Category Archives: Spiritual Formation

Traveling the Length of Israel

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September  11, 2011

Today was a great day of travel. While my mind was on the remembrance of 9-11 my heart was clearly in the moment in Israel.

Our day began with a great breakfast in which I discovered halvah. It’s a sesame seed and honey mix, and baked into a pastry, it’s to die for. I had seven!

After breakfast we went nearly the length of Israel, heading down the highway along the Jordon river, seeing the many date palms and banana trees. At times we could see the boarder between Israel and Jordon, with army patrols along the fence.

Finally we arrived at our first stop – Masada. While Masada is not a biblical site, it is surely a testimony to a people who feel they should be slaves to no one, except the Most High God. Here, the last of the Jewish rebels held out against Rome, for six months as Rome built encampments far below.

Imagining their meeting in their synagogue as the Roman siege ramp neared completion is sobering. How do you decide to kill your own wife and children, and then your closest friends? Such commitment to something higher than themselves is attractive and moves one to consider one’s own commitment level.

From Masada we went to The Dead Sea. Doron mentioned more than once that the water level in the Sea is extremely low. When you see it, you understand exactly what he is talking about.

Still, it was fun for the people on the tour to get into the water and be amazed at their own buoyancy and forming a chain as they floated.

Some even dared cover themselves with the black mud so they might emerge more beautiful. That’s a matter of opinion, I am sure.

After the swim in the sea we went to the Qumran community and saw a film on their way of life. The film conjectured that John the Baptist was one of their own, but such speculation is just that – speculation. We walked to see the caves, and we were especially near the one where the boys found the majority of the scrolls.

Doron noted the sovereignty of God in uncovering this. I noted the God’s work in preserving his word. At the Qumran community, I presented the devotion that had been blown away – literally blown away – on The Sea of Galilee the day before.

This time it was clear and well-received, as I spoke of how Jesus is our refuge, suggesting that the Cities of Refuge were named by God with Christ in mind. Chuck lead several songs as we sat in the community. Thanks for praying for me as I minister here.

As you think of it, pray also for Chuck, Sunday was the second anniversary of the death of his wife, Kathy. He was quiet today.

From there we headed to Jericho where we had opportunity to buy Hebronic glass. We saw the Mount of Temptation, just outside of Jericho.

This Palestinian area is very different than the rest of Israel. We also saw the sycamore tree – not the one Zacchaeus climbed, but the Palestinians selling postcards and figs would like you to think that the wee little man climbed that very tree.

By this time we were getting pretty punchy, singing the song that bears Zacchaeus’ name.  While in the store we sampled Turkish Coffee, one of Bobbie’s passions. Doron loaded her up with two cups and she was bouncing around in the bus. I took a video of it and will post it if she is not nice to me. 😉

Now, on to Jerusalem. As we went up to Jerusalem, we passed many Bedouin camps. Their lifestyle is so foreign to us, it would be fascinating to visit them. As we came closer to Jerusalem, we passed the place Jesus lived while in the area – Bethany. Then, on the final ascent to the city Mike, our driver, put in a CD of the song, “Jerusalem,” as the sun set. It was thoroughly moving as we all sang the parts we knew, eyes sparkling with something between tears and excitement to arrive in the holy city.

Upon our arrival we got settled in our rooms and went to dinner. It was a good day. We look forward to exploring the city tomorrow.

Thanks for your prayers – particularly for the devotional time. It was much improved today.

Feeling Disconnected…

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One of the benefits Christians of recent decades have enjoyed is doing things in bulk. Sunday morning was a time when everyone was together — in bulk. It was similar on Sunday and Wednesday evenings.

When Carl George and others advanced the small group model of the church, they noted the importance of the Sunday morning service — a time when all the groups came together to worship — along with the importance of small groups. Part of the jargon they used included the terms, cell and celebration. They noted that the celebration of Christ was best experienced in a larger community of believers connecting in worship, and that cell groups gave opportunity for genuine spiritual intimacy.

If you miss out on either of these, you will feel disconnected. But when you embrace both, the experience is generally more fulfilling than doing things in bulk all the time.

So, as you might have guessed, this is a shameless solicitation asking those who call Curwensville Alliance their church home to engage in both the cell aspect (small groups) and the celebration aspect (corporate worship).

Not only does it help you feel connected, it also helps you grow to be the disciple God wants you to become.

Please pray with me that our church would experience the joy of small group interaction with the celebration of corporate worship.

“I love it here!”

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While many of the songs we sing at SuperVBS are not new to Curwensville Alliance — Jesus, Messiah, Beautiful One, Lord I Lift Your Name on High, My All in All — they are new to many of the children present.

Last evening, at VBS, Linda spoke to me and said, “Pastor Steve, I have to tell you this story.”

She went on to speak about a little girl in her tribe of 17 kids who kept asking, “When are we going to sing? I want to go up and sing!” Linda told her it was coming soon. Finally, when they went up to sing, as the music was being queued, the little girl looked up at Linda and said with a sort of sigh in her voice, “I love it here.”

For some kids, VBS can be life-changing immediately. I read on Diane’s facebook today that she came to know Christ at a VBS. On the other hand, sometimes VBS is doing the work of giving children a pleasant experience so that when they are seeking something more in life, they come back to that memory.

In both cases, it’s a wonderful thing to see children loving the music as they worship God. Please pray for these kids — that through the work of this ministry, they would find Jesus.

If you’re interested in learning more about SuperVBS, go to www.supervbs.org.

If you’re interested in Curwensville Alliance Church, go to www.curwensvillealliance.org.

~Pastor Steve

GRACE: Positive Energy…

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I read today about the essentiality — yeah, that’s a word — of optimism in leadership. Corporations headed by pessimists, whether they be churches or tech giants, seldom overcome obstacles necessary to grow.  I need to be optimistic. What’s frustrating is how easy it is to be negative. It’s easier to say, “Nazareth?! Can anything good come from there,” than it is to say, “We have found the Christ,” (John 1). And it’s easy to be swayed by negative energy. It has a power to stifle both productivity and creativity.

Today I was feeling anything but positive about what God was doing in my life… until the UPS man came to my door. No, he didn’t drop off that 65 inch television I’ve been dreaming about. Instead, he dropped off the cross that we ordered to replace the one Anna bought in memory of her husband. You may recall the original cross had been stolen. Immediately, Laurel and I hopped into the car and headed up to see Anna. As we drove, I shared my negative feelings with Laurel and my struggle to be optimistic.

Then we arrived at Anna’s home. She showed us in and we talked about her health, the church, her home, and her family. I showed her the new cross and told her the story of how God had provided a larger cross for the same price as the smaller one with which we’d all been dissatisfied. We rejoiced together. We then prayed together, taking time to pray that the person who had stolen the original cross would turn to Jesus and find forgiveness. That was a great visit, but probably not for the reasons you would expect. It wasn’t because of the prayer. It wasn’t because of the new cross. It was because Anna epitomizes grace. Grace toward the thief. Grace toward her brothers and sisters in Christ. And grace toward people who crank out negative energy. She was so gracious and positive I left feeling like a completely different person. I said to Laurel, “Every now and then, God surprises you with a person who brings incredible joy.” Such people are people of grace.

As you go to God in prayer, may I suggest praying three ways:

  1. Pray that you can be a person of grace, for people of grace are anything but negative.
  2. Pray that God would use you to be a gracious influence on people around you so that when they leave they feel like life is a good thing.
  3. Pray for those who struggle with negativity — that God will so bless them they can’t help but see him in the world around them.

Oh — and pray for me, that I might have the optimism essential to ministry and life.

Let your conversation be always full of grace… (Colossians 4)

~Pastor Steve