeting of "the Wall". First, the incredible feat of building this "fortress" is amazing. Today, even with machinery, I'm sure it would take years. Yet, over 2000 years ago, this city was built with the mind and strength of men. Despite my amazement of the Human side of the construction of the city, what truly touched me was the realization that Christ himself had walked the very streets we were on. An overwhelming emotion came upon me the first day in Jerusalem and follows me even today. I have certainly been burdened in my life with sin, but the sensory experience of seeing the walls and cobbled stone streets, hearing the Hebrew and Aramaic language and smelling the fresh scent of the yellow flowers that grow around the wall reminded me of the debt I owe that I cannot repay. Elizabeth picked up a handful of flowers and threw them in...

Ephesian 5:19 "speaking to one another with psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord" Visiting the cathedral beside the pool of Bethesda, Jerusalem, I was moved by this stranger who walked to the front of the chapel and began singing. The acoustic were incredible....but more importantly, was the evidence of this person's desire to praise God. The Cathedral was not full of people, just a few  tourist. As he began to sing, heads were raised, then eyes were closed. There was no commandment given for the "act" of worship to sing; just an overflow of a person's heart who realized where they stand before a holy God. Whether it is a robed choir accompanied by the greatest musicians in the world, or simply one man pouring out his soul....music is the only art that gives the human an expression that connects the heart, brain and eternal soul together. Psalm 150 1 Praise the Lord . [ a ] Praise God i...

Still getting up early from the remains of jet lag, I began my morning early with a cup of Starbucks and then opening up my IPad to Matthew 23. It was easy to place myself on the Temple Mount, on the eastern side toward the old City of David near where the market would have been. We entered this area through the "Dung Gate". Jesus, in a bold move spoke directly to the Pharisees. Boldly, he was telling them "you don't practice what you preach. He makes the comment that they "travel across sea and land to make one proselyte", and yet this proselyte becomes twice the "son of hell" that they themselves are. In verse a five , Matthew talks about their need to wear phylacteries, citing that their desire is to be seen by men. In the streets of Jerusalem, I can't tell you how many phylactery wearing men I saw. But this morning, I thought, in our Christian world, do we not have a type of phylactery we wear? ....guilty. Also , verse 23 caught my...

Walk with us 30 feet below the surface of the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

Today we started in a wooded ship in a port of Tiberius. We set sail onto the Sea of Galilee. Once we were in the middle of the sea, the captain cut off the diesel powered engine. Now, we were floating in the middle of the sea that Jesus Christ had been on. The Scripture was read about how Christ asked Peter to get out of the boat and walk to him. Keeping his eye on Christ he began his walk. Losing faith, he began to sink. Oh, how we must keep our eyes on Jesus Christ. We sang christian songs and then i was asked to be the DJ on the boat. I began by playing the Zoe song "all who are thirsty", played a few more Zoe songs and then reached deep into my Southern roots and played Ralph Stanley " Angell Band". We ported in a town call Capernaum. This settlement is located on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. From Capernaum Jesus chose many of his apostles from fishermen (Peter, Andrew, James, John) or publicans (Matthew.) From the Scriptures we can le...

This was a unique place, one that I will never forget. The Sea of Galilee remains very much as it was when Jesus gave his teachings.  Click on the photo for a message.....

Waking up this early morning in Israel, our last full day, I have my first bout of sickness...not bad, just sinus "stuff". I certainly must give a shout out to my sister in law Christie Sharp for sharing a supply of Z Pac. Between that and Elizabeth painting a picture on my throat, nose and chest with Vicks, I believe I will be OK. We have a full day today, only to rest at 4PM for a quick shower an  then straight to Tel Aviv to catch a 9 AM flight. Today we will be walking the The Via Dolorosa , Latin for "Way of Grief" or "Way of Suffering". It is a path within the Old City of Jerusalem. History has it to be the path that Jesus walked carrying his cross as he climbed the salvific way to his crucifixion. The winding route from the Antonia Fortress west to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre — a distance of about 2,000 feet. Today we will follow it and celebrate the ending of our pilgrimage. This trip has been a life changing experience for me. I will ...

Our journey today began with a visit to the Wailing Wall. It is no longer called that because the Jews decided to begin rebuilding the worship emblems for the future building of the Temple. A remnant of the Second Temple, for Jews, this is considered to be the holiest place in the world. According to the Kabbalah, it is where the divine presence of G-D rests and prayers are answered. I didn't spell the name of God because that is a violation of Jewish law and the way you see His name spelled through out Jerusalem. People travel from all over the world to partake in the tradition of placing inside the cracks of the Western Wall a slip of paper containing a prayer, a request, or a personal wish. As you can see in the photo, I offered a prayer at the wall. I want you to be certain that I have no belief that the location was magical, mystical or anyway a way to get closer to God. However, it was awesome to realize that I was only feet from the original Most Holy Place where The ten Com...

I have been too tired at night to blog, however some of these photos should paint an image of our day in Jerusalem. It was Friday evening and Jewish sabbath started at approximately 6 (or when three stars appear in the sky). The most profound experience of the day was the fallen pinnacle of the temple. Now laying on the ground, we were able to touch this biblically significant piece of history. How significant was this stone? It was there where the book of Matthew accounts, Matthew 4:5 "Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point on the temple. ....."It is also written, Do not put the Lord your God to the test." Good verses evil. Some bible scholars will say "I thought the temple was completely destroyed...yes it was, but the City walls were torn down and reclaimed. We visited a scale model of the city, then saw the original dead sea scrolls ( the originals were given to our tour guide's great uncle by Bedouins in the...

Rest is something we occasionally got on the bus. But when we were not resting, I have been absorbing every ounce I could. Jerry Morrison, who took this trip last year prepared me by saying "Saliba, (the guide) will share with you so much that you simply can't get it all in". Well Jerry, way to be a prophet. I want my children and my parents to someday see this land. It is so amazing to connect years of bible instruction. My return would be especially for my son Lewis who I am certain has read the Old Testament more than any of us. Today, starting at dark, begins the Jewish sabbath. It is hard to believe that with one square mile of where I have just rested, Jesus Christ was tried, convicted and crucified.

Waking up to a sunrise beaming in the distance mountains of Jordan and reflecting off the Dead Sea, Elizabeth & I had a great nights rest. And get this.....Fox News!! Hungry early this morning, I literally ate 28 olives, 4 over easy eggs and water melon. Something told me that I would need a lot of energy on this windy day. Riding north along the Dead Sea, our first stop was Masada. My son Lewis told me the story of this battle to end between Romans and Jews. I honestly had very little knowledge about the story. I'll assume you are like I was and tell you about this epic story and magnificent place. Masada was the last bastion of Jewish fighters against the Roman army. The fall of this historic location signaled the destruction of the Kingdom of Judea. The story is a Jewish cultural icon and a symbol to its people of humanity's struggle for freedom and oppression. Built by Herod, who was the king of Judea, Masada is a mountain palatial fortification. The amazing fact ...

Boker Tov! Good Morning in Hebrew! or Brich Safo , Blessed morning in Aramaic! We visited Beit She'an this morning first thing. I have include a few photos that can speak volumes more than my writing. Located in the Jezreel Valley area, Beit She'an National Park houses some of Israel’s most spectacular archaeological finds. The excavations first began in 1989. The excavations here were completed in around 1996. The site leaves you with the thought of how engineer minded these people were; an ancient large amphitheater with a capacity of about 7,000 + -, a Byzantine era (eastern Roman Empire) colonnaded street, ritual baths, a pottery workshop, a basilica, a Roman temple and more. Before the Byzantine era, It was on the walls of Beit She'an that the Philistines hanged the bodies of King Saul and his sons after being defeated on Mt. Gilboa. The site was overwhelming. In the large amphitheater, I stood at the center of the stage and voiced "My fellow Americans"...

http://youtu.be/HkxU_adad0o

Today we traveled North from Tel Aviv visiting Caesarea. This is an excavated site that sits on the shore line. A beautiful amphitheater with seating for up to 5000 and faces the Mediterranean Sea. The acoustics were incredible. David Moore and Carolyn Chapman sang "How great Thou art". It was a beautiful offering. Tour groups from different countries applauded their performance. Caesarea was where Herod Agrippa I was eaten by worms after allowing his subjects to praise him as a god. 'On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted,"This is the voice of a god, not of a man." Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.' (Acts 12:19-23) We saw the exact location this happened in the Theater. Caesarea is an important site in Christian history. It was the place where Pontius Pilate governed d...

It's early morning is Joffa. I've been up since 4. I have already Skyped Ashton(daughter), Lewis (son),mom, dad, Todd (brother), Lee and Melissa Rollins and Mackie McDaniel. This is what happens when your internal clock says good morning but the world you're in says good night. We had a great breakfast. We are leaving the Mediterian coastline and heading for Tiberias which is by the Sea of Galilee.

We arrived in Tel Aviv after an eventless flight. Thanks to Ambien, we both got ample rest. On the descent, we were able to see the boats in the Mediterranean Sea. In customs, we saw Orthodox Jews with their hair locks and black rimmed hats. The weather was 75 degrees. As we entered the tour bus, Gary Chapman prayed for our tour and also prayed for those back home that were probably entering worship at 930 - 1000 EST. Our tour began immediately with our guide Saliba, who speaks english, but whose native tongues is Aramaic, which is the language Jesus spoke. Our first stop was Joppa. The Architecture was what I expected. Beautiful stone buildings overlooking the the port. Joppa has some very significant biblical history. In the time of Joshua, it was known as Japho. It was part of the original inheritance of the tribe of Dan (Joshua 19:46). In Solomon's time, Joppa became a chief seaport (II Chronicles 2:16). More notably, Joffa is the town where Jonah, trying to escape God...

We have a five hour lay over in Philly. Elizabeth & I are finally feeling the excitement of visiting The "Holy Lands". Since I was a kid in vacation bible school, I was taught about Jesus Christ and his time on earth in this distant far away land. Now, in less than 12 hours we will be landing in Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv was begun by a small group of Jews who migrated from the long established area of Jaffa. The city dates back to 1470 BC. An Egyptian pharaoh mentioned it in letters he wrote. The area is also mentioned in the bible, the book of Jonah. According to some readings, the name of the city was given in 1910. In the book of Ezekiel it says, " Then I came to them of captivity at Tel-Abib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar". Abib or Aviv means "spring" in Hebrew. The city population is only 392,500, however the metropolitan population is 3.268 million people. It is only 33 miles northwest of the Biblically significant area of Jerusalem. It is the se...