Luke 2:10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. [11] Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.
What an AWESOME DAY! Today we went to the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem for morning worship. It was all in Hebrew. I could only understand some of the words but it was awesome. We heard amazing harmonization as the Psalms were sung. We saw devout people crying out to our Holy God. It was heart warming to see their devotion. It was also incredibly sad that they don't believe in Jesus - the fulfillment of all that they long for. I could almost hear echo Paul's words in my ears in that Great Synagogue, "I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit— [2] I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. [3] For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, [4] the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. [5] Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen. [6] It is not as though God's word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel." Rom 9:1-6 Paul was so worked up that his fellow Jesus didn't get the fact that Jesus is the Messiah they have been waiting for that he wished he could be cut off for their sake so that all of them could just be saved and grafted back in to the real Israel. He wanted them to know that the Israel of God was not just physical descendant of Abraham. The real Israel is the Israel of the faith of Abraham. In Romans 4:16 Paul writes, "Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. ... Rom 4:22 This is why [it says] "it was credited to him as righteousness." ...[23] The words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone, [24] but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. [25] He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification." All of this is to say - Jesus the Messiah who has fulfilled all the promises of the Old Testament about the Messiah except the ones related to His second coming is THE ONLY WAY TO A BLESSED RELATIONSHIP WITH THE FATHER. He alone is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. So please stop whatever you are doing right now and pray for the salvation of Israel. Pray that the veil that keeps them from recognizing the glory of God in the face of Christ might be lifted. Pray for the salvation of Jesus' own race the race through whom the greatest gift ever given came.
The next stop of our day was at the Shepherds fields in Bethlehem. This was the highlight of the journey for me so far!!! Awesome!!! There were out in the fields nearby - Shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night... The church of the Nativity which is supposedly built over the cave Jesus was born in is a gaudy marble and gold church. It is beautiful ... but you will not find a manger rude and bare there. In the Shepherd's field you will find a cave however that the shepherds might have used as a sheepfold on the night Jesus was born. You look at the rough cold walls of the cave and you remember when the infinite became finite with awe. How could the one who made the universe with such wisdom and power be so loving as to come down in the frail flesh of an infant to be our Savior? The incarnation becomes the striking event it should be all the time with a little more impact in the setting of the cave. We sat in this cave and sang Christmas carols until they kicked us out. It was overwhelming.
The final stop was the Church of the Nativity founded by Emperor Constantine's mother Helena some time after 325 AD. It is the oldest standing Christian Church in the world. Under the church in a cave with ornate material on the walls and marble on the floors is a star marking the place he was born and marble slab marking the place where the manger was that Mary set him in.
Enjoy the pictures. Like the shepherds - spread the news concerning this child. He is Christ the LORD!!
No comments:
Post a Comment