The plane that I boarded on Saturday was bound for Tel-Aviv, Israel. It took to the air at 9PM and landed approximately eleven hours later, which was 3PM Israeli time. My seat mate had been a Jewish woman who was moving to Israel with her husband to be near her family. She informed me that she was a secular Jew. Carmen prided herself in being tolerant of others and accepting of those of faith.
At the end of our flight, after some good discussion, we wished one another well. My wish, desire, prayer that I bade her goodbye with was that she would encounter the One who is the reason for this people and nation of Israel that she is part of and loves so dearly.
The tour I am on is called "Discover Your Jewish Roots".
The past two days have been laying a good foundation for us. They have been filled with all things Jewish, of course.
The history, religion, politics and even cults of this place have been the focus.
As I reflect on all that we have seen and heard with our view being through the lens of Scripture, I cannot help but think of my seat mate, Carmen.
All history is best seen as His story. There would be no story without Him. He is the source of our life, whether we acknowledge this or not.
It is the story of His faithfulness contrasted with our unfaithfulness.
How can anyone examine Israel's history without taking their God into account?
What sense does it make without Him?
What sense does our own history make apart from our God?
Politics fall away when we take Him at His Word.
The world views this land from a purely secular lens. That is a very distorted view, to say the least!
It all breaks down to what and who we choose to believe and honor.
Man or God?
When we embrace the God of the Bible as the One True God then our religion is pure and simple and does not have man's fingerprints superseded over God's. Isn't it amazing that we dare to even think of doing such a thing, as elevating our thoughts and opinions above God's?
Enter the cults.
It all comes down to the struggle for power, if we are unwilling to admit our powerlessness without Him.
I will end with the words spoken by Nebuchadnezzar once he came to his senses in the book of Daniel,
"and at the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me , I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored Him that lives forever; for His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom from generation to generation. And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing, and He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth and none can stay His hand or say to Him, 'What do You do?'"
At the end of our flight, after some good discussion, we wished one another well. My wish, desire, prayer that I bade her goodbye with was that she would encounter the One who is the reason for this people and nation of Israel that she is part of and loves so dearly.
The tour I am on is called "Discover Your Jewish Roots".
The past two days have been laying a good foundation for us. They have been filled with all things Jewish, of course.
The history, religion, politics and even cults of this place have been the focus.
As I reflect on all that we have seen and heard with our view being through the lens of Scripture, I cannot help but think of my seat mate, Carmen.
All history is best seen as His story. There would be no story without Him. He is the source of our life, whether we acknowledge this or not.
It is the story of His faithfulness contrasted with our unfaithfulness.
How can anyone examine Israel's history without taking their God into account?
What sense does it make without Him?
What sense does our own history make apart from our God?
Politics fall away when we take Him at His Word.
The world views this land from a purely secular lens. That is a very distorted view, to say the least!
It all breaks down to what and who we choose to believe and honor.
Man or God?
When we embrace the God of the Bible as the One True God then our religion is pure and simple and does not have man's fingerprints superseded over God's. Isn't it amazing that we dare to even think of doing such a thing, as elevating our thoughts and opinions above God's?
Enter the cults.
It all comes down to the struggle for power, if we are unwilling to admit our powerlessness without Him.
I will end with the words spoken by Nebuchadnezzar once he came to his senses in the book of Daniel,
"and at the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me , I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored Him that lives forever; for His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom from generation to generation. And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing, and He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth and none can stay His hand or say to Him, 'What do You do?'"
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