I have eaten at Chick (for short) several times when outside of the northeast (where they are rare). The food is good! And I heard the founder speak once at a Christian conference. He is a great Christian man, and keeps his restaurants closed on Sunday, in spite of the pressure to make more money from secular sources. His "controversial" comments supporting the traditional family were made in an interview with the Baptist Press.
What is so dangerous here is the government discriminating against businesses which do not toe the politically correct line. The mayor of Chicago said that Chick does not reflect "Chicago values"! Are they taking this stand against Muslims also? Does this mean Orthodox Jews and Catholics are not welcome in Chicago either? If we don't speak up against this, there will be much more discrimination towards us in the future.
Eat more chicken, not just this Wednesday, but in the future when you pass a Chick-Fil-A.
Monday, July 30, 2012
North Carolina missions trip
Thanks for praying for us this week, as we minister in NC. We are at Master's Hand Christian Church in Raleigh, which our former assistant pastor Joe McCain started. We will be doing evangelism of different forms, as well as vacation Bible school, a parenting seminar, and services every night.
Pray that God will lead us to hungry people, that we will minister in God's power, that we will be used in the gifts of the Spirit, and that we will have divine appointments with people. Our goal is to strengthen and enlarge the church there.
Pray that God will lead us to hungry people, that we will minister in God's power, that we will be used in the gifts of the Spirit, and that we will have divine appointments with people. Our goal is to strengthen and enlarge the church there.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Israel trip
Seventeen of us returned from a 10 day trip to Israel recently. This is something everyone should do once in their life, it is an incredible spiritual experience. And, yes, it was totally safe! You don't travel into the dangerous places, like the Gaza Strip.
People ask what the high points were. To me, some of them were taking a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee (no one successfully walked on the water, sorry), seeing the Temple Institute in Jerusalem, dedicated to rebuilding the Jewish Temple (motto- "If we build it, He (the Messiah) will come") http://www.templeinstitute.org/), climbing the tel at the Roman-era ruins of Beth Shean to see the 15th century BC Egyptian fort and hieroglyphics, praying at the Western wall, and walking through the colorful Arab market in old Jerusalem. I ate lots of hummus and salads (present at every meal, including breakfast). We had a baptism renewal in the Jordan River (10 feet from the nation of Jordan), renewed wedding vows at the church of Cana (where Jesus turned water to wine) and stayed on a kibbutz on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. We went in 5 bodies of water- the Mediterranean in Tel Aviv, the Sea of Galilee, the Dead Sea (you can't sink due to the high salinity), the Jordan River, and the hotel swimming pool! We rode a camel and traveled into the Palestinian West Bank to visit Bethlehem.
We plan to do another church trip in maybe 3 years, depending upon the interest (let me know if you are interested in the next tour). Some reasons why you should consider going-
1. It will bring the world of the Bible alive. You can visualize the places where Jesus walked and taught, many are still there and unchanged. Someone said that studying the Bible without going to Israel is like learning about football without ever having seen a game or football field.
2. There is a unique sense of the presence of God in Israel. Praying at the Western Wall is an incredible experience. The Bible talks about Israel being the center of the world, from God's perspective (sorry, it is not New York!). His eye is always on this land. You can feel this.
3. Israel is small, the same as New Jersey in size, shape and population. It is easy to get around, everything is near. It will also help you to understand how vulnerable Israel is, surrounded by enemies dedicated to its total destruction.
4. The history of the world ends there. We visited Armageddon. Amazing.
5. If you like history, Israel has it. 14 major nations and empires passed through and controlled the land. There are also significant and fascinating Roman ruins there, which I loved.
6. Israel is a mix of cultures, with Arabs, Druze, and Jews from all over the world living there. It is a fascinating place culturally.
Roman aqueduct
Where Jesus lived
Caesarea- Acts 10
Western wall prayer
Solid gold lampstand, 8 feet tall
Arab quarter spices
Unhappy camel dumping Ken
Sea of Galilee
Valley of David & Goliath
Everyone should go to Israel once. A lot of people on our tour are excited to go back now!
People ask what the high points were. To me, some of them were taking a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee (no one successfully walked on the water, sorry), seeing the Temple Institute in Jerusalem, dedicated to rebuilding the Jewish Temple (motto- "If we build it, He (the Messiah) will come") http://www.templeinstitute.org/), climbing the tel at the Roman-era ruins of Beth Shean to see the 15th century BC Egyptian fort and hieroglyphics, praying at the Western wall, and walking through the colorful Arab market in old Jerusalem. I ate lots of hummus and salads (present at every meal, including breakfast). We had a baptism renewal in the Jordan River (10 feet from the nation of Jordan), renewed wedding vows at the church of Cana (where Jesus turned water to wine) and stayed on a kibbutz on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. We went in 5 bodies of water- the Mediterranean in Tel Aviv, the Sea of Galilee, the Dead Sea (you can't sink due to the high salinity), the Jordan River, and the hotel swimming pool! We rode a camel and traveled into the Palestinian West Bank to visit Bethlehem.
We plan to do another church trip in maybe 3 years, depending upon the interest (let me know if you are interested in the next tour). Some reasons why you should consider going-
1. It will bring the world of the Bible alive. You can visualize the places where Jesus walked and taught, many are still there and unchanged. Someone said that studying the Bible without going to Israel is like learning about football without ever having seen a game or football field.
2. There is a unique sense of the presence of God in Israel. Praying at the Western Wall is an incredible experience. The Bible talks about Israel being the center of the world, from God's perspective (sorry, it is not New York!). His eye is always on this land. You can feel this.
3. Israel is small, the same as New Jersey in size, shape and population. It is easy to get around, everything is near. It will also help you to understand how vulnerable Israel is, surrounded by enemies dedicated to its total destruction.
4. The history of the world ends there. We visited Armageddon. Amazing.
5. If you like history, Israel has it. 14 major nations and empires passed through and controlled the land. There are also significant and fascinating Roman ruins there, which I loved.
6. Israel is a mix of cultures, with Arabs, Druze, and Jews from all over the world living there. It is a fascinating place culturally.
Roman aqueduct
Where Jesus lived
Caesarea- Acts 10
Western wall prayer
Solid gold lampstand, 8 feet tall
Arab quarter spices
Unhappy camel dumping Ken
Sea of Galilee
Valley of David & GoliathBringing back the Messiah
It is intriguing to me that the 3 major religions of the world all believe that the Messiah is returning, and that people can do something to cause him to return. Orthodox Jews (at least some- check out http://www.templeinstitute.org/ in Jerusalem) believe that rebuilding the Temple will cause the Messiah to return. Their motto is (like "Field of dreams") "If we build it, He will come"! We visited them in Jerusalem, and they are preparing the temple furniture and equipment to bring back the Messiah.
Muslims believe that the 12th Imam, the Mahdi, will return to a world in chaos and set up a world-wide rule of Islam. Many think that President Ahmadinejad of Iran wants to cause turmoil (such as a war or nuclear attack on Israel) to accelerate the mahdi's return.
Christians believe that the Gospel must be preached to every ethnic group, and then the end will come (the words of Jesus- Matthew 24:14). So we can be part of Jesus' return by sending and supporting missionaries.
All of us are looking for the Messiah to return. As the world has more turnoil, this will become more prominent. Fascinating.
Muslims believe that the 12th Imam, the Mahdi, will return to a world in chaos and set up a world-wide rule of Islam. Many think that President Ahmadinejad of Iran wants to cause turmoil (such as a war or nuclear attack on Israel) to accelerate the mahdi's return.
Christians believe that the Gospel must be preached to every ethnic group, and then the end will come (the words of Jesus- Matthew 24:14). So we can be part of Jesus' return by sending and supporting missionaries.
All of us are looking for the Messiah to return. As the world has more turnoil, this will become more prominent. Fascinating.
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