Pastor's Blog

07/25 Final Log - London/Florida

Yes, Les and I returned to London for one last day before we flew to Florida. We had planned to take Cindy's suggestion and visit Windsor Castle. However, we were ready for a day of rest, and we were slow to make connections, and now we're glad we just stayed close to Heathrow airport. We were in London for the 7/7 bombings, and we would have been in downtown London had we decided to sightsee some more on 7/21. As you know, more bombings mirroring what happened two weeks ago were attempted. The city traffic was in an absolute gridlock and it would have been a very long day if we had ventured beyond our hotel location.

All's well that ends well! After a 22-hour day from London to Detroit to Jacksonville, we are glad to be back in the states. Thank you for joining us on the Grand Tour of Greece, Turkey, Israel, England and Ireland. This blog ends our journey but not the many memories that we hope to share in the future. Les and I are grateful for your participation and we look forward to sharing many more stories of our journey in the future. Wherever you are, may God be with you until we meet again.

07/21 - Back in London

We've completed our "sweep" of Ireland in a fast nine days. We learned that in the 1990's Ireland was considered a Third World economy. Several European countries did not want to include Ireland in the Common Market. Since Ireland joined, their financial outlook has steadily improved. For example, our guide, Conor, purchased his home in the early 90's for around $100,000, made about $30,000 worth of improvements, and today his home is worth $450,000.

Evidence of Ireland's recently acquired financial stability abounds. Construction cranes around the city of Dublin make their largest city look like a harbor town. Dublin, and the 2nd largest city, Cork, are growing rapidly. The population of Ireland is 4 million, with 2 million living just in and around Dublin. Roads are being vastly improved. Tourism is one of their largest industries. Offering stunning vistas, many are rushing to explore the beauty of this rare island. (Evidence of its once Third World status was the lack of internet access. Internet capabilities were hard to find especially in the country-side.)

What we didn't experience was a quiet spirituality. I longed to find a vital faith being practiced in the towns that we visited. During a three-hour conversation with Conor early last week, I asked if there were any growing churches anywhere in Ireland. He said there were none. The last church to be built in Ireland was in the 1980's. We visited several churches and cathedrals, but it was obvious that they were treated like museums or warehouses for historic relics.

Conor pointed out that there are trees that are sacred to old Ireland. The hawthrone tree is protected because of its "mystical" powers. We saw a new, four-lane highway diverted because of one small tree. They are still called "fairy trees" today. There are certain piles of stones that when positioned like table-tops or mushrooms bring good luck. Even at the ancient monastery of Clonmacnoise a legend persists that if a farmer takes a handful of sod from the St. Claran's abbey and spreads at the four corners of his farm, his crops will grow in abundance. Our guide showed us where sod had recently been removed by one of the local farmers.

In England there is one pastor for every 3,000 people. I suspect the pastor to population ratio in Ireland is even greater.

Lovely Ireland with its good-hearted people, so thoughtful and so sincere, is ripe for a harvest of the Good News. What I am beginning to discover is that the history of the early church includes many great Irish contributions. St. Patrick was just one of many contributors from 300 to 900 A.D. What Thomas Cahill did not write about in his book, How the Irish Saved Civilization, was the number of others Irish heroes of the faith involved in perserving the faith for future generations. On our trip through Ireland, we were introduced to many other wonderful examples of great faith during the life of the early church.

If that devotion to Christ could be tapped again, I'm sure that Ireland would be "white for the harvest."

07/17 - Sunday In Ireland

Since we left Dublin, we've been travelling all over the country of Ireland - Waterford, Cork, Ring of Kerry, and the city of Galway. We have enjoyed the "40 shades of green" in this lovely country.

As we approach the Croagh of Patrick, the mountain upon which he spent 40 days and 40 nights in the beginning of his ministry in Ireland, I am reminded of the Call that is upon all of us. Look at Jeremiah 1:5, Psalm 139:13, Matthew 4:19, Acts 9 ...

400 years after Paul, St. Patrick was called to be a missionary to Ireland. Captured and enslaved during his childhood years, Patrick escaped and came back to the continent. When he became a priest, he asked his Pope if he could do ministry to the pagans of Ireland. In 432 he came to the island and began an inspired ministry that led to the conversion of the entire country in just two generations.

What is this Call? It is the pull of God upon the human heart to respond to His voice. 31 years ago this past week I celebrated ordination into minstry, but the Call of God started when I was just 11 years of age. It's the tug of God on the heart that pulls you in the direction that He wants you to go. It's like the story of the father and son who were flying a kite together. The kite was so high that at times it was lost in the clouds. The son used this moment to ask his father why he believed in God when he could never see God. The father asked his son if he could see the kite that was now lost in the clouds. The son said "No!". The father asked him why he believed in the kite when he couldn't see it. The son responded "Because, I can feel the pull of it on the strings in my hands." "That's it," said the father, "in the same way I can feel the pull of God on the 'strings' of my heart."

Patrick did great things and became a saint in the church. He was called by God to be his humble servant. The exciting good news is that we have all been called by God. Jeremiah 29:11 says "I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." May you enjoy serving in the presence of His power and grace.

07/11 - A Week In London

We have spent a "month" walking this past week.
On Monday we took the bus tour of London, and then walked the five floors of Harrods Department Store, around Buckingham Palace and back to our hotel. I wanted to thank the British for our freedom, but no one on the tour mentioned it was our Day of Independence.

Tuesday, we walked the British Museum and St. Paul's Cathedral - not an easy task in one day.

Wednesday, we took a bus tour to Firle Place in Lewes, Sussex. This was a much anticipated trip for us. We traveled to the home of one of my ancestors. Written into the original grant was the opportunity to visit the birthplace and 500-year-old estate of Gen. Thomas Gage, Commander of the British Army until he was relieved of duty in 1776. It was a wonderful day spent at the home and burial cript at St. Peter's Church of someone somewhat remotely responsible for my existence.

On Thursday, as you know, our travels were restricted. We did manage to walk to Westminster Abbey for Evensong. We had planned to walk back to Holy Trinity, Brompton, but the shops were closed and everyone was off the street. We decided it was best to go back to our hotel.

Friday was normal. We were afraid that our bus tour would be cancelled but it ran right on schedule. Everyone seemed quite calm and even the BBC reported with very little attention given to the bombings of the day before. It appears that the British as a group are quite understated, and although the tabloids print sensationalized pictures; as a whole, there was very little mention of the horrific events the day before.

We were glad to get out of the city however. Our tour included trips to Oxford University, the Cotswolds and Stratford upon the Avon, birthplace of William Shakespeare.

Again, avoiding the London buses, on Saturday we took a guided walking tour called "Spies and Spycatchers." It was exposure to something completely different from everything else we've been doing. It was an informative tour showing us the actual places and events that led to the capture of the "Cambridge Ring" of five spies recruited out of college who agreed to spy against England for Moscow during the Cold War. It was a fun walk, not back, but through their history!

Yesterday - Sunday, July 10th
We had the privilege of worshiping on three occasions. I walked to St. Paul's Cathedral for their 8 a.m. Matins with Holy Communion. We followed the order of worship from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. It's quite fantastic to think about using the same service for almost 350 years. Although St. Paul's wasn't erected until 1673, it was also equally impressive to discover that there has been continuous worship on this site since 604 A.D. It was amazing to sit in this magnificent church and listen to the rector quietly recite the liturgy with a measured cadence designed to keep his words from becoming a muddle of reverberation against the stone walls of the cathedral.

Our next two services were held at Holy Trinity, Brompton. We attended the family worship at 11:30 a.m., walked all afternoon, and went back for the 5:00 p.m. worship.

There were over 400 people in attendance in the morning, and over 600 people in the evening. It was a wonderful sight seeing people pack-out the house. It was just as crowded as it had been Sunday, July 3rd. It had nothing to do with the bombings of the week before ... people were there because they wanted to be there. There was a feeling, again, as if it was a revival. People just wanted to get their spiritual batteries recharged. When I mention that it was like a revival atmosphere, it had nothing to do with American-style dramatics. Their services were quietly understated with warmth, wit and preaching that was practical. It seemed to speak about the very things that we had been thinking about during the week. In short, Holy Trinity was everything I expected it to be and a model for church ministry in the 21st Century. It has become a center for evangelism in our time.

Tonight we say goodbye to London. Tomorrow we fly to Ireland to complete the fourth and final leg of our Grand Tour.

07|08 London - After the bombing

It's early Friday morning, and we are about to leave for a one-day trip to Oxford, Cotswald and beyond.
I want to let you know that we are okay, and London is trying to return to normal.
Real life is stranger than fiction. When we arrived in London we felt safe for the first time since we left Athens. The tension in Israel was real. It seemed like the possibility for terrorism could happen with the slightest of reasons.
When we went out for breakfast on Saturday morning, we sat down and relaxed in a little cafe. A woman in her 70's came to our table and asked if we could watch her bag while she went to the bathroom. We said of course. After she left our table, we looked at each other and said that we would never have done such a thing in Israel.
You can imagine our shock when we heard about the explosions on Thursday.
For the first time since we left home, we decided to sleep in. At the last possible moment we decided to take a walking tour through Kensington. If we left our hotel at noon, we could take the underground tube and be at Kensington in plenty of time. We have successfully used the bus system and the train, and we wanted to try the tubes. Needless to say, by the time we got to the hotel door, it was obvious that everything in the city was "locked down."
As we walked outside our hotel, it looked like the pictures we saw of New York city last summer when they experienced the power failure and everyone had to walk. There were huge lines of people walking across the bridge at the bottom of our street on Northumberland.
A special prayer service was held at Westminster Abbey at 5:00 p.m. Les and I went to the service. It was hastily planned and poorly announced and around 100 people were present, but it was a beautiful service. We planned to walk to Holy Trinity, Brompton but noticed that every store was closed and very few people were on the street, so we walked back to our hotel and called it a day.
The two Bible passages that were used for the "Choral Evensong on a Weekday" at Westminster Abbey were Psalm 90, and Romans 8 beginning at verse 31. Look particularly at Ps. 90:3 in the King James ... both passages really spoke to us about the precariousness of our situation in life.
We are both doing fine and looking forward to the rest of our trip. God bless.

Pastor Rog and Leslie are safe

This morning explosions occured in London. We have received word that Rog and Leslie are safe. They had decided to delay their start this morning and so they were not outside when the bombs occured. Rog indicated London is in a lockdown. Please continue to pray for the safety of Rog, Leslie and the people of London.

We will provide more information as it becomes available.

Gary Paulsen

07/03 England - Day 2

I think it's important to reestablish the original purpose for our trip for you, the reader. The proposal for the Clergy Renewal Grant was to study the movement of Christianity in the 1st, 5th and 21st Centuries. The reason we are in London is to explore the birthplace of one of the largest evangelism explosions in the last 50 years - the home of The Alpha Course. The Alpha Course is a 10-week study designed to help unbelievers, new believers, doubters and skeptics realize that there are logical explanations to some of life's most important questions. The good news of Jesus Christ is more than just a blind leap of faith. It is a reasonable faith as well. Since 1992, The Alpha Course has reached over 4 million people world-wide. "Ground zero" for The Course is the church, Holy Trinity, Brompton located just off Knightsbridge down the street from the world-famous Harrods department store. The author of Alpha is Rev. Nicky Gumbel, Oxford graduate, former lawyer, and now associate rector at Trinity.

We spent an unbelievable day on Saturday trying to locate the church so we could find out the time for worship on Sunday. Our hotel is located on Trafalgar Square exactly in the center of a 4-mile radius that encompasses most of the historic parts of London. On the city map, Holy Trinity looked like it was this far ¦.............¦ from our hotel. We thought we could easily walk to the church and walk back just as easily. We did it but not easily.

As I mentioned before, Saturday, July 2nd was a Gay Parade with not 10,000 in attendance, but 30,000. London's Hyde Park was one of the locations for a Live8 concert. There weren't 500,000 in attendance but just over 200,000. The point of clarification is to clear-up any confusion you might have from seeing the numbers in print in the US and what I reported live. But my point in telling you this is that we needed to walk past Trafalgar Square and Hyde Park in order to get to Holy Trinity. We rubbed elbows with all 230,000 between our hotel and the church. But we successfully located the church and got directions for the use of a bus the next day.

On Sunday we woke to a race with over 20,000 runners beginning at Trafalgar Square. The bus line to church was cancelled. We were told to walk to Oxford Circle and catch a #10 bus to Knightsbridge. We did, but unfortunately, the bus didn't go to Knightsbridge. To make a long story short, we got to a 9:30 worship service at 10:00 a.m. I was discouraged about getting to the church so late and said so. I said to Les, "Look, we're late. Why don't we stop and have coffee and go to the next service at 11:30?" Les pressed on! We heard the singing as we got into the narrow narthex, but the first person that greeted us was Nicky Gumbel!!

We had traveled from the US through Greece and Israel in order to get to London and Holy Trinity, Brompton. If we had been five minutes earlier, or 30 seconds later, Nicky would not have been there. In the brief conversation he told us that the 9:30 service was a family service but that we should come back for the 5:00 p.m. service. Anyone else greeting us might not have known that we would welcome the opportunity to worship again that afternoon. Nicky's invitation was just the impetus we needed.

God is in control. He brought us here for a reason, and Sunday was a wonderful confirmation. God is in control, but unfortunately I am not ... at least not in control of this computer. There are others who desire to use it, and I will continue Part 2 of Day 2 the next time I get computer time. God bless!

07/02 England - Day 1

London outside our window was all-a-twitter on Saturday morning. We tried to find our way around the city by way of Hyde Park. Do you realize what was happening at Hyde Park? Live8 was getting started just a mile from our hotel. In our neighborhood, walking up our street was a Gay Parade and rally at Trafalgar Square where we are located. Half-a-million at Hyde, and 10,000 on the Square ... what an absolute madhouse it has been.

We got up today - Sunday - and 20,000 runners were lined up from the Square to Hyde Park for a morning race. Again, an absolute madhouse on our second morning. We can't wait for Monday and rush hour to return the city to normal traffic.

More later about our two worship services today.

07/01 Traveling Day

We spent the entire day getting ready to travel and at the airport. We got into our hotel in London at midnight.

06/30-31 Israel - Days Nine & Ten

On our way to Tel Aviv we stopped in Caesarea.
Look at all the PR Caesarea gets in the Bible - Acts 10:1-48 ... Acts 23:23 ... Acts 24,25,26:1-32.

If you look up the Bible passages, you noticed that both Peter and Paul were in the city. Peter had his famous vision about Cornelius, and Paul spent over two years waiting for the Roman leaders to make up their minds about his trial.

Why was this place so important for the Church? Let me give you my two reasons ...

First, God was doing a new thing. The Gospel was moving from among just the Jews to include Gentiles. God had to use the most respected leaders of the Christian movement to convince the rest of the Church about this important change. It was time for the prophecies to be fulfilled; that is, out of Israel God would provide a "light to the Gentiles."

Second, Paul's appeal to Rome was the reason that from Caesarea the Church was launched to Europe and the west. Paul was innocent and did not deserve to be put on trial, but the scriptures show us that when he appealed to Rome to be judged by Caesar, he was locking-in his option to have an audience with the Roman Emperor. (Acts 25:12) Paul was guilty of a tremendous passion to follow Christ, and yet, he was being tried like a criminal.

Peter and Paul were in the same city at different times. Peter spent a great deal of time in Joppa site of the current city of Tel Aviv/Jaffa. On Wednesday I was in Caesarea, and on Thursday Les and I walked into The Church of St. Peter and the house of "Simon the Tanner." As we sat inside the church near the location of Peter's stay, it occurred to me what God was showing His Church. Deuteronomy 19:15 says "A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses." Likewise, Matthew 18:16 says "If he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses." God was subjecting Himself to His own requirements. If He was going to do a new work and share the good news of Jesus Christ with the Gentiles, then He also must have the testimony of at least two witnesses. On the Last Day I picture God speaking to the people of the 1st Century that are gathered for the judgment. He will say to them: "Why didn't you believe in the testimony of Peter and Paul? You call yourselves 'People of the Book'... you follow Mosaic Law, and the Law was clearly written. Your countrymen, Peter and Paul, were my witnesses ... they spoke the words that I spoke to them, but you did not believe in them or in the One who sent them. Therefore, you are without excuse."

In Greece there was a patina of unbelief - a thin layer of cynicism and skepticism fueled by materialism and the spirit of the age. But in Israel I sense there is a wall of unbelief built-up by years of tradition, legalism, ritual, murder and mayhem between Christians, Jews and Muslims. Within our own traveling group the differences were apparent. There were 39 on our tour through Greece, but only 15 on tour through Israel. In the group of 15 there were 7 Christians and 8 Jews. Our tour guide was Jewish, but not a practicing Jew. We were very respectful of each other, but no one was persuaded by each other's faith. I think that Christians understand that their faith comes out of the Jewish background and we can get excited about the places and events of the Old Testament. But Jews don't share our enthusiasm for the New Testament. It is very hard to convince them that Christians are different from Muslims. They're thankful that we support the Jewish State, but they don't seem to understand our enthusiasm for Jesus. Jesus is just another misguided Jew who thought he was the Messiah in their minds.

It was a wonderful learning experience to gather the Jewish perspective on the Bible, politics, and their view of our faith. But, it would have been wonderful to have been able to stop and worship and study and pray in many of the places we visited. God had a plan for us, and there were many God-sightings while we were in Israel. I guess Les and I will just have to come back on another tour in the future - God willing.

06/29 Isreal - Day Eight

On Tuesday, we drove past Mt. Gilboa where King Saul lost a famous battle in which he and his sons were killed. (1 Samuel 31) We visited Megiddo, the site mentioned in Revelation 16:16 as Armageddon. Megiddo (Armageddon) is one of the oldest places in the world with over 25 layers (cities) built on top of the other.

We had lunch in Cana of Galilee where according to John's Gospel, Jesus changed water into wine. I ran out of shekels so I walked all over Cana looking for an ATM machine. I couldn't find one in order to perform the smaller miracle of changing plastic into money. It turned out that was another blessing. Our next stop after lunch was the diamond factory in Tiberias. Les will have to wait another 35 years for her diamond from Tiberias.

The last two stops on our day's tour were Nazareth and Capernaum.

In Jesus' day Nazareth was a small village. Today, there are over 130,000 living in upper and lower Nazareth. In Jesus' day it was a quiet place to live. Today, traffic is a major problem with narrow streets and no parking. In Jesus' day Nathaniel said of him, "How can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Today people say, "How can we get out of Nazareth?"

At Capernaum we saw impressive ruins of an old synagogue dating back to the time of the Roman empire. Jesus used Capernaum as the center of his ministry returning to it time after time. Hot and humid, it nevertheless was a perfect place for ministry. Situated between two kingdoms - the kingdom of Herod Antipas on one side and Herod Philip 1 on the other - people came from north and south to pass through this strategic location.

What we found interesting is that there was nothing else in Capernaum except a beautiful church called the "Church for All Nations," a monastery, and of course, the ruins. The town of Capernaum is gone. Jesus said it would happen. Read Matthew 11:20-24. He said it would happen to Korazin and Bethsaida as well. He said they were cursed because if the miracles that were done in those three cities had been done in Tyre, Sidon and Sodom, they would have repented and believed in Jesus as Messiah. Even though they saw his miracles they still didn't believe. That's hard to believe that they didn't believe, but it happened.

As we drove around the north side of the Sea of Galilee, a small pile of ruins that once stood as the proud harbor town of Korazin served as a silent testimony of their reluctance to believe.

06/28 Israel - Day Seven

On Monday we drove south out of Jerusalem to Massada about an hour-and-a-half trip by bus. After a tour over the ruins of this magnificent fortress built by King Herod in 30 BC, we drove to a beach at the Dead Sea. We viewed the Qumran caves of the Essenes, a radical Jewish sect that provided us the famous Dead Sea Scrolls.

We spent Monday night at a kibbutz on the east side of the Sea of Galilee. Our tour bus pulled in late Monday night. By the time we got settled in our rooms and sat down to dinner, the sun was setting behind Mt. Arbel and the city of Tiberias.

The Sea of Galilee, this beautiful place, was the center of so much of Jesus' ministry. Korazin, Capernaum, Bethsaida - cities around the sea are mentioned in the Bible. The feeding of the 5,000, the miracles of the two catches of fish, the healing of Peter's mother-in-law, the demoniac and the devilish legion ... all these stories and more happened in this area.

I couldn't sleep Monday night. The presence of the Sea of Galilee was too disturbing. Odd isn't it? Water is supposed to have a calming effect, but not for me. It was too real. The wind was blowing hard across the sea and the waves were pounding the shore just a hundred yards from our balcony. While I was watching the waves, I couldn't help but think about Jesus and the miracle of the calming of the storm. That was a good thought. But, the story of Peter getting out of the boat to walk on the water kept running through my mind. I kept looking at all that water and I realized that I would never get out of the boat, not unless I was thrown out. You know, it's a bit disturbing to realize you're less the disciple than you think you are. It's a bit unsettling to come to that realization. It's easier for me to identify with Peter's denial during Jesus' trial than to identify with his heroic step out of the boat. Peter, 'You-the-man!' I couldn't have done it - not when I'm standing by the sea looking at all that watery chaos.

Jesus must have thought that Peter was something special too. He said to Peter on another occasion, "Peter, you are a rock!" He was! He had to be.

It's hard to face your "Sea of Galilee;" that is, to see your weaknesses, your flaws and faults, and those places where you're reluctant to serve as a disciple of Christ. But it's important to know, and even more important to admit.

Do what I did while I was standing knee deep in the water of the sea - surrender all your fears, faults and failures to Jesus. I left them there on the beach, and you can leave them with Him in prayer.

06/27 Jerusalem/Massada - Day Six

There is a church in the city called Notre Dame of Jerusalem. In 1955 it was located on the edge of no-man's land between Israel and the Jordanian occupied territory of East Jerusalem. Inside the church was an elderly nun who leaned out the window to sneeze and accidentally "blew out" her false teeth. They fell several stories and landed on the ground in between the fences of no-man's land.

The nun wanted them back. In 1955 it wasn't an easy thing to make diplomatic connections. They couldn't just pick-up the phone and call the proper authorities. Letters of inquiry had to be written and sent. Wires had to be sent to Geneva. Permission to enter the demilitarized zone had to be granted. Several days passed after the initial request was formally made to retrieve the pair of false teeth. Finally, a small detachment of Israelie soldiers under a white flag of truce and a small group of UN peacekeepers under the light-blue flag of the UN walked carefully along the fence and found the missing teeth. They marched back into Israel, and into the church and proudly gave the nun her teeth.

This was an amazing story told by our guide today. What's even more amazing is that this kind of bizarre behavior has been the norm between Israel and her neighbors for the last fifty years.

Life is difficult here. You can't just simply reach out and retrieve your false teeth for crying out loud.

The only hope for this land is reconciliation. And the only ministry for the Christian faith that makes sense to me is that the Church be a bridge-builder for both sides - Palestinians and Israelis alike.

Jesus said, "Blessed be the peacemakers ... they shall be called sons of God." The peace of Christ is what we all need.

06/26 Jerusalem - Day Five

Look at Genesis 22:1-14
The story of Abraham and Isaac has always been an incredible story. Why would God want Abraham to sacrifice his "laughter" - his only son, Isaac?

Today we worshiped at Christ Church on the edge of the Christian Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem. We worshiped with people from all over the world - England, France, Germany, Australia, USA - all of us drawn to the church for the same reason. We came in search of the roots of our faith.

As we sang the opening hymn, "In Christ Alone," the passion in our singing was obvious. I think we were all glad to be there. We were glad to get off the mad, merry-go-round of non-stop touring with a desire to experience the pause of worship that refreshes.

The two hours of worship flew by, and no one was in a hurry to leave afterwards. To hear the reading of the scriptures was a helpful opportunity to untangle the mess of conflicting thoughts and feelings a traveler often experiences from the clash of cultures and different religions. Worship in another country is like coming home after a long trip away. I'm not sure I've ever experienced that reality before. It's the sense of something familiar when everything else is changing.

This trip has been far more than I expected. Listening to a sermon about Abraham while sitting on the top of Mt. Moriah in a little church with people of other nations all praying to the same God was another; well ... I can't help but say it ... a mountain-top experience. "Father Abraham has many sons ..." His willingness to be obedient brought about redemption and multiplied the possibility for God's blessings to be extended to all the families of the earth.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

06/25 Jerusalem - Day Four

Today we visited the site of the Nativity - war-torn Bethlehem. We spent time in the Mt. of Olives at the Church of Gethsemane. We walked through the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where Golgotha and the tomb are supposed to be.

The four holiest sites for Christians - Bethlehem, the Garden, Calvary and the Garden Tomb. Nearly 1700 years of tradition have identified these locations as the approximate places where Jesus walked, lived and died. The truth is that no one knows exactly where these events took place, but what the visitor is impressed with is the fact that it's close enough. Somewhere in Bethlehem Jesus was born. Somewhere on the Mt. Of Olives Jesus stopped to pray. On the hill somewhere outside of the city of Jerusalem Jesus was crucified, died and was buried.

I was not impressed by the pilgrimage sites. I wanted something more "romantic," that is, something that I have always pictured from the Hollywood movies. The dirty, dingy old buildings and all the traffic around the area didn't give me an opportunity to stop and contemplate what happened there. Besides, I've been reasoning over the last couple of days - we as Christians are people of the "Person," not the "Place." We have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ who lived and died and rose again so that we might have eternal life with Him. That's the most important thing - faith in Jesus. By faith in Him we are reconciled to God.

But .................................... something has happened along the way. Somehow, faith in Christ and being here in person have captured our hearts - mine and Les'. There is something about these stones that fire your imagination and your faith. When we prayed at the Western Wall it was electrifying. We just felt like we had the personal presence of God surrounding us. Having a relationship with God sustains all of us, but being in this place is also transforming.

These stones do have a heart. That's why Peter said that we can be "living stones" for Jesus. Having come to Jerusalem, I don't think our lives will ever be the same.

Shalom in Christ!