There are only a few books I would recommend to a general adult population but I have just finished reading "The Shack" by William P. Young and although it is a novel, there is much to be gained from reading this compelling little book. Most men and women want their relationship to God to continue to grow and enlarge in a way that takes in more of this amazing God we love and serve. Others who have a desire to "investigate" more about this God perhaps will discover reasons to press on into this God of the bible. Some of the really hard questions and issues of life are dealt with openly and honestly. I hope you will take time to read, "The Shack" in this season of your life.

Pastor Gordon


The Shack Book Website

Well, it's all over except the travel. Even today was exhausting. We started touring at 8:00am. Our first stop was the Pool of Bethesda. We got a very different explanation from our tour guide then what I've heard and studied. I would say one thing in contrast to how the pool was run in Jesus' day. The poor and lame were being exploited, and Jesus came to offer healing freely to the poor. It was a wonderful message of the redemption of our bodies.

Hi again . . .

WEDNESDAY

Well I missed my goal of blogging every day, but as we've have learned to say here in Israel, "What to do?" Yesterday's activities were incredible. We went into the Old City for a short shopping trip. We only had about 2 1/2 hours, but what fun it was. It was very much an experience. You MUST barter with with the shopkeepers. Sometimes it seemed that they were insulted by the low price we were offering, but we know that they would never settle for a loss. It was real fun. We picked up some great souvenirs.

Hi again. I think we are all wearing down. Still very excited, but tired. Our emotions are on overload. The conference is GREAT! God is really speaking to us all. I'm sure Pastor Gordon will be even more energetic come Sunday than he normally is.

Today we did three vistas overlooks around Jerusalem. Absolutely amazing. It did much for helping us gain an orientation perspective. It is amazing when you see this land in context. How everything fits together and makes sense! When we speak of the Kidron Valley, I know where it is in relation to the Temple. The Upper Room, I was there! Soon we'll visit the Gethsemane and the Garden Tomb. What joys and insights await us there! Oh Lord open our eyes to see You in Your splendor!

Shalom from the City of David. Today was the first full day of conference and what a day it was. We started out at a much slower pace, but still it's been a full day.

The conference went from 8:15am until 12:30pm. From there we went to the bus where a boxed lunch was prepared for us. This saved time as we were able to drive to the sites we would visit while we ate lunch. We were headed to the Old City.

Another great day walking where Jesus walked! We started even earlier than normal today. We had to have our luggage to the bus by 6:00am. After breakfast we began our journey to Jerusalem.

We visited a Roman site Bet Shean which was used as a rest stop for Roman soldiers and caravans. What was interesting about the site was how enormous it was, designed to accommodate a huge number of people, quickly. Our guide passionately spoke about how the Romans made things so big that it intimidated the local people. They felt so small compared to the great power of Rome. The site gave us good insight into the times that Jesus lived. Now, all we see are the ruins and that which has been restored. One insight from this site was what Jesus said concerning the Temple. He said that not one stone of the Temple would left standing. It really was a reference to how things made by man, no matter how big or strong it was would eventually come to naught! Only a life solidly build upon Christ would stand.

Greetings from Israel.

We have completed our 2nd day of touring and we are exhausted! To think that we have 7 more to go! Don't get me wrong, we are enjoying what we are doing and seeing, but it's a grueling pace! They even have an optional activity for tonight beginning at 8:00pm. (It's now 7:30pm) All in our group have decided not to do the optional activity and get some extra rest. I'm blogging early so I can go to bed.

Wow!!! What a day. We started the day at 5:30am with breakfast at 6:15am. Loaded the bus at 7:00am and departed Tel Aviv. We went to so many places, Cessarea, Mt. Carmel, Meggiedo, The Jazreal Valley, Nazareth, and the Sea of Galilee.

Each site was so incredible! I was simply awestruck with each place that I saw. One interesting thing is how weird it seems to see road signs with the names of biblical cities. It's just weird!

Shalom, from the Land of Promise. We made it! Surprisingly enough I did not think the flight was unbearable. Each seat had it's own personal entertainment center when combined with the music, books, and magazines I brought, I had no problem occupying the time. I got up often and walked around the plane for 10 minutes or so, slept for about an hour and a half, and checked on the others in our group. All seemed to do fairly well.

Israel Trip - Day 2

Well I'm keeping to the idea of doing a daily blog entry, however there may be multiple pots due the unavailable Wifi connection.

Today started at 7:00am (EDT). I got up early to research New York City sightseeing options. We left the hotel at 9:00am and went directly to the airport to check our luggage in for the flight to Israel. After standing in a line for about 20 minutes, we found out that it was the wrong line. The line we needed to be in had not even formed yet and the ticket agents would not available for an hour . . .

Two and half hours later we checked our luggage. During our wait we decided that we would not likely get to tour New York City. Oh well, we'll have to come back and visit NYC another day.

Well we are not really in Israel yet, but I wanted to be sure to say something about our travels thus far. Today we departed Junction City to begin our Israel Tour/Foursquare Conference. The team members are as follows: Pastor Gordon, Mark McCoy, Johanna Reagh, Linda & Bridgette Ranch, and myself and Lynda.

Many folks know that I've been meeting with people each week for the purpose of reading, reflecting, and personally applying the Word of God. Each week these groups meet and follow a published reading schedule for the day they meet, journal their thoughts about what they read, share with each other the most significant thing they saw in the Word, then pray for each other. The format is very simple The published reading schedule can be found at www.kingsgrace.com/reading.html.

I know it's been a while since the last post, but I'll try to keep up a new series. This new series will investigate the nuances of original biblical words as well as highlight my thoughts as to their significance. I hope you will be enriched as we explore some words together.

While reading my Bible today I was so struck with passage. It was too good to keep to myself.

Exodus 3:7-10a (The Message)
7 God said, "I've taken a good, long look at the affliction of my people in Egypt. I've heard their cries for deliverance from their slave masters; I know all about their pain. 8 And now I have come down to help them, pry them loose from the grip of Egypt, get them out of that country and bring them to a good land with wide-open spaces, a land lush with milk and honey, the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. 9 "The Israelite cry for help has come to me, and I've seen for myself how cruelly they're being treated by the Egyptians. 10 It's time for you to go back: . . ."

Over the years I have had the opportunity to lead many thousands into the presence of God through worship. It never ceases to amaze me the correlation between my personal involvement in the engagement of praise and worship and God meeting me.