Bringing 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.

Going to Israel

We are off to Israel tomorrow.  I am really getting excited about this.  I have read 4 and a half tour books on Israel recently, and am full of stories and anecdotes to disgorge onto our group!  Seriously, every Christian should go there once.  It will give you new understanding into the world of Jesus, the Jewish people, and the Bible.  You can feel God's presence at the Western Wall, an amazing place spiritually. You will better understand past history, the middle east conflict, and the future (yes, we go to Armageddon).

Many people expressed a desire to go on this trip who could not for one reason or another.  We hope to do another church trip in a maybe three years, start saving.  I am also hoping to organize a trip for pastors in the nearer future.

Wallenda and eggplant

I saw Nick Wallenda cross Niagara Falls on tv.  No one seemed to noticethat he was constantly praying and asking God for help as he walked the wire.  I would too!  Obviously he is a Christian. But I wonder if a Christian should do this, is it testing God?  Several members of his famous family have been killed walking the wire.

On another note, I have 3 strong eggplant plants free to anyone who wants them!  I love eggplant parmesan, but how much eggplant can one eat?  I already put 3 plants in my garden.  By the way, we found a box turtle in there the other day.

Father's day

While studying for my father's day message, I was struck by how few good fathers there are in the Bible.  Most of the greats of the faith- David, Solomon, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Samuel, etc., were
failures as fathers, though they were great men of God.  The only really good father we hear much about is Joseph.  I  joked with my wife that I should preach a message "Great Fathers of the Bible", which would last for maybe 5 minutes.

We need an updated book on how to be a great dad.  Though it is the most important thing we men do, we have no training in it.

Dealing with anger

Last Saturday I spoke to about 35 men at our church men's breakfast on "Dealing with anger".   Ed Cole, the founder of the modern men's movement, says that anger, sex, and money are the 3 issues men struggle most with.  Judging from the many comments and reactions I got during and after the talk, this is more than true.  I highlighted my own struggle with anger, grazed over the things the Bible says on the topic (Proverbs is loaded on this topic), talked about the results of anger in our society and lives, and ended with some tips on how to deal with anger.  If you want to hear it, it will be posted on our church web site by Thursday.

Due to the groundswell of response on this, I will do a message or two on this in the future.

Without electricity

I learned Tuesday night that our life is more dependant on electricity than I thought.  At 8:40 pm our power went totally out.  I read the Bible by flashlight for a while, then prayed in the dark (to save electricity.)  I realized it is easy to fall asleep praying in the total dark when you are tired!  So I figured I would rest a little till the power came back on.  At about 10pm, the electricity came on - but only for 3 minutes.  After my computer closed down, I went back to sleep until 11:26pm, when the power finally was fully back on.  Then I read the day's emails and updates.                                  

Candles don't throw much light.  What did people do before electricity?

Manalapan prayer walk complete

I finished prayer-walking Manalapan recently.  This project involved praying over every home, office, business,  building, path and road in the town.  It started in July 2010, and involved about 600 miles of walking, praying and anointing everything of any significance!  I believe this will bear great spiritual resuts in the future.

Though I have lived here for 20 years, I learned a lot about the town.  The name "Manalapan" means "land of good bread", or "swamp with edible submerged roots (!)"  It was originally settled around a number of mills, which provided power before electricity (can you name 7 mills which are in current names around town?).  It has spectacular and obscure rural areas in the south below route 33.  There are 3 golf courses in town.  There are 12 houses of worship, of which 6 are Jewish synagogues. A major Revolutionary battle which helped the nation gain independence happened here.  And the section of Tennent near me was a center of the Great Awakening, during which millions of Americans came to Christ.

I believe the name Manalapan is prophetic,and pray that it will again be a place of spiritual bread which feeds people's spiritual hunger.

Next is Freehold Township, where I have already prayer-walked most of the town above Route 33.  Keep your eyes out, you may see me there from about 9:30-10:30 in the morning.