Palms' E-Devotional March 26, 2009

Lenten Devotional




Palms Lenten Devotional March 26th

Psalm 90

Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

You turn us back to dust, and say, "Turn back, you mortals."
For a thousand years in your sight,
are like yesterday when it is past, or like a watch in the night.

You sweep them away; they are like a dream,
like grass that is renewed in the morning;
in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
in the evening it fades and withers.....

Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days....
Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
and prosper for us the work of our hands----
O, prosper the work of our hands.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Satisfy us with your love in the morning.
And we will live this day in joy and praise."

This is how we begin each Friday morning in prayer in the chapel at Palms. Our small group (of 2-3) gathers and we gather to pray, asking God to "satisfy us with Your love in the morning". If only we were satisfied. On any given day there are many number of things that dissatisfy me. If I need to do laundry; If I forgot to do laundry; If we are out of milk; If the coffee doesn't taste right; If the dog has an accident; If a child brings home a bad grade; If a sports practice runs late; If someone says the wrong thing at the wrong time. If....you get the picture.

But, what if.....God's love satisfied? What would it be like to be fully satisfied knowing that we are children of God and God's steadfast love has grabbed hold of us and will not let us go. What if God's love was enough? Shouldn't it be enough? Why is God's love not enough? What would it be like to rejoice and be glad all our days? It sounds fully awesome and righteous. It sounds God-like.

What, oh what, keeps us from rejoicing and gladness?

The beginning of the psalm 90 tells us. We are mortals. And mortals will be what mortals will be. The psalmist reminds us that God's love is so much bigger than whatever we can dream. It transcends time and space as we know it. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting You are God.

What if we reminded ourselves of our mortality and the unimportance in the grand scheme of the generations and eons of our laundry, our milk, the coffee, the dirty carpet, the one grade, the time spent waiting? What if......?

The grace withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our Lord stands forever.




















--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Join with me in prayer: Lord, satisfy me with your joy each day, so that I may live in joy and peace. Amen.


Peace, Laurie

Home Again...

Peace and blessings from sunny Jacksonville, Florida. I arrived home late Friday night. My family met me at the airport and it was wonderful to see each of them, even though Abbie had fallen asleep in the car on the way to the airport. The dog remembered me and everyone loved the gifts I brought them from the trip.

Re-entry has been a bit trying and I slept through the night last night (Monday night) for the first time. I hope to get to the gym today and get back on track (pardon the pun). Maybe that will help my jet lag, as well.

I am so happy to be back with my family and at work. I do, however, miss all my new friends from the pilgrimage group. It was wonderful to have "fellow travelers on the journey". It was truly the wonderfully, surprising part of the entire trip: becoming a part of a brand new community in Christ.

I will post a few more thoughts and pictures and musings in the days and weeks to come. Then, I believe, I will convert this blog over to become a blog where I post devotionals, sermons, lessons, poetry, etc. that come into my mind and/or across my path. You are welcome to stay for that journey or to step off the path. Peace to you and yours, Laurie

We're Coming Home...

So...it is Thursday around 4:30 here as I write this. We will have our last dinner together as a group tonight. This is a great group of people I have been with and I will miss and cherish our time together. But, I am VERY ready to come home. Here is how it will work: first we have dinner, next we have our closing worship (which I am guessing will be both meaningful and emotional), we are to shower and rest and will get a wake up call around 12:30 a.m. when we are to bring our lugguage down. We identify our luggage at 1:15 and watch it get put on the bus, load the bus and drive for an hour to the the Tel Aviv airport. There, we are to go through security and at least a few of us will get questioned at length by the police.

Our flight for Frankfurt leaves at 5:30 a.m. Then, from Frankfurt to Atlanta. And I continue on from Atlanta to Jacksonville and arrive (about 26 consecutive hours later) at 8:30 p.m. eastern standard time. It makes me tired just writing about it, so I better take a nap here in a minute.

A couple of pictures today from the Garden Tomb and a few others from the past couple of days.

Here is a prayer I want you to pray for us. It is written by Raphael Patai:
Prayer for a Safe Journey Home

God of our fathers and mothers,
set us on our journey and guide us,
that we may reach our destination joyously alive and at peace.
Deliver us from all danger on the way.
May we merit favor, kindness, and compassion in your sight,
and in the sight of all who see us.
Blessed are You, God, for hearing prayer.

The Road to Jericho and Beyond....

Today was our last official day of touring sites. Tomorrow is our free day and we fly out tomorrow (Thursday) in the middle of the night. I’ll be home Friday night. I miss my family and am very ready to come home.

Today, we went back to the West Bank toward the city of Jericho. Jericho is an oasis city in the desert wilderness. To get there you drive through mountains that look like Georgia red clay and then you see Palm trees rising up from the brown and orange desert. That’s Jericho! We stopped first to see where archeologists are digging to find the walls of Jericho (remember in the book of Joshua they say they come tumbling down?). Jericho is also called “the oldest city on the earth” because it goes back to right after caveman times (called the Neolithic period) around 7000 B.C.!!!! At the archeological dig site, we met the head archeologist who is from Italy. He talked with us for awhile about the site and the ancient wall. He reminded me of Indiana Jones. He was very excited about what they were doing. I will try to post a picture of him.

We saw the mountain which is known as Temptation Mountain and named as the spot where Jesus went out to the wilderness and didn’t eat or drink anything for 40 days and 40 nights and then was tempted by the devil.

Next (kids will like this) we went to the sycamore tree which is over 2000 years old and they name as the sycamore tree that Zacchaeus climbed up (remember that from our recent workshop rotation? – I taught you the song, so you should remember it) to see Jesus.

We went to Qumran where scrolls called the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Too much to explain here, but they were really important and they had parts of the bible and lots of other important information on them. There is a picture of me with one of the caves (cave number 4 of 11) where they found scrolls.

After a lunch at Qumran, we went to the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is a salt water lake. It is the lowest point on the earth at 1500 feet below sea level. Because of the salt and other minerals in the lake if you get in you the water you can’t get it in your eyes or mouth. And….you float kind of like if you were in a pool of Jell-O. About half of our group got in. Yes…., including me.

When we got back to Jerusalem a group of us walked on top of the wall that goes around the Old City of Jerusalem. It was very interesting because we got a peek at how these city folks live. I’ll include a picture of a soccer game being played with the city of Jerusalem in the background.

Tonight, I begin packing. Peace and I’ll be home soon, Pastor Laurie

O, Little Town of Bethlehem....

First, an answer to my niece's question. Yes, that was a diet coke in yesterdays picture. The language on it is Arabic. Here is the language low-down. Hebrew is spoken by the Jewish people. However, there are lots and lots of people who live in Israel who are not Jewish. The speak Arab and are known as Palestinians (also sometimes called Arabs). The writing on the coke bottle was in Arabic.

Speaking of Palestinian and Jewish people, they is lots and lots of tension here. Israel has divided the land here and put a fence around parts that are Jewish to keep the Palestinians out....mostly. But it isn't that easy. Because a lot of Palestenians live on the Jewish side of the wall. And a lot of families are split up on either side of the wall. And lots of Jewish people do not like the wall. And almost all Palesteninian people despise the wall. I included a picture of it. We crossed through a point in the wall, called a check point, to go to Bethlehem today because it is in a Palestinian area known as the West Bank. We had to show our passports and tell the guards we were from the United States. They let us through no problem. However, there was a Palestinian woman in front of us as we left and they checked all over in her car and in the trunk of her car. The wall and the checkpoints were very sad because they make the Palestinians feel like they are not as beloved as the Jewish people. I don't believe that, do you? We have some African American pastors in our group who say it is like before the time of Martin Luther King, Jr. when black people in our country were not given all the rights as white people.

We talked to a Palestinian Christian in Bethlehem who is the Pastor of the Holy Christmas Lutheran Church there. He said for many Palestenians there is no hope. There are no jobs. There is no freedom to travel. There is little freedom to do anything if you are a Palestenian. He said his church is about offering hope. While I was in Bethlehem I read a card that said, "in Bethlehem today, let there be peace on earth and good will to all." Please pray for peace in this country of Israel/Palestine.

When we first arrived in Bethlehem, we went past the city (which is now a modern city and I posted a picture) up to a place called the Herodium. It used to be a massive palace and all kinds of other buildings that King Herod had built during the time of Jesus and right after that time. (if you remember from the other day, he also built the city Ceasarea Maritima) I posted a picture of a dog there who looked like he was checking out the whole valley. I also posted a picture of where archeologists are digging up to find and learn about the Herodium. One more picture is one of huge balls that look like canon balls. They were actually used for catapults to fling at enemies who might be coming to destroy the palace.

Of course, you all remember what Bethlehem is famous for........well.....two things actually. For Christian and Jewish people it is special because David (who would become king) lived here. David was also anointed by the prophet Samuel (our Sam's namesake) right here. But, O Little Town of Bethlehem is about Jesus. Bethlehem is the city where Jesus was born. We went to a church called The Chruch of the Nativity which is said to be built on the site where Jesus was born (remember that there was no room at the inn or hotel, so he was born in a stable for animals and laid in a manger) To get into the church you have to go through a tiny door. The door was made tiny so way long time ago (this church was built around 450 AD) people couldn't ride their horses into the church and steal stuff from the church.....so they made the door tiny. I included a picture of me bending down to go through the tiny door.

We had a very late night tonight. Oh yes, I forgot to say. The Jewish people here are celebrating Purim tonight and tomorrow. Purim is a festival celebrating Queen Esther and her bravery. You can read about it in the book of Esther in the bible. So...today, for Purim the children dress up and the grownups give them candy (sort of like Halloween)!! We went to the Western Wall to watch the children wandering around in their costumes.

Peace in this land and ours, Pastor Laurie

A Day of Three Religions

Today was an interesting day. Beautiful and sunny again, but a bit colder.

We began by going to the Temple Mount of the Dome of the Rock. This is a Muslim holy place. In the pictures of Jerusalem, you see it as the large gold dome that rises above the skyline. Only Muslims are allowed to go inside, but we walked around the outside and it is spectacular. It was built in the 600's and is the oldest coninually used place we have seen. It is also clean and has been kept in wonderful condition. The outside of it is covered with beautiful tiles.

From there we went again to the Western Wall which is a holy place to the Jewish faith. Again, it is the Western Wall of the Temple which was destroyed. Jewish (and anyone who would like) come to the wall to pray and to gather. We saw a gathering that seemed to be a Bar Mitzvah at the Wall. A Bar Mitzvah is the ceremony in which a 13 year old boy becomes a member of the Jewish worshipping community.

From the Wall, we boarded our bus and went to the place that is named as the Emmaus in the bible. Emmaus is the site of an important story to Christians. If you read the story in the bible, (Luke 24:13-52), it says that two of the disciples were walking to the city of Emmaus, the day after Jesus died. Emmaus, when a stranger appeared and walked with them. They walk and talk. When they get to Emmaus, which is 7 miles away, they have a meal together. And that is when they recognize that they have been with Jesus.

Oh yes, I forgot something, we also visited the place that is named to be Caiphas (the high priest's) courtyard where Peter denys knowing Jesus three times. There is a rooster on top of the church that sits there because the story is that Jesus had told Peter that he would "deny him 3 times before the cock (rooster) crows". They showed us a jail cell that would have been like the jail cell that Jesus would have been locked up in while he waited to be killed. It was dark and cold and sad and lonely.

After lunch, we walked around the city some. We found the St. Andrews Presbyterian Church of Jerusalem. I stood in the pulpit there and if I can post pictures later, I'll try to put it on the blog.

We stopped at a famous hotel named the King David hotel (it is named after King David, can you tell). Lots and lots of famous people have stayed there including all the presidents since Jimmy Carter on, the Dalai Lama, lots of stars and government people from other countries. They have their names written on stones in the hotel lobby.

It is now time for dinner. I cannot load pictures right now. Will try to load them later, but my camera ended up in someone else's backpack and I need to find it.

Peace, Pastor Laurie

In the City on a Hill

This is our first full day in Jerusalem and full is a good word to describe it. Today was "the walk of Jesus". We started the morning at the Mount of Olives. It is at a high point outside of Jerusalem. Jesus spent the night on the Mount of Olives or nearby during his last week in Jerusalem. (Luke 21:37). In modern times, the Mount of Olives is the burial ground for the Jewish people. I am posting a picture of me at the Mount of Olives. See the gold dome in the distance. Today was spent winding our way down the mount and up into and then around and through the streets of Jerusalem. There was a camel there and I put on a picture of the camel.

We followed a path that millions of Christians have followed down to the Garden of Gethsemene. All four gospels record Jesus prayer and his betrayal by the disciple Jesus that took place here. (Matthew 26:36) There are olive trees here and I've included a picture of some of them. They are very, very old.

We kept walking down the mountain and at some point you turn and start walking up the hill that takes you into Jerusalem. Old Jerusalem still has a wall around it and you enter and exit through the old city gates. We entered the city through the Lions Gate.

Through the gate we went to the Pool of Bethseda found in John 5:2-9. This is the place where Jesus healed a man who had been there for 38 years. Here, we went into Saint Anne's Church. Saint Anne is said to be Jesus' grandmother and this is a church that was made in her honor. We sang hymns in the church. I am including a picture of one of the pools (now empty) of Bethsada.

Leaving St. Anne's, we went further into this big city that is filled with people and shopping and houses on top of the shopping and churches and more people and more people. And the streets wind all around and are very, very old. We walked the "stations of the cross" in Jerusalem. These are places around the city which represent the walk Jesus made when he was about to be killed on the cross. It includes Jesus carrying his cross and falling down, Simon of Cyrene picking up the cross of Jesus, Jesus being stripped and being nailed to the cross. It ends with Jesus being placed in the tomb. These are all prayer stations and are marked by little plaques. The last of the stations ends in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher which is traditionally believed Gologotha, the place where Jesus was crucified. The church was built around this site. This church is huge and very holy for many, many people and denominations. There is a picture of the inside of the church, but this church has many, many different worship areas and this does not show how large it is.

It occured to me that I had not said much about food here. I will tell you about our lunch, which is typical of our lunches. You sit down and there is pita bread on the table with lots of different things you can put on it: hummus, spicy red sauce, peppers, different spicy vegetables. Then the meal comes. Today, it was spicy chicken, rice and some pepper mixture. We had an apple for dessert. Sometimes there are dates or figs or tangerines. Sometimes we have fish or beef. Always pita, hummus and rice. There is a picture of some of our lunch here.

For today....peace, Pastor Laurie