Romans 9-12: I don’t know how this passage could be lived out any clearer than we have seen it the last few days.
Romans 9:22 “What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25As indeed he says in Hosea,
“Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’
and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.'”
This city filled with religion overflows devout people. The problem is not their devotion. It is what and who they are devote to. The Jewish religion is everywhere and it is on display even greater as they are celebrating one of their sacred holidays. Yet what God was saying in this scripture is being lived out. They reject Jesus as Messiah and are still looking for one to come. So Jesus chose to look past them to the Gentile nations that surround them. He definitely came to the Jews first, but they had no desire to follow so Paul and the other disciples began preaching and teaching the good news to all who would hear. Because of that grace gift from God I too am now a follower of God through His Son Jesus. I too am an heir to that Promise made long ago on Mount Moriah. I too hold to the promises not yet fulfilled in the word. That is a major reason why my heart aches for the Jewish people. They are blind and do not even know it. He still holds out an olive branch of peace and hope for them if they too will come and acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah, the One and Only Son of God. I found myself yesterday praying in some of the same places Jesus had for this people group. I prayed for peace here but not just from physical wars, but from the spiritual battle happening daily within these borders. Please join me in praying for peace in Israel and more importantly in the hearts of people here and around the world.

Romans 5-8: Being here in the Holy Land it is very interesting how so many faiths trace their roots back to this piece of land. You can stand in one spot and see and hear people from the Jewish faith, Muslim faith, Catholic, and that is just to name the largest ones. In one church there are 5 faiths represented and it doesn’t even cover the big 3 mentioned. I use the word faiths because they do believe in something, but only a handful believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Even fewer believe that you are justified by faith in Him alone. Yet look at what Romans 5 says.
5:1 “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
It is not Jesus plus good works, Jesus plus religious activity, Jesus plus keeping the commandments. It is just JESUS by faith!
We talked last night about how it truly is so simple a child can understand. Yet man puts so many added things onto it and some miss Jesus all together. One very religious young man yesterday walked by us and spit on the ground right beside one of our men expressing his disdain for us being in his “holy place”. I just want to take him and so many other with them and say, “Where is your love?” There was a priest of some kind last night at one of the “holy places” that fussed at me because I was standing in the wrong place why he and his brothers were doing some kind of ceremony. I thought then, His hatred was evident! I contrasted that with another priest in another church who smiled, spoke to us with joy, and even joined in as we sang hymns. I laughed at the end because he wanted to sing the Battle Hymn of the Republic. As we sang “Glory glory Hallelujah His truth is marching on!” I thought to myself, “I would come back and be a part of his service!” He saw us. He cared for us. He acted more like Jesus than any of the priest reciting their “Stuff!” and not loving the people. One group of “holy men” were ruthless in their ordering people around yesterday morning as we got ready to enter another church. It as though these “church men” don’t like each other and they think that those coming to worship the Lord are a distraction. Oh how I long to tell people, Jesus will love you period. No matter where you step or how you enter He LOVES YOU!!! All of this was to pay the price for You to believe and receive eternal life!!! So don’t get caught up in the laws, the rituals, or the pomp and circumstance. Love the Savior, listen for His voice, and turn from sin. He is worth it!

Acts 20, Romans 1-4: We are in a city that still struggles with what Paul wrote about in Romans 1-4. It is a city bound by trying to fulfill the Law on their own. They wear long black robes, hats, long hair in the front. Each door way has a small box with scripture in it. We got here last night as they begin celebrating Hanukkah and in many of the windows the 2 candles were lit. Some are very devout religious people. They obey the laws of the Sabbath. But no matter how good they are if they break one of the laws through out their lifetime they have broken the all according to the Word and the wages or payment of that is death. Romans 3:23 says all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. Jesus know we could not keep the law and the blood of sheep and goats was not enough to pay for our sin. So Jesus came. Today we will celebrate His coming in Bethlehem! My heart has hurt for the many people who live here in this land that is so precious but have totally missed the importance of it. They are much more concerned with their nationality than the Messiah that walked here. So close and yet so far!!!
I wonder if that is not how Paul felt. Did he too think, you cut your flesh but your hearts are still so far away? Did the people think that just by cutting the flesh they would be made right with God? As you begin lighting your Christmas lights and decorating with your manger scenes I challenge you to truly consider why you do it. If Jesus is not Lord, if He is not the reason for your celebration you are not any different than the people here. You are missing it too. If you are decorating in His honor, then honor Him with a whole heart. Treat others as He did. Share His good news. See the hurting and lost around you and meet their needs. Les and I wrote an Advent Journal a couple of years ago about how to reach out at Christmas. I am more convinced now than ever that this is what pleases the Father! Don’t miss Him in all of the pageantry. Meet Him at the manger and the cross.

2 Corinthians 5-9: Yesterday we were taught about the word carpenter that our English bible uses to describe Jesus’ vocation before He started His earthly ministry. The word in the original text is better defined as architect or stone mason. After our walk around Nazareth yesterday I can see why that would probably be much more precise. Nazareth is built on and beneath a mountainous terrain. Rocks are everywhere and homes are constructed out of them. There are some trees but they are not big and not much furniture is made from them in that early world culture. Thus, to comprehend that Jesus worked with His hands and probably helped build is easy to conceive. That leads me to our scripture today because as Jesus talked about earthly and temporary tents, He could probably point out tents in His surroundings as people made preparations for a more permanent dwelling. His point is that our bodies are those temporary tents. We weren’t made to dwell in them forever. Something much more long term is yet to come. While we remain here, God is constructing for us that forever home there with He and His Son. We can’t get distracted by the temporary. We must keep our eyes on the eternal.

What a great word to us today. This world and this body are wasting away, but because He gave us a new heart when we received Him as Savior and Lord we are preparing for an unbelievable eternal home in Heaven with Him. Old things have passed away and sin no longer reigns in our hearts! Praise the Lamb! Now it is important for us to help others find this forever life in the company of God and His Son. We do that one relationship at a time. Don’t miss that today. As you walk through this day, who is it that God is putting in your path? You could make a huge difference in their eternity!

1 Corinthians 9-11: I take so much for granted! We live in a country where I am free daily to drive a car, smile and look people in the eyes, feel like I am on equal footing with men even when I choose to submit to leadership in my home and church. I take these freedoms for granted. As I read today about Paul’s instruction for women to cover their heads to pray, so much of that was culture and custom. We know that God hears our prayers whether our heads are covered or not. He listens to the heart and it is more about our clean heart than our covered head. I feel much like Paul, I know I have freedoms, but I also don’t want to be militant or even too lax about these freedoms. I want to honor the Lord and Keep Him my focus not my right or privilege. Yet while I am in a country where women do not have as many freedoms I am keenly aware of the gifts I have been given.

Acts 18-19: How does the church today handle it when a brother or sister teaches something that is not quite theologically correct? In most cases that person is talked about behind their back and not given the opportunity to teach again. I find it very interesting that we do not see that modeled in our passage today. When Apollos came to Ephesus he was bold in preaching repentance from sin but he was not teaching about Jesus. Look at how the strong believers handled the situation.
18:26 “He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. 27And when he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, 28for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.”
Here are some things that jumped off of the page to me.
*Apollos had a teachable spirit
*Priscilla and Aquila cared about Apollos
*They did not talk about him but talked to him
*The gospel message went out even wider because the *Kingdom workers worked together for God’s glory.
Wow what a model to follow!

1 Thessalonians 1-5: The song my heart woke up singing this morning was When the Roll is Called up Yonder I’ll be there! As I read 1 Thessalonians 4-5 I was ready to shout, even so come quickly Lord!
1 Thessalonians 4:16 “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18Therefore encourage one another with these words.”
Doesn’t that get you excited? Even as many of us are putting up trees and decorating with beautiful colored lights thinking about His first coming, this child of God can’t wait for the second one. I can’t wait to hear that trumpet blast. Not sure about all of the dead rising, but I bet it will be a glorious day. Then we will all be caught up with Him. Can’t you just hear the heavenly choir singing and the love and laughter of those being taken up! I can almost hear antiphonal praise of Glory, Hallelujah, Praise God, Holy is He, Worthy is the Lamb! Power and glory and honor to the One who reigns on the throne!
Yet my heart is also drawn to the cries of agony and disbelief as well for those who were left behind. How sad and heart breaking.
Father please make me vigilant today to tell Your story to the lost around me. Even as I wait with expectancy help me not lose sight of why I am still here. Speak to and through me today to a soul who would otherwise be left behind.

John 14-17: “Let not your hearts be troubled.” Jesus is so compassionate. He knows our weaknesses. As He prepared to leave the earth He did not want to multiply the anguished hearts of the ones He had grown to love. In His great compassion He tried to give them a forewarning of what was to come. Jesus was about to die in what would seem like total defeat, but Jesus was telling them ahead of time this is not the end and this is not defeat but victory.
You may be in much the same place these days. You may feel as though the enemy is winning and that life is just too heavy a burden to bear. The good news is you don’t have to bear it alone. Just as Jesus was promising hope to the disciples He is offering that same hope you to. A Helper has come. He is the Holy Spirit and for those who yield their lives to Jesus He comes in and takes up residence in your heart. He will guide you. He will help you. He will make intercession for you to the very throne of heaven on your behalf. You are never alone with Him and He longs to give you power from on High.
Jesus was affirming these very things to the disciples because He knew there would be dark days for them too where the answers were not as clear and the violence around them was severe. But just as He expected them to be of good heart and find strength He expects the same thing from us. Here is how He said it.
14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
Hold on to that peace today.

Matthew 26:1-5, 14-35; Mark 14:1-2, 10-31: Have you ever been sifted? In the passages we read today Jesus told Peter, “Satan has asked to sift you.” I wonder if sometimes in our lives we aren’t being sifted. A couple of years ago I read a book about sifting. Not all sifting or going through hard and difficult times is from Satan. Some may very well be, but one thing I noticed is that in Job’s case and Peter’s Satan had to ask for permission and in the end God had a greater purpose for that person’s life. I also observed that God knew the strength He would and could give the person to get them through. God believed in both of his children who were sifted and knew their faith would be stronger for it. It would also be a testimony to all of those around to the genuineness of their faith.
If you are in the heat of adversity remember God is still in control. You may feel overwhelmed or even unloved or unwanted, but God has a bigger purpose for you and He dearly loves you. He believes in you and knows this testing will make you stronger. Hold on to your faith. Hold on to your Father and persevere with hope. This sifting will end one day and when it does you will have the testimony of how God brought you through.

Matthew 22:15-23:39; Mark 12:13-44;
Luke 20:20-21:4; 13:31-35: Do you practice what you preach? That is a great question to ask. It is easy to talk the “Jesus lifestyle” but living it is a whole other thing. We know truths but true disciples don’t just know truth, they walk in it. Here is how Jesus said it,
Matthew 23:1 “Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2″The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, 3so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.”
Ouch! What a scathing rebuke. I fear that these words could apply to many church leaders today as well. It is also applicable to church members. The truth is you may be able to fool others, MAYBE, but you do not fool God and He will hold you accountable. You may not be as cunning as you think you are with others as well. Those who have even the least bit of discernment see straight through a false exterior. Be real with yourself and with others. Walk what you talk and be the real deal.