Be Like Christ -- In Temptation, an Overcomer

A sacred time of saturating in the Luke 4 account of our Lord's Wilderness Temptation at the hands of the devil, is to come away with this bold confidence:

With Christ reigning in me, in any and in all seasons of strong, even satanic temptation, I can be -- like Christ -- an overcomer! 

My prayer: Jesus, with You reigning within me, no matter how close temptation comes to my life, I have this blessed assurance... You are closer still! You have made me glad and triumphant for Your Glory and my good. Amen. 

Give away your life... To The Overseer of The Overcomers.

Grateful 

A Double-Blessing Friday Morning

Since my Dad's passing onto Glory in November of 2014, my Mom and I have talked on the phone most every day. We are separated geographically by 400 miles or so, however our hearts are always one together because of Jesus.

This morning I called my Mom and for about 30 minutes we encouraged one another in the wonder-filled thoughts of The Lord -- His Worthiness of our all and His Faithfulness to Dad in his dying and to us in our living. At the close of the call, Mom thanked me for talking to her. Her humility warmed my tender heart tremendously.

As soon as I hung up this text message came to me from a dear friend and a true lover of The Lord:

"Hello Pastor Kerry:
While praying for my compeers, comrades and co-laborers this morning, my thoughts remained on you for a while. May our gracious God edify you from His very presence today.
'Lord, guide every decision required of Pastor Kerry now. Revive his heart with Your powerful, living Word. May his love for You be Your joy and his. Strengthen him and remind him of the spiritual sons and daughters that are his. Amen.'"

It's been a double-blessing Friday morning for me and because those who are given much more, much more is required, I'd like to now share from the overflow of these blessings with you:

"Lord Jesus, please let Your Peace increase in the lives of my brothers and sisters reading this blog post this day. Make Your mighty miracles manifest in their daily needs and give them the desires of Your heart. Wherever they may be in the mix of life, make them strong by Your power and pure by Your presence. Let Your Kingdom come and Your will be done wherever they are, as it is in Heaven. Amen, in Your Holy Name."

Give away your life... to King Jesus! He's Worthy!

Grateful

"He is My Permanent Position!"

"It is in the intimacy of God's embrace I will dwell. If I must run into His arms, it indicates I have gone off on my own. I must not do so. One split second without Him and I am back in my failure and defeat. In every temptation or circumstance, He is my permanent position." -- Stephen Manley 

Give away your life... To God exclusively and indefinitely! 

Grateful 

Be A Genuine Jesus Lamp...

I've been saturating in the Sacred Scriptures all year. Especially in The New Testament Gospel writings of Luke, The Holy Spirit has been speaking so very much to me from The Holy Counsel of God. 

So, today, one line from the lips of our Lord Jesus (recorded in Luke 11:35) stopped me immediately in my tracks:

"So, be careful that the light in you isn't darkness."

I can only plead The Blood of Jesus and pray: 

"Father God, You have searched me and know me. Please let the Light in my life be Your Legitimate Light. Let all other lights go dim, and only The Light of the Life of Your Son, my Savior, Jesus of Nazareth, be the illumination within me. I desperately despise darkness and purposely ask You specifically to be The Beacon of my Being. I want to be a genuine Jesus lamp. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Give away your life... To THE LIGHT!

Grateful 

(If image of The Jesus lamp doesn't display fully, click on image.)

"Be My God." -- A Prayer

"O Lord You have searched me and known me..." -- Psalm 139:1

"My God, You are the God of the early mornings, the God of the late nights; the God of the mountain peaks, the God of the sea; but My God, my soul has further horizons than the early mornings, deeper darkness than the nights of the earth, higher peaks than any mountain, greater depths than any sea -- You are the God of all these, be my God. I cannot search to the heights or to the depths; there are motives I cannot trace, dreams I cannot get at; my God, search me out and explore me, and let me know that you have." 

-- Oswald Chambers, (The Psalmist has implied these truths prayed above.)

Give away your life... To Your God.

Grateful 

"Grief is..."

I tweeted this quote last night and 24 hours later it is still deep water for my mind. 

"Grief is losing a single person and feeling as if the world is empty."
(Meryl Streep quote, Grammys)

Must surely be how the disciples felt right after Jesus died on Calvary's Cross. 

Give away your life...

Grateful 

Jesus Was Sourced By The Holy Spirit

Luke 4:1-2 GWT

“1 Jesus was filled with The Holy Spirit as he left the Jordan River. The Spirit led him while he was in the desert, 2 where he was tempted by the devil for 40 days.”

Luke 4:14-15 GWT

“14 Jesus returned to Galilee. The power of the Spirit was with him, and the news about him spread throughout the surrounding country. 15 He taught in the synagogues, and everyone praised him.”

Luke 4:16b-19 GWT

“He stood up to read the lesson. 17 The attendant gave him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened it and found the place where it read: 18 "The Spirit of the Lord is with me. He has anointed me to tell the Good News to the poor. He has sent me to announce forgiveness to the prisoners of sin and the restoring of sight to the blind, to forgive those who have been shattered by sin, 19 to announce the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Give away your life... To The Holy Spirit.

Grateful 

"It is Enough if it is His Blessed Will..."

With infinite care and forethought God has chosen the best place in which you can do your best work for the world. You may be lonely, but you have no more right to complain than the lamp has, which has been placed in a niche to illuminate a dark landing or a flight of dangerous steps. The Master of the house may have put you in a very small corner and on a very humble stand; but it is enough if it is His blessed will. Some day He will pass by, and you shall light His footsteps as He goes forth to seek and to save that which was lost...

-- Selected

Give away your life.. To The Master.

Grateful 

Your Divine Dwelling

Lord, my prayer today is simple but sure:

"Make my body a Holy Temple for Your Divine Dwelling."

I pray, in Your Holy Name... Amen.

Give away your life to The Lord Almighty!

Grateful 

Remember, Jesus Wept.

At the tomb of Lazarus and along The Palm Sunday Parade Route, I am so thankful that the Gospel writers recorded the obvious tears of Jesus.

Also, it comforts me often to read Matthew 16, at Caserea Phillipi, when Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" One answer was "Jeremiah" -- Yes, the Weeping Prophet. So, Jesus must've cried often as He walked in and out of people's lives. It was a top-three answer people gave when asked "Who they thought He was?"

Tears are most often the way The Precious Holy Spirit ministers His Presence, Power, Purity and Peace to me. 

Since I was a little boy, whenever I acted out my tender brokenness with sobbing, my loving Daddy never once said, "Suck those tears up boy or I'll give you something to cry about!" No, my Daddy always encouraged my tenderness and often said something like, "Don't fight off or hold back your tears, son. Go ahead and cry; It will make a real man out of you. Remember, Jesus wept."

Give away your life... to The Weeping Savior.

Grateful

"Have I No Power to Deliver?" -- God

"I will go before thee and unwind the snarls (the knots)." 

Isaiah 45:2, Free Translation

"If any of you, beloved, seem to be in a knot of difficulty of which you cannot get the thread, look to Him Who is Perfect Wisdom, and let the tangle go out of your hands into His; turn the matter over to Him. What is impossible with you is perfectly possible with Him Who is Almighty!" (Cowman) 

"Have I No Power to Deliver?" -- God 

Isaiah 50:2

On this Ash Wednesday, do we believe He is able to give us His beauty for our ashes? 

Give away your life... To Almighty God!

Grateful 

"What is Rest?"

"My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest." Exodus 33:14

"What is rest? To step out of self-life into Christ-life; to lie still, and let Him lift you out of it; to fold your hands close, and hide your face on the hem of His garment; to let Him lay His cooling, soothing, healing hands upon your soul, and draw all the hurry and fever from its veins; to realize that you are not a mighty messenger, an important worker of His, full of care and responsibility, but only a little child, with a Father's gentle bidding to heed and fulfill." (Cowman)

"Give away your life... to your Father God."

Grateful 

"Rushing Wind"

An old Keith Green song, "Rushing Wind", has been a blessing to me over the past month or so. Here are the lyrics. I think the words will bless your soul:

Click here: Keith Green - Rushing Wind - YouTube

Rushing wind blow through this temple,

Blowing out the dust within,

Come and breathe you breath upon me,

I've been born again.

Holy spirit, I surrender, take me where you want to go,

Plant me by your living water,

Plant me deep so I can grow.

Jesus, you're the one, who sets my spirit free,

Use me Lord, glorify, your holy name 
through me.

Separate me from this world Lord.

Sanctify my life for you.

Daily change me to your image,

Help me bear good fruit.

Every day you're drawing closer.

Trials come to test my faith.

But when all is said and done Lord,

You know, it was worth the wait.

Jesus, you're the one, who set my spirit free,

Use me Lord, glorify, your holy name 
through me.

Rushing wind blow through this temple,

Blowing out the dust within,

Come and breathe you breath upon me,

For I've been born again.

"Give away your life..."

Grateful

Romans 8:37 in Song

http://youtu.be/2p8_4NbrcKA

Grateful 

True Love

True Love is not possible apart from God, for God is Love. It saddens me to think of all the precious souls who are seeking True Love yet subtly but surely seem to be settling for sorry substitutes of the real thing. 

On Valentine's Day or any day, let's not be deceived by the world's less than adequate forms of True Love. True Love is a God-Thing. No other "thing" comes close. 

God's True Love is looking for you and for me. Let's be found finally fulfilled, yes, beautifully basking in God's Loving Embrace. 

Give away your life... To True Love. Jesus.

Grateful 

Jesus, You Are Our Conquering King...

Jesus, You are our Conquering King.

We owe to You our Everything.

You came to free us from our sin;

Defeated death and called us "Friend".

How can we ever show You our love?

You left Your Thone from Up Above.

You crawled into our human mess;

Took on Yourself our dread and stress.

Give us Your mercy day-by-day.

So we can triumph in Your Way.

May we never cause You pain again.

But worship You and turn from sin. 

In Your Name we ask. Amen. Amen. 

Give away your life... 

Grateful 

"You Cannot Live Without..."

"You cannot live without affecting the world or being affected by it. You will make it better, or it will make you worse." 

-- D.L.Moody

Give away your life...

Grateful 

May The Lord Give You His Songs...

May the Lord give you His songs
to replace all your sighs.
May you shout His Hallelujahs
in the hurts of your life.
May the Lord undeniably favor you
with His assurance from Above.
May you know His sweet Peace
that only comes through His Love.
In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Give away your life...

Grateful

Israel -- To The Sea -- Tuesday

It's been a wonderful Tuesday as we spent our last day of this journey in Israel living within the culture of The Holy Bible.

We left our hotel in Jerusalem at 9 a.m. and headed west. Our first stop was at The Museum of the Ancient Book where we saw a large scale model of Jerusalem at the time of Jesus and the Book of Isaiah from The Dead Sea Scrolls is the main attraction.

Heading still west we also visited the site mentioned after Jesus resurrected, yes, we stopped along The Road to Emmaus. Our hearts are aflame.

Finally, we made it to the the west coastline of the Mediterranean Sea and the seaport of Joppa. This is the area where Jonah took a ship in an attempt to detour God's call on his life to be an evangelist to Nineveh (today's Northern Iraq). This is also the site of Acts 10 where Peter had his vision. 

Then, we had the highlight of the day as we were guests in the home of a Messianic Jew named Israel. He gave a bold and beautiful testimony of his relationship with Jesus. Afterwards, he and some others sang two Hebrew songs, one of which I requested "In Unity" from Psalm 133. Before we left, Israel blessed us with the Numbers 6 blessing in Hebrew -- "May The Lord bless you and keep you..." So moving!

We have taken many steps on this discipleship journey. One person who wore a pedometer showed that we logged 40 miles on foot together. It's hard to believe but true.  Each mile was more than worth it. 

And The Lord has given us favor with one another. One week ago, I only knew one person on this trip of 16. Tonight, as I post this blog, we are having our last supper together overlooking Joppa Seaport. Because of Jesus, though we were strangers, now we are like a new family. It's unbelievable. 

Our Jewish guide just told me, "I don't have God in my heart. Pray for me, because I can not yet pray for myself. Don't neglect us. Come back. I need to work with you in the future." I assured him, "he is close to the Kingdom." 

Give away your life...

Threatening winds are upon us here on the west coastline as we plan to fly out of Tel Aviv midnight local time. (Seven hours earlier in Virginia.) Pray with me for our guide and for Steve and me as we journey home. 

Grateful

Our last supper together in Joppa Seaport Restaurant -- 4 of the new pastors I met on this trip Ken, a Baptist from Mississippi, Bruce, a Presbyterian from Kansas City, Tom, a Methodist from Dallas, and Mike, a missionary to Guatemala from Tennessee. Only Jesus could bring us together. 

Israel -- Hope is Alive -- Monday

Today was Day #5 of my 12th Journey to the Land of Jesus. We visited The Temple Mount, The Southern Steps, The Western Wall, and The Tunnels beneath the Temple Walls. What a morning we enjoyed. 

After lunch at an outdoor cafe in the Old City, we visited the Quarries of King Solomon, The Garden Tomb, and The Horatio Spafford Prayer House.

At the Garden Tomb, I was asked to serve communion. It was inspiring as always. I spoke primarily from John 20, focusing in on the moments when Mary Magdalene saw her Resurrected Lord in the Garden. What a beautiful exchange. Jesus proved to be The God of Sweet Surprise by appearing to Mary Magdalene alive and well! Hallelujah! 

Afterwards, at the Horatio Spafford Prayer House, before quiet reflection and personal prayer time, we all gathered in the front room around the piano and sung together Mr. Spafford's beloved hymn of the Faith: "It is Well With My Soul". The piano rang out and our guide accompanied our voices by playing the flute. Like nothing I've ever witnessed. 

My my! Indeed, "It is Well With My Soul" all because Hope is Alive and Hope has a Name -- KING JESUS!

Remember to Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem and... 

...Don't forget to give away your life...

Grateful 

Photo: The Jesus Lamp. 

Israel -- The Cross -- Sunday

Today, was my 4th day on my latest discipleship journey to The Holy Land. 

Here are some of the places I walked on this Lord's Day:

1. Bethlehem, where Jesus was born...

2. The Palm Sunday Route down the Mt. Of Olives, where Jesus rode a donkey and wept...

3. The Upper Room, where Jesus served and consoled...

4. Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed and was arrested...

5. The Praetorian, where Jesus was whipped and mocked...

6. Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified and died...

Just imagine what a sacred day I had. But there's one story that was a first here in The Holy Land for me and it happened at a Jewish Holy Site near The Upper Room where King David's burial is remembered.

We entered the site carefully and prayerfully. The ladies went in one room and the men in another. Orthodox Jews were very welcoming to us as Jesus-believers. However, once we were all the way in, one of the young men came to me and made a gesture to let me know that my silver cross pendant was a no-no in this place. He seemed quite displeased that I had somehow been allowed to walk into his religious space with such a visible reminder of my relationship with Jesus of Nazareth -- the Rabbi of all rabbis.

Though I was must admit that I was momentarily surprised by the young man of Judaism's approach, I simply smiled kindly, put my hand on the cross and gently shoved it under my shirt and over my heart as I prepared my exit. 

Once out of the room, I reflected on how for about three years now, I have worn around my neck on a black string my quite simple yet profound, silver, three-nail, cross pendant. I actually purchased it in Jerusalem. Indeed, my little silver cross has started many Cross conversations in that time and mostly good ones, I might add. Oh, I've heard many comments and received different types of glances, but today is the first time the cross has been rejected so obviously. Yes, today is the first time someone approached me cross because of The Cross. 

I can't help but wonder what King David would've said to the cross, young man who rebuked me because I am not ashamed of the Cross of Jesus Christ? After all, one title for my Jesus is "Son of David".

Today, as I walked toward Golgotha, yes, along the route through Jerusalem where Jesus carried His Cross, I knew a little deeper why it is called the The Way of Suffering!    

I will only boast in The Cross! 

 And, tonight I pray that all of his study of the Scriptures will lead the young man of Judaism to know my Savior as his Messiah.

Give away your life...

Photo of a painting on the ceiling of one of the prayer chapels along The Way of Suffering in Jerusalem. 

Grateful 

Israel -- Jerusalem: Welcome Home! -- Saturday

On this Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath and Day #3 of my 12th discipleship journey to The Holy Land, the day began as we left the shores of the Sea of Galilee and lived out Luke 9:51 -- "Jesus steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem."

Along the southern route, we stopped at Bet She'an, a city of where the lifeless bodies of King Saul and his son, Jonathan, were hung on the walls. It is an important archaeological dig happening at Bet She'an. Here 27 civilizations were built, including one of the New Testament cities of the Decapolis. When Jesus told the story of The Prodigal Son, this Roman-ruled city, full of all kinds of evil, is a place where the runaway boy might have fled towards after leaving his father's house.

The Jordan River was next on our list. We stopped at the more recently opened location, just east of Jericho. This is believed to be the exact spot where John The Baptist baptized Jesus. Three in our group of 16 were baptized. It was a very joyful event. 

Just across the river, maybe only 50 feet away, is the Jordan River baptismal site that Israel shares with the country of Jordan. It was pretty amazing to watch the people on the Jordan side as they watched us on the Israel side. Like this baptismal site in His honor, Jesus is The Way to bring all people together. 

Upon leaving the River we drove straight south along the Dead Sea and past the Caves of Engedi to The Fortress of Masada. First, we had lunch and get this, we ate at McDonalds. It was a real treat, if I must say so myself. 

This Mighty Fortress, Masada, built by King Herod is important to the Jews. It is like their Alamo. The 70 A.D. story is long and sad, but surely touches the soul deeply. This was my third visit. (Look up Masada on your search engine sometime and read the story.) A song that kept playing in my mind served to get me through this site with a difficult history. The song? "A Mighty Fortress is Our God!"

After the Fortress tour, complete with cable car rides, we stopped at Qumran, the location where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found by a Bedouin shepherd boy. Across the Dead Sea from this meaningful sight, we viewed Mt. Nebo -- the spot where God led Moses to view The Promised Land.

Done at Qumran, Jerusalem would be our next stop. We took the steep climbing road, yes, the Good Samaritan route straight west and finally entered Jerusalem just before daylight ended. 

We shared the elements of Communion overlooking The Old City as our Hebrew guide spoke blessings and concluded by saying: "If you believe in Jesus, Jerusalem belongs to you, because this is His City! Welcome Home!"

Give away your life...

Grateful  

Oh Jerusalem! 

Israel -- Friday: A Wonderfully Exhausting Day

(View from Northern Israel looking towards Lebannon from location where The Tribe of Dan settled. Note: I also uploaded a new photo of me holding the baby black sheep on my shoulders yesterday at the Jewish Biblical Village.)

Our Friday in the Holy Land began on the Northern Road towards Mt. Hermon. Our first of many stops was Tel Dan, the place where the tribe of Dan settled. The river raging underneath the foot bridge we walked across (caused by snow melt from Mt. Hermon) was invigorating. 

We saw the ruins of a Jewish Temple from the times of Old Testament Jeroboam. The pinnacle of the stop was a new archaeological dig of the city taken by the Tribe of Dan called Laisch. Here a Canaanite gate and the Old Testament city wall has been located and uncovered. This is the gate that Abraham charged with over 300 men to free his nephew Lot who had been kidnapped there. The gate is now called "The Abraham Gate." Profoundly powerful. (Genesis) 

Caesarea Phillipi, the actual setting for Matthew 16 was our next stop. I was refreshed to recall Jesus' words to Peter and his disciples, "Upon this rock I'll build my Church and the Gates of Hell will not prevail against it!" Yes, indeed!

We then loaded back onto the bus and drove south returning to The Sea of Galilee. Fish lunch was the cuisine for, though I decided on chicken. (I  ate lots of fish growing up! :) We all ate outside along the shore of the Galilee on the Jewish side of the Lake. I suppose it was 70 degrees today. Great temperature for food , fellowship and fun under the sun.

Capernaum  would be our next destination. Here we visited the house of Peter, the place where his mother-in-law was healed by Jesus. We also stood in the synagogue where Jesus taught, as Capernaum was his ministry headquarters after leaving Nazareth. 

Our guide also recounted other New Testament stories like the four friends who brought their paralyzed friend to Jesus. Mark 2, I believe it is. Hallelujah!

Afterwards, we circled the Lake back to the Northwest and arrived at the Traditional site where Jesus  Fed the 5,000 with two fish and five loves of bread. Imagine that!

The Mt. of the Beatitudes was next on our itinerary. Here we saturated in The Sermon on the Mount by our Lord. (Matthew 5, 6, 7) It was an encouraging sacred spot as always. 

A new site, the New Testament village of Magdala, welcomed us in the late afternoon. This was a fishing village on the shores of the Galilee in the days of Jesus. A synagogue from the time of Jesus has been found there and a new church commemorating Jesus and his convert and friend, Mary Magdalene, and the twelve disciples  has been built on this acreage. It may be the most lovely church building I have ever entered. Breath-taking is the word. Can't wait for our Hearts Aflame Discipleship Journey to visit there again in October. It will be added to our schedule. Count on it!

Finally, came the highlight of the day for my soul. Most of you know that my boat captain Dad went to be with Jesus on November 17, 2014. Because of this loss in my life, I was especially looking forward to our boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. In all of my previous eleven journeys to Israel, we have never taken this trip across the Lake while the sun was setting, but today we did. My, my! Simply, overwhelming. May I say kind of "heavenly". But a more wonderful surprise would happen. Turns out the Jewish boat captain, Daniel, has become a a Jesus-believer. Yes, after he sung for us two of the most beautiful worship songs I've ever heard in my life, and I must say at my prodding, he boldly gave his testimony. It was powerful!

Having been a boat captain for years, and hearing Christian preachers share the Gospel over-and-over with their Holy Land tour groups aboard his boat, he finally asked Jesus to be his Messiah. Wow! Wow! Wow! He now has his own fleet of two boats and a third in mind. The names of his two Galilee Wooden boats are "Faith and Hope". We sailed this late evening aboard "Faith". The third will be named... what else?  "Love!"

Anyway, the singing,  worship-filled Captain Daniel touched deep places in the depths of who I am, especially when he sang "Who am I?" 

Thanks for reading about my wonderfully exhausting day. I pray your heart is wonderfully warmed. Shalom beloved ones. 

(Info for our Hearts Aflame Discipleship Journey can be found at www.HeartsAflame.org ...)

Give away your life...

Grateful 

Israel -- An Inspiring Day -- Thursday

In Israel, it is now Thursday evening. Today, was the first day on the ground for my 12th discipleship journey here. It's been an inspiring day.

We started out "Day #1" on the West shores of the country at Caesarea By The Mediterranean Sea. At this location Herod built a mighty seaport and the city once served as headquarters of the governor, Pilate, who gave permission to crucify our Lord.

At Caesarea, Saul, who would become The Apostle Paul, was held as a prisoner as he awaited transport to Rome to be tried before Caesar. Recently, archaeologists uncovered an ancient cistern where prisoners were held during New Testament times. On the wall of the cistern they found something fascinating: The name "Saul" was engraved three times along with 33 crosses marked beside it. (Of course, Saul of Tarsus was The Apostle Paul's given name and Jesus was 33 years old when he completed his earthly mission that concluded with His brutal crucifixion and beautiful resurrection, etc.) While the cistern has now been covered over by those in charge of the site, our guide, a Jewish archaeologist, told us of the find. He said it's not that the Bible has to be proven but when the Bible and the digs go hand-in-hand, it's exciting. So amazing to me just to consider the meaning of it all. 

Next, we went to the Valley of Megiddo. It is here that the Book of Revelation predicts the Last Great Battle of Armageddon to be accomplished. It is a moving site. To date, 26 civilizations have been built on the initual foundation at this location near the spring of water at Megiddo. 

Our third stop was a 1 Kings 18 location -- Mt. Carmel. It was here that the prophet Elijah challenged Jezebel and King Ahab's prophets to a contest to prove whose God was The One and True God. The 400 false prophets got no answer from their god though they worshipped and called on him most of the day. However, Elijah's God answered immediately by sending down fire from Heaven. Our God, Elijah's God is an Awesome God.

After lunch we made a final stop to a Biblical village in the Jezreel Valley. It is a place where journeyers can interact with the land and people in a modern-day Jewish community based on old Bible principles. Here, we were all adorned in headdresses and clothing to match the Bible times. Then we went and learned the ways of the shepherd, even making Kosher cheese to eat and holding a tiny back lamb that was actually born this morning. My my. (Photo above.) Wonderful. We also learned the ways of the ancient farmer. I put my hand to the plow, literally. Donkey rides were given and then we were treated to mint tea and fresh, locally harvested fruit.

Our day has finally concluded now with our sunset arrival on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. The Lake is calm yet majestic. 

So, Day 1, is coming to a close and yes I feel closer to the Christ Who called me here, that I might continue to increase in intimacy with Him. 

Steve, my prayer partner and Hearts Aflame Discipleship Journey planner, was the only person I knew on this particular trip. But I'm making new friends fast. Traveling here has a wonderful way of making that happen. 

Wish you were here. Join us in October when Hearts Aflame returns once again to The Holy Land. 

Info at www.HeartsAflame.org

Give away your life...

Grateful 

Arrival Israel 12th Journey 2015

In Israel. Night flight from New York City. Blessed. Twelfth Discipleship Journey to My Lord's Homeland. Praying Deep. Tel Aviv tonight. Mediterranean tomorrow. Then on to The Sea of Galilee. 

Give away your life...

Grateful 

Inspired by a 19-Year-Old...

Yesterday, I had the blessed privilege of sitting down with a young 19-year-old lady and hearing her powerful Jesus-story. With tears in her eyes, she told me how she senses God's call on her life to point "children" to Jesus. 

Her life has not been all easy up to now, nevertheless, her hard times are presently defining her new burden for helping young people to rise above the peer-pressure of "partying" their lives away. She has, for example, seen the effects of alcohol first hand, and she wants to offer others a new and delightfully different alternative -- a right relationship with Jesus.

As I listened, my heart was warmed knowing that God is faithful to raise up true, sold-out, Jesus-believers to call every generation to Himself. 

Pray for "Brooke" this precious 19-year-old as she keeps seeking God for specific direction in her life and that she will have life-changing connection to other lives. 

Give away your life...

Grateful 

In The Cold of Winter..,

In the cold of winter

At times our breathing slows.

Yet underneath the frigid air

The soul inside us grows.

We call upon Your Name, O Lord,

For You alone are Peace.

We hope for spring to soon arrive

and grant our hearts release.

Yet, we trust You every season

In You we surely live.

Trustworthy really is Your Name

To You, our all we give. 

So, whether heat or ice may come

You will not abandon us. 

You can turn a minus

Into a glorious plus. 

Give away your life...

Grateful