“Holy” means “sacred” or “set apart”, most often referring to the divine. My dilemma as a Christian visiting the “Holy” Land and calling it such is that I wonder if we “over-holy” these geographical locations.

Let me say up front that I do believe that the land we currently call Israel and Palestine will play some sort of special role in the unfolding of last things (eschatology). Just read the beautiful prophecy about the river of life flowing from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea in Ezekiel 47 to see what I mean.

But that does not mean I think the land should be militarily taken in order to help hasten the end times (the Crusaders tried that centuries ago and their campaigns were NOT the Church’s brightest moments in history). On the contrary, I believe that according to Jesus, we live in a time where the locality of God’s divine presence is juxtapositioned differently than the times of the Old Testament.

Here are the words of Jesus himself to the Samaritan woman in John 4:

“Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth” (John 4:21-24 NIV).

Christians flock to the Holy Land, and have done so for centuries. I believe it is a trip well worthy the time and resources. But what I get out of it is not feeling closer to God because I feel like the land gets me closer to Him. God is omnipresent, and His “temple” is no longer a bricks and mortar place on some mountain, but rather the hearts of people around the world – from every tribe, tongue, and nation.

So I do not think the land of Israel/Palestine is any more holy than Fargo, North Dakota. God is holy, and we can worship God and connect with Him anywhere and everywhere, including Israel.

What I do get out of visiting Israel as a Christian is a deeper appreciation for the historical settings of the Bible and Middle Eastern history. That in turn helps me to read the Bible in color rather than just black and white, which in turn does help me connect with God in devotion and relationship. It helps me understand the culture/faith of Judaism, which is the root of Christianity (by the way, Christianity can also be called the Jewish Messianic Movement). And it helps me better understand the various people groups who currently live in the Middle East and how they interrelate with one another.

So I would recommend visiting the land of the Bible. But don’t expect God to pop out of the earth while you’re over there. You don’t have to travel that far to find God in your life. He’s at work in your own city. Visit the land of the Bible and let it deepen your understanding of history and today, thus drawing you closer to God in that particular way.

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Standing on the roof of the Ecce Homo Convent in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. The tower behind us is the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer.

Just last week, we returned from our 10-year wedding anniversary trip to Israel and the West Bank. Most of our time was spent in Israel proper, but we did get a chance to see Bethlehem and Herodian, which are in the Palestinian Territory of the West Bank. I was here 13 years ago for school and since that time, they have built an enormous barrier wall (and are still building) between Israel and Palestine. The political and social ramifications of “The Wall” are enormous and can be positive or negative depending on who you talk to, but that’s a bit much to get into right now…

“The Wall” that separates Israel from the West Bank (Palestinian Territory).

Sarah, Kezzie, and I explored the country on foot and with a rental car, a Bible, a guidebook, and LOTS of water. It was a vacation/pilgrimmage for us. And it was a thrill to show my family around to the places I once lived and studied in years ago. We also did some new things that I never did when I was here before, including learning about new archaeological finds over the past decade – namely the tomb of King Herod the Great (now on display at The Israel Museum) and the foundations of King David’s Palace at the City of David.

I will publish more posts about our trip as the days and weeks go by, but I will mention one thing to start in this post. And that is the difference between historical sites and traditional sites in Israel/Palestine. This is an important distinction to know for anyone visiting the Middle East (or any other part of the world that displays history, for that matter).

A historical site is a geographical location that verifiably marks an actual point/place where something once happened in history. A traditional site is a geographical location that marks a historical event, but it may or may not be the actual place where it happened (often the location is just a guess or a site that has traditionally marked an event).

For example, there are two main sites that remember the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ: The Church of the Holy Sepulchre and The Garden Tomb. These two sites are less than a kilometer apart, but they cannot both be the location of the resurrection. Historically and archaeologically speaking, the actual site is probably the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. But the Garden Tomb traditionally marks the event, even though historical research has shown that it it highly unlikely to be the right location. In my opinion, The Garden Tomb is a more peaceful, tranquil garden-like atmosphere that gives you a better feel for the setting of the resurrection narrative. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre has been built over with centuries of layers of buildings, not to mention the volatile power-struggles among custodial church groups.

The “Tomb of Christ” in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

The Garden Tomb in East Jerusalem, just north of Damascus Gate.

And there are plenty of examples of this all over Israel. It is good to know if you are at an actual historical spot or just at a place where people remember a particular event. There is the Inn of the Good Samaritan on the road between Jerusalem and Jericho. Tour busses flock to it. The only problem? The only place we learn about this inn in the Bible is in a parable, which is an metaphorical story – not a real actual event. So that would be another type of traditional spot as opposed to historical.

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Jesus told him to stop doubting and believe. Thomas immediately believed. Was his doubting a sin? The Scripture doesn’t say explicitly, but Jesus did tell him to “stop doubting.” And James says that “he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.” (James 1:6).

I believe doubt is part of the natural flow of figuring things out in life (our brains question things and look for proof), so you can’t really blame Thomas too much. In fact, I think Thomas gets singled out unfairly in the history of doubting people. We shouldn’t be afraid or feel ashamed if we sense doubt in our hearts. But when we do, there is a place to go: Scripture and at the feet of Jesus.

We’re all doubters. And so were all the disciples (not just Thomas). Read Luke 24:38 – Jesus said to “the disciples” the following: “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?” (Luke 24:38 NIV).

And look at the eleven disciples on the mountain in Galilee when Jesus gave them the Great Commission – “When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.” Matthew 28:17 NIV).

Doubt is part of the journey toward faith. Like he said to Thomas, Jesus tells us to stop doubting and believe. In fact, he said that blessed are those who don’t see him in person (as did the disciples) and yet still believe. That means us!

Is following Jesus blind faith? No. We have the evidence of Scripture, thousands of years of tradition and testimonies of the saints passed down to us, and the intangible moving of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and lives.

How do we turn from doubt? We ask God, who will generously give wisdom to those who ask (James 1:5). Note that James doesn’t say that he’ll give wisdom to those who try really really hard to believe. Simply ask God.

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It is important to note that these are apps that work best when you can use an adapter on your device to project the screen of your device onto a large monitor or screen for the kids to see.

Random NameSelector – This app from Walsall Academy is super for selecting kids at random to play a game or participate in something. You have options for different groups and names within each group. I also love the simple visual of a magician’s hat on stage and then the kid’s name popping up on a big star. The app is free with ads or only $1.99 for the Pro version (no ads).

Too Noisy – While most teachers use this for keeping a class quiet (it has a dial that rises when the class gets too noisy and lowers when they quiet down), I will instead use this to egg on kids to get as loud as they can. That’s just what you do at camp. And kids love trying to break a sound meter!

ClassRoom Timer – A simple alarm clock that counts down from any amount of time. It rings and then explodes when the time runs out. You can click mid-timer when a child answers or wins and then the timer stops and celebrates the win.

Keynote – For $10 you can get Apple’s famous response to Power Point. The app version of it is very user-friendly and has lots of features that are intuitive to tablet/device use. I love using this for presentations, images, illustrations, etc. It is clear, simple, and easy to use.

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This is a screenshot of the PDF version. You can download the whole thing for free in either PDF or Power Point below.

I have created a Power Point presentation that follows a version of The Wordless Book, sometimes known as the Colors of Salvation, or the Salvation Colors. This presentation is technically not “wordless” because I put the Scripture references in there. But that’s all. Each color is shown by a colored circle, then the corresponding Scripture reference, and then a purple cross at the end (to represent the royalty of Christ, the King of Kings).

I am using this for an Upward presentation I am doing this Sunday night. I hope you can make good use of it as well. Please freely use this for your own ministry and share it as you like, just don’t go selling it

Here are two versions of the presentation, one PDF and one Power Point

Colors of Salvation – PDF

Colors of Salvation – Power Point Version

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King Ahab icon from 16th Century printer Guillaume Rouillé.

“Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness —  a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time…” (Titus 1:1-2).

Compare that to the following story from 1 Kings 22 (repeated in 2 Chronicles 18). This is Micaiah the prophet speaking to King Ahab of Israel:

Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne with all the host of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left. And the LORD said, ‘Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?’

“One suggested this, and another that. Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the LORD and said, ‘I will entice him.’

“‘By what means?’ the LORD asked.

 “‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,’ he said.

 “‘You will succeed in enticing him,’ said the LORD. ‘Go and do it.’

“So now the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The LORD has decreed disaster for you.” (1 Kings 22:19-23).

They don’t teach this story in Sunday School! This is one of those “difficult” texts of Scripture. Though they are hard to interpret, I don’t want that fact to keep us from studying them and discussing them. I doubt a clear answer can be given in this story, but it is well worth investigating….

It is clear in the story of the prophet Micaiah that God put a “lying spirit in the mouths” of the prophets who told King Ahab essentially, “Go ahead, go into battle, you’ll be fine!” (he wasn’t – see 1 Kings 22:34-35).

So this leaves us with a few options if you believe in the authority and historical truth of Scripture:

1. Micaiah was making up the story about God putting a lying spirit in the mouths of the prophets.

OR

2. Somehow in the mysterious paradigm of God’s sovereignty, He can choose to allow deception to carry out his ultimate will – and still not be a “liar” (if, indeed, we believe that the words of Titus are true).

The first option seems reasonable. But in the end, King Ahab did die in battle. Why would Micaiah want to make up a story about God causing prophets to lie? He was simply giving King Ahab a little “insider information” about his prophetic vision, perhaps to warn him out of compassion. King Ahab didn’t want to hear this bad news and instead took the bait and went into battle. Just to be cautious, he traded clothes with King Jehoshaphat, but Ahab was still struck with a random arrow and died.

I fall in line with the second option – that God in His sovereignty can allow deception to carry out his ultimate will. Does that mean that God can lie? Technically, in this story, he didn’t lie. He gave a spirit permission to mislead King Ahab in order to carry out his ultimate will of judgement upon Ahab.

Another New Testament verse (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12) is strikingly similar:

“The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickednes” (2 Thess 2:9-12).

Does God lie? No.

Does God employ methods of sovereign power and grace that cause us to scratch our heads? Yes.

The biggest head-scratcher of all is why would a perfect holy God die in place of me, a fallen-wretched sinner.

“…he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities” (Psalm 103:10).

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9. Your trips to Lowe’s or the grocery store always begin with a choice between red race car cart or blue race car cart.

8. Your diaper-changing skills have immensely improved over the past two years: from 2-minute/5 wipe changes to 10-second/1 wipe changes.

7. You now fully understand why your mother saved all those old Sesame Street books.

6. Multi-colored-play-things seem to reproduce at infestation levels in every room of your house.

5. Your parents and in-laws suddenly visit you way more frequently than they ever had a few years ago – and yet for some reason you are invisible to them.

4. You never knew you could accomplish so much between the hours of 2pm and 5pm.

3. You can recite the book Good Night, Moon by memory – backwards.

2. Your favorite part of flying with your family is experiencing the feeling of boarding the plane before all the rich executives board first class.

1. You are reminded daily of the wonders of the universe that we as adults have come to no longer appreciate – like the moon, ladybugs, the sound of the choo-choo train, and a successfully deposited poop.

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1. Everyone sits in a circle in chairs with bare feet.
2. There is a salad bowl sized bowl of water on the ground in reach of everyone’s feet.
3. The group must move the bowl from the starting point to another point clearly marked on the ground (about 2-3 feet away) using only their feet.
4. All feet must participate.
5. (Optional rule): no “grabbing” the rim with toe strength. That means if one person has strong enough toes, they could potentially carry the weight of the bowl and take away the challenge of the group working together.

Let me know if you know any variations…..

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While snow may be a unique way to kick off Easter week, I found a more Biblical way to kick it of – in the Bible of all places!

Kick off Easter week with children. And I don’t mean just doing a traditional Easter egg hunt, which is nice and all. I mean children singing praise to God.

You see, when Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey in what is now known as “The Triumphal Entry”, people waved palm branches (representing victory as well as eternal life). This is the event that Christians traditionally celebrate to start Easter week. He then ransacked the commerce mall that had been set up in the temple, claiming that the temple was a house of prayer, not of thieves (Matthew 21:1-12).

The next thing that happens caught my attention as I was reading it this morning (Matthew 21:14-16):

“14 The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.  15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.

16   “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.

 “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “‘From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise’?”

Wow. The ones who were shouting praise to Jesus in the temple were children. And Jesus stuck up for them by saying that this is what God had promised (in Psalm 8:2).

This is why I love being a minister to children. They have so much energy and joy that they actually minister to me. They are the real “worship leaders” in the church. They are the ones who teach us how to worship and praise God: The innocence of their hearts. The purity of their faith. The joy of their song. The sincerity of their praise.

Start off Easter week by singing and praying with a child out there. Ask them to pray for you. Ask them to lead you in a song of worship. They are, after all, ordained to do so by God!

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The Westin Virginia Beach Town Center building surpassed Richmond’s Monroe Tower as Virginia’s tallest building in 2007.

I love lists like this. When I was a kid, leisure time for me was reading through almanacs, world record books, and “top ten lists”-type books (and juggling of course).

I found it amazing that the tallest building in Vermont is only 124 feet tall. Many cities in America have plenty of buildings at that height or taller. The tallest in my state (Virginia) is The Westin in Virginia Beach at 508 feet high. Check out the article from weather.com to see the tallest building in your state:

http://www.weather.com/travel/americas-tallest-buildings-20130311

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