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The beauty of Spring in the North of Israel

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , on March 7, 2019|

It may not be the most exciting region of Israel to the average Bible scholar, it is no Sea of Galilee or Capernaum or Jerusalem, but the North of Israel, the region of Dan, is a beautiful place to visit in the Spring when the foliage is lush and green and the mustard plant flowers are blooming, blanketing open meadows and hillsides with their bright yellow.

The area  reminds the visitor that Israel is diverse in its landscapes and geography.

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Head waters of the Jordan River, Israel

The head waters of the Jordan rush down into the land from the mountains above.

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Petra: What’s all the fuss?

Posted in Uncategorized on March 3, 2019|

The part of Jordan that one must transverse to get to Petra is a wasteland – endless rocky and plant-less desert. According to our guide, only 10% of Jordan is green.

Petra is an ancient city, tracing its roots to a time before Christ. It was interesting to me not only because it evidences a civilization thriving in the barrenness of the Jordanian desert, but also because of the possible significance this city could have in the future, specifically the future of Israel and the Jewish people.

Petra is one of the possible locations to which the Jews may flee during the tribulation period after the abomination of desolation spoken of in the book of Daniel.

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Eilat, Israel – Fun in the Sun

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , on March 2, 2019|

The following images will probably not be your typical idea of the Holy Land, but Eilat is in Israel, and it does offer special treasures to the traveler.

In Eilat, one can relax and enjoy the warm sun, the clear sky and the blue water. Eilat is a very short drive or boat ride to either Jordan or Egypt, and it is but a few hours drive to the Dead Sea, the Negev or even back to Jerusalem.

Eilat is a resort town at the most southern tip of Israel complete with snorkeling and other water sports, but for the student of the Bible, Eilat is the jumping off point for a journey to the rock city of Petra in Jordan. The importance of Petra to Bible prophecy will be outlined in an upcoming post.

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Usuites, Eilat
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Usuites, Eilat
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Sunrise over Gulf of Aqaba
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Sunrise over Gulf of Aqaba
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Sunrise over Gulf of Aqaba
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Sunrise over Gulf of Aqaba
Border Crossing to Jordan from Eilat Israel

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Lessons from the Judean Wilderness

Posted in Israel, Uncategorized, tagged , , , on February 26, 2019| 3 Comments »

On the road from Jerusalem eastward to Jericho is a great expanse of Judean desert or what is often called the Judean wilderness. It is to such a place as this that Jesus may have gone when he fasted for 40 days before being tempted by Satan. See Luke 4:1-13 for a reminder of the story.

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It may also be the place of which David spoke in the Psalms 63:1, O God, You are my God; with deepest longing I will seek You;  my soul [my life, my very self] thirsts for You, my flesh longs and sighs for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

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It is a place which, at first glance, appears to be devoid of life, with no obvious plant or animal life and no observable source of water. But when one peers over the edge of the cliff and looks below, one sees green in the valley. Small trees, bushes and grasses grow  in the valley, fed by the water that gathers.

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Like our circumstances which can loom like a great desert or wilderness before us – overwhelming us with their apparent impregnability – there are valleys which can only be seen as we near the edge of the cliff and peer over into the crevices below. Life exists in the valleys – verdant, prospering life.

So when faced with a wilderness or desert of impregnable, unnavigable circumstances, go to the edge, look down and see the truth that life is continuing, even prospering in the valley of those circumstances. Know the truth that God would never leave you nor forsake you. God is in the valley.

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Messages from the Graves

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on February 6, 2019|

We humans always seem to be grappling with our mortality, with the apparent finality of death.

We can glean something of how death is perceived by a people, by a faith group, from the markers that have been left for those who have died.

Eastern Gate, Jerusalem
Monasterboice, Ireland
Maryland
County Clare, Ireland
Garden Tomb, Jerusalem
Tomb of King David, Jerusalem
Tomb of King David, Jerusalem
Jerusalem
Jerusalem
Jerusalem
County Claire, Ireland
County Clare, Ireland
NYC

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Baby Jesus, Born to Die

Posted in Christmas, Poem, Uncategorized, tagged , on December 7, 2018|

BABY JESUS, BORN TO DIE

Baby Jesus, small and soft
born that star-filled night
for ages prophets had foretold
Light to pierce the night

Your heavenly home You left behind
put eternal things aside
to enter human time and space
a temporary home.

why would You,
Almighty King
Lord of all the Lords
come down to earth to be with us
so far below Your throne

the cross it is the centerpiece
instrument of pain
see where blood was flowing down
the lamb on it was slain

O Jesus, help me see the truth
Your life was not in vain
Your coming was to meet my need
Yours a blood sacrifice

the living, it was needful
without blemish You were found
yet dying was the pinnacle
my sin stain it removed

in dying You gave your life for me
propitiatory substitute
in rising You opened eternity
rendered the accuser mute

a baby born to humble means
lain in a manger bare
is only part the story told
look further if you dare

the only true and living God
the one they call “I AM”
He kept His promise in the child
He sent His Son, the Lamb

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Isaiah – Chapter 2 (Part 1)

Posted in Isaiah, Uncategorized, tagged , on September 28, 2018|

In Isaiah 2:1 to 4:6, Isaiah gives his second message. He speaks of the temple of the Lord (Isaiah 2:1-5), the Day of the Lord (Isaiah 2:6-3:26), and the Branch of the Lord (Isaiah 4:2-6)

Read Isaiah Chapter 2
1. What is the word concerning according to Isaiah 2:1?

2. What time frame is given for the events described in Isaiah 2:2-4?

3. What is being foretold in verses 2 to 4?

4. Where (in what city) will the house of the Lord be established? What further information are you given about it in the opening verses?

According to Warren Wiersbe, Isaiah the prophet ‘looked ahead to the time when God’s righteous kingdom would be established and the temple would become the center for the worldwide worship of the Lord. In Isaiah’s day, the Jews were adopting the false gods of the Gentiles; but the day would come when the Gentiles would abandon their idols and worship the true God of Israel. The nations would also lay down their weapons and stop warring. These promises must not be “spiritualized” and applied to the church, for they describe a literal kingdom of righteousness and peace. The Jewish temple will be rebuilt, and the Word of God will go forth from Jerusalem to govern the nations of the world.’
–Be Comforted: Isaiah, Warren W. Weirsbe

5. What are the 3 results listed from the arrival of the Judge and His judging between nations in Isaiah 2:4?

6. Read Micah 4:1-4. What do you notice about these verses and the verses from Isaiah 2:2-4?

7. What reasons are given for God having forsaken His people, the house of Jacob in verse 6?

Verse 7

Verses 8-9?

8. What is described in verses 10 to 11?

9. What do the following verses teach?
□ 2 Samuel 22:28

□ 2 Chronicles 7:14

□ Psalm 101:5

□ Proverbs 16:18

□ 2 Timothy 3:1-5

close up court courthouse hammer

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

 

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I awake to Thee

Posted in Jesus, Poem, Uncategorized, tagged , , on September 21, 2018|

Today I awake to Thee, Sweet Jesus
today I awake to Thee

My thoughts scurry to the work
I bid them quiet be

I take the water of the Word
and wash myself in it

And then with pen and journal
I in Your presence sit

I find my joy as I wait on You
and hear Your voice again

 

MaryBeth Mullin

Copyright 2018

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YOU

Posted in Poem, Uncategorized, tagged , , on September 14, 2018|

YOU

I breathe in Your Spirit . . . my troubles scatter

I know they lurk in the darkness for another chance to plague me.

I am Yours forever;

how could I forget?

I am precious in your sight.

You have taken me from darkness and judgment

and translated me into the kingdom of Your incredible light.

You

the Light

banish the darkness that threatens me

My enemies are no real threat

You are holding me.

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Voice of Truth

Posted in Devotional, Love, Uncategorized, tagged , , on August 8, 2018|

“You never loved me,”  His words laid open my heart.

It is hard to discern truth when someone tells you lies about yourself, even harder when it is someone you should be able to trust like a spouse.

I searched my heart. I searched my actions. I found no evidence to support his accusation. I had been doing all to love someone very difficult to love. I had asked God to help me to love–to give me the love. He had. This was a terrible lie.

It was even more terrible that he believed the lie.

After I cried a river, I let the voice of truth speak over me, of what I had done and not done. I was fully restored to confidence that I had loved and did still love.

My hurt was replaced with sadness. How sad for him–a person seeking to be loved so desperately–to be totally blind to the love being poured out–the love of  the One who loves him most.

But we were and often still are like that. We live oblivious to the love of the Father–thinking that no one loves us when in reality, He so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whosoever believed would have everlasting life with Him.

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