Tehilah Ba'Aretz

Morey is not a reformist! He is incredibly accurate and unflinching in his analysis. He refuses to accept the distortions and outright lies of modern Arabic scholarship. It isn't easy to dig up the real truth in the modern Moslem world. Calling this man a reformist is very close to endorsing deception.

OK, I'm ready to post my predictions for the Iowa caucuses now.

I don't speak English. Not even when I am around my British friends. I speak American! I have a Welsh friend who says we are two peoples divided by a single language. I am not at all sure about that. Sure, we know the Brits speak English but the language has been improved since then.

But I already know what I'm thinking. Besides that, my wife says she knows what I'm thinking too. What's it good for?

Jesus revealed salvation by grace through faith. He revealed God's compassion. He revealed God's healing, faithfulness, wisdom, personal love, endurance and all that it means to be fully God in the form of a man.

Jesus addressed the issue of our comfort zones when He told us to love one another. If you love me, you will care about what hurts me. If I love you, I will do my best to meet your needs. It may be difficult but the result will be that each of us will have a better life. Comfort? Sure, why not. If my comfort zone does not improve your life, though; perhaps I need to love you enough to give some of my comfort to you. That does not just mean that I give finances either. It may mean that I teach my friend how to drive a car with a standard transmission or that I stop a neighbor from stealing or that I sit and watch while you do something that I'd really like to do. Love God first and foremost! Love one another!

I have a couple of friends with tiny discussion boards. That's nice! I enjoy the safe atmosphere of the small ones. I have my own blog which is really cool when I work at it and then it has weeks on end when I get busy and ignore it. My wife is the head of Bridges for Peace and their site is one of the very best if you want accurate information about Israel and Christian connections in Israel. They are not a Messianic organization for the simple reason that somebody needs to show Israel that not all Christians are monsters. (Yes, I know, Christian and Messianic are the same word in different languages.) Click the BFP link in my sig for their site.

That is just too cute. Now, perhaps, he should send me a check for a million dollars and then he could brag that he was the first to do that too. Somebody tell him for me please?

I do not believe that Ezekiel 38 is close. In my opinion, we are there. Gog and Magog were defeated in the first round in 1982. They are fully involved in Lebanon now. Syria has thousands of "advisers" from Russia in place in both Syria and Lebanon right now. Iran now has massive new weapons systems provided and manned by Russian personnel. Egypt has ramped up their troop placement in the Sinai. Libya has been quietly allowing the training camps to keep working. Israel seems to the world to be unprepared. The smell of the weakness of defeat hangs like a stench after the second Lebanon War in 2006. Israel trade their prisoners for notes and promises, giving up every advantage and even offering the very heartland to enemy occupation. How close were you thinking we were to Ezekiel 38? I think we are already there.

Moshe delights in inviting my Christian tour groups to ask him any question they always wanted to as an Orthodox Jew. I think Isaiah 53 tops the list of questions. Moshe is quite open and willing to talk. I tell him that he is not capable of rejecting Jesus since he's never seen the real Jesus. I have explained to him that the understanding of Jesus that he carries around is nothing like my friend. He can't see it, so far.

Let's face it, God could wipe Satan off the face of creation with a single word. Yet, God allows Satan to tempt mankind. Shouldn't God just wrap things up and be done if it's all decided anyway? On the other hand, God has chosen to allow mankind to think they are capable of making a choice. Now, that's just bizarre. So, Predestiny or Choice? Since the principle of Love is repeated throughout the Bible, cover to cover, I think God wants mankind to love Him. Every worthwhile counselor I know tells me that while infatuation is an emotional response to outside stimuli, love is a conscious choice. I say that while God could easily force me to do His will, He wants me to decide to love Him.

I read the bible with a certain set of contexts. I was born in the US and grew up in the US and went to an Evangelical Bible college in the US. Later, I have lived in many different cultures, in many places. So, my context when I read the Bible colors the way I understand what I read. I see things in the Hebrew that I never saw in English. I read the same Bible as my friend Moshe but Moshe is an Orthodox Jewish man and he sees things much differently than I. It's not that Moshe is wrong either. He has wonderful insights that often set me on whole new pathways of Bible study. But you see, Moshe and I get along just fine. He doesn't see Jesus the same way I see our beloved Messiah but it's not my job to make Moshe see Jesus. That is the job of the Holy Spirit. I have other friends who don't see all of the things in the Bible that I see. This is not a real problem to me either. I say the same about them as I say about Moshe. It is God's job to reveal Himself. I am willing to do anything the Lord asks me to do in the process if I can be part of that revelation. But still, if it depends on me teaching the world everything I know about the Bible and God, the world will be a poorer place than if we all depend on God to reveal Himself.

Cool! We agree on something. Who knows? This could be the start of a good thing! (I felt like the subject was too heavy and made an attempt to lighten the atmosphere...but don't tell anyone, OK?)

The apocrypha is a collection of writings that were accepted by some Christians but not by all. They have considerable historical value but are not considered to be divinely inspired by many denominations. As an Israeli tour guide, I use the historical references from time to time and find them useful if not authoritative. Harry Potter, on the other hand, is not useful to me in my work, introducing people to the land of the Bible.

We are probably living in the age all of the Bible characters would have loved to live. We are seeing more of the fulfillment of Bible prophecy all around us than at any other time besides the first coming of Jesus. I live in Jerusalem, a front row seat if there ever was one. Besides, since I am diabetic, I'd probably be dead by this age in any other era.

You missed several danger points. I just traveled internationally with four boxes of Crystal light drink mix. I also had three bags of ground coffee. Any one of those items could have contained a lethal substitute. The problem here is obvious. People just insist on traveling from place to place. That needs to stop for security to insure the complete safety of the citizens. If they cannot be stopped, then some form of secure identification needs to be enforced.

Yes, please pray. The remaining Christians in Beit Jalla and Bethlehem are under terrible pressure. I hear them adopting Islamic terminology in their speech and I can easily understand that they need to seem like their neighbors to survive. Beit Jalla is still mostly Christian but Beit Sahur is fast becoming a Moslem town. Since their Christianity is mostly nominal, many are spiritually weak. Please pray that they will turn in truth to the faith they claim.

I guess I must be an old man... I dream dreams from time to time. They usually scare me with insights into things and understanding that helps me either avoid danger or walk safely through difficult times. I told God I'm not that old but He sees fit to keep giving me dreams.

It's the Middle East!

I still say, read it in Hebrew and Greek. My wife and I read the bible through together several times. I would sit and read a different version every year and she just stuck with her NASB. From time to time there seemed to be a conflict in the translations. When we hit one of them, I would get out my Hebrew or Greek bible and check out the original text. The NASB was right every time.

Israeli leadership weak? I don't think so! Evil, maybe but weak? When we pray for our leaders, we pray that God will direct their steps. We pray that they will do righteousness even when they don't want to do God's will. We pray that God will give them dreams and visions. We don't care if they think the dreams are nightmares and the visions are psychosis. We also pray that God will find a way to introduce Himself. I do not trust the government of Israel at all. That is not the issue. I placed my trust in the God of Israel long ago and I will continue to do His will. It was God's idea to choose Israel.

There is no surprise at all in this for those of us who have grown old and cynical. Wanna hear the story about how Rupert Murdock got channel 8 television in Australia?

Oh Yes! May that day come quickly! Until then, I will pray. I'll pray for the leadership of Israel. I'll pray that the Prince of Peace will be revealed in Jerusalem. I'll pray that goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. I'll pray that God will use me to reveal His glory in Israel.

The odd fact is that in 1981 81% of the population of Bethlehem was Christian but now the number is less than 10%. Where did they all go and who forced them to leave? It was under the control of the Palestinian Autonomy that the Christian city of Bethlehem was ethnically cleansed of Christians. Many left but many simply disappeared. Their graves may never be found.