I am called Nasiket. The Taposa students from far away villages who came for training in Kapoeta decided this. It means where animals gather for shade. I said l liked it. I, too, like to find shelter or shade, and I find my shelter in God. “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High shall abide in the shadow of the Almighty,” Psalm 91.

Today we ended our two-day training at the First Baptist Church in Kapoeta. My colleague is beside herself. She has been working here for five years, and it is the first time she is seeing this church planting movement explode. There is finally group that would spread the Gospel among the Toposa, and they are the young men from far away villages.

Lord of Creation

Honoring the Lord of Creation in the work of His hands and honoring the memory of my son's friendship with the composer of the background song in the video.

I know that the Lord is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods. The Lord does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths.(click link to see video of Monterey Bay Aquarium) Psalm 135:5-6

“I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die..."

"...Do you believe this?" This was the question Jesus posed to Martha in John 11:25when her brother Lazarus died. It is Easter 2012. Two thousand years later the question remains.

Jesus, the Son of God, died to save the world from sin and death. If we think we can save ourselves from sin and earn our way to heaven, then Jesus died needlessly. If we believe in Jesus and that he suffered, died, was buried, and on the third day rose from the dead, then we shall be saved. Because He rose from the grave and conquered death, we too, have the hope of resurrection.

Followers of Christ not only have a future hope, but can be instruments of God's righteousness, "knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God." (1 Peter 1:18-21)

"Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.

Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness."Romans 6:4-18

Jesus Came; A Gift from the Heart of God

Sharing the love of God to people who have not heard about Jesus Christ before is nothing short of WONDERFUL because it's like celebrating Christmas each time, and that's like unwrapping the greatest present that has ever been given...and I got to see it unwrapped so many times a day. What a treat to have Christmas earlier than scheduled, AND to celebrate it in a foreign land like Andhra Pradesh, India. Harvesting in God's field is to witness and taste the wonders of His love.



We had a team of eight that went to Andhra Pradesh. We were doing our morning devotions and prepping to do a little training, when two young men wanted prayer, so what to do?, except share the Gospel with them, and then pray for them. One made a profession of faith and other didn't. We didn't get to our first village yet when a teammate shared the Gospel with our driver. There was no question the Holy Spirit was at work and has prepared the hearts to receive the rightful ruler. Many people prayed God's will be done, so the battle for the 300 souls that made professions of faith in Christ was already underway when we showed up. One of those who believed was our driver and he said, "If you risk your lives to come all the way here, then your God must be a great God!" No argument in how great our God is! Our other driver also received Christ as his savior and Lord. We had eight people in a village closest to the lake get baptized. See the faces of people whose lives were touched with the power of God's love. The background song is "Center of the Mark" by 4Him. Glory to God in the Highest!

Jerusalem

2 Chronicles 6:5-7 - 'Since the day I brought my people out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built so that my Name might be there, nor have I chosen anyone to be ruler over my people Israel. But now I have chosen Jerusalem for my Name to be there, and I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.’ “My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel..."

The Temple Mount

In Abraham's time, this was Mount Moriah where Abraham went to sacrifice his son, Isaac. God provided a substitute for Isaac. This is also the same mountain that King David purchased to build the Temple, where people would make sacrifices for the remission of sins. King David's son,Solomon, built the Temple and the ark of the covenant was placed there. Only the High Priest could enter this place called the Holy of Holies, where the presence of God resided. The temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzer in 586 BC and it was rebuilt by Herod and then destroyed by the Romans. I've heard it said that this place has been destroyed and rebuilt 17 times. The Dome of the Rock is currently on its summit, a Muslim shrine.

God's provision for a substitute to Isaac for Abraham is like a foreshadowing of God's provision of Jesus to die a substitutionary death for us who are followers of Christ. God provided his own Son, Jesus, for the remission of our sin, and the sins of the whole world. Jesus was the sacrificial Lamb of God and when He died on the cross, the veil to the Holy of Holies was ripped from top to bottom, signifying the believers' full access to the Most High God was made possible. Jesus said that He was the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but by Him. After Jesus suffered, died, and was buried, He rose from the dead. He conquered death and sin once and for all and gives everyone hope of eternal life for those who believe. Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He gave his disciples the gift of the Holy Spirit. Anyone who believes that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died to take away their sin may be forgiven and be given a new life. The Spirit of the Living God indwells the believer, and the believer then becomes the temple of the Holy Spirit. A follower of Christ no longer needs to take an unblemished lamb to the Temple and sacrifice it for the remission of sin because the wonderful grace of God made His only Son to be sin for them and take the punishment of sin away forever. Salvation then, is a precious gift, offered by the Most High God; one cannot earn it. Jesus made access to God possible and a relaionship may grow through the indwelling gift of the Holy Spirit.

The Garden Tomb, which lies outside of the walls of the Old City is close to the Damascus Gate. It is the one of two locations where the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus may have occurred. The other location option is at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The sign at the Garden Tomb's door, says it all: "He is not here. He is risen."






Gethsemane - the Garden of Olives, where Jesus prayed to the Father, "Not my will, but yours be done."














Golgotha - the Place of Skulls
















The Western Wall

If walls could speak, the Western Wall would reveal how it survived the Roman destruction. It is the only fragment of the Great Temple. It would reveal the verbal and written prayers and longings of its visitors from all over the world, and would tell of the war, peace and revival of the Jewish people. Only 180 feet of the 1,600 feet of the Western Wall can be seen on the plaza. The Western Wall tunnels lie to the left of the prayer wall.

As Psalm 122:6 says, "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May those who love her prosper!"

Bethlehem

One of the pictures above is a sculpture given to Bethlehem Bible College, and the other is what Bethlehem looks like today.

Micah 5:2 foretold a ruler over Israel will come from Bethlehem:
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.

Jesus the Messiah fulfilled this prophecy according to Matthew 2:4-6: 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.

And in Luke 2:4, Jesus lineage was also mentioned: "So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David."

Another picture of Bethlehem today.



Bethlehem was the birthplace of King David, who was the descendant of Jesse, a descendant of Ruth and Boaz. From the line of David, Jesus the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. God incarnate. That thought is mind-blowing. God became man and dwelt among us.



Shepherd's Field

Can you believe the place where the shepherds saw an angel announce Jesus' birth is still referred to as Shepherd's Field?!



The Birth of Jesus - Luke 2:1-21

1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.

Galilee

Galilee is the place where Jesus called his first disciples, performed many miracles and calmed the storm. Although the Lord Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, creator of heaven and earth, He simply invites people to follow him, and for those who put their trust in Him, He still calms the storms of life and the soul. He is the Prince of Peace, offering peace with God as well as the peace of God.

Jesus Calls His First Disciples - Matthew 4:18-21

18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him.

21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Jesus Heals the Sick

23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them. 25 Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis,[g] Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.

Jesus calms the storm: Matthew 8:23-27; Matthew 14:32; Mark 4:35-41; Luke 8:22-25

From Luke 8:22-25
22 One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. 23 As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.
24 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”

He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 25 “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples.

In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”