AND,
We are in Jerusalem!
Come celebrate on Sunday, March 30th, at the 10:30 Service.
And do check back for a final mileage count and some stories of the journey.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
2 John v.6
And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment just as you have heard it from the beginning - you must walk in it.
The writer of 2 John is convinced truth abides in us and will be with us forever. The writer is a realist, however, and knows there are false teachers, and warns "the elect lady and her children" [the woman who is the head of the Congregation and the others who meet there] and us to walk in the truth we have received, the the teaching of Christ.
This will be my last post, as tomorrow I take the Sacraments to Shagaluk, Grayling, and Anvik. As you finish the walk to Jerusalem, please keep me in your prayers, and, far more importantly, that the Saints in these Villages may hear the abiding love of which the writer speaks.
The writer of 2 John is convinced truth abides in us and will be with us forever. The writer is a realist, however, and knows there are false teachers, and warns "the elect lady and her children" [the woman who is the head of the Congregation and the others who meet there] and us to walk in the truth we have received, the the teaching of Christ.
This will be my last post, as tomorrow I take the Sacraments to Shagaluk, Grayling, and Anvik. As you finish the walk to Jerusalem, please keep me in your prayers, and, far more importantly, that the Saints in these Villages may hear the abiding love of which the writer speaks.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Halab (Aleppo), Syria
We'll spend the night here in Halab, Syria. This city competes with Damascas and Sana'a for the honor of being the oldest existing city in the world.
Although ancient Aleppo's roots lie buried out of reach beneath the modern city legend connects the site to the prophet Abraham. As he journeyed southward to the land of Canaan he paused in Aleppo. He milked his cow on the citadel hill; thus the city's Arabic name Halab which is derived from the word for milk (halib) ...
Click here to see some wonderful pictures of life in Halab today.
Although ancient Aleppo's roots lie buried out of reach beneath the modern city legend connects the site to the prophet Abraham. As he journeyed southward to the land of Canaan he paused in Aleppo. He milked his cow on the citadel hill; thus the city's Arabic name Halab which is derived from the word for milk (halib) ... Click here to see some wonderful pictures of life in Halab today.
1 John 1:6-7
If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
It's a mistake, as we walk to Jerusalem, to deny the power of Sin. A student of history will remember the disastrous 4th Crusade, wherein, on that walk to Jerusalem, on at least two occasions, Christian fought Christian.
The good news is God is Light, absolute Holiness, without taint of evil, and God calls us and aids us to that same state of Holiness, though we will not be fully perfected until our own Resurrection. In the meantime, confession of our "occasions of sin" brings forgiveness and fellowship.
It's a mistake, as we walk to Jerusalem, to deny the power of Sin. A student of history will remember the disastrous 4th Crusade, wherein, on that walk to Jerusalem, on at least two occasions, Christian fought Christian.
The good news is God is Light, absolute Holiness, without taint of evil, and God calls us and aids us to that same state of Holiness, though we will not be fully perfected until our own Resurrection. In the meantime, confession of our "occasions of sin" brings forgiveness and fellowship.
A visit to Tarsus
Walking at our usual pace, brings us to Tarsus, the birthplace of Paul, on the Mediterranean Coast.
An excavation of a first century home and well. 
An excavation of a first century home and well.****
Paul's House under glass
Monday, March 17, 2008
2 Corinthians 6:16
What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, as God said, "I will live in them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."
The issue at the time was trying to prevent the congregation from falling back into idolatry. We have different idols now, but they are still there. That's the bad news.
The good news, however, is the relationship God has in mind, for us and with us. God will be within us and without us. God will walk with us, to Jerusalem, or wherever it is we walk (this coming week, weather permitting, I will be walking in Shagaluk, Grayling, and Anvik). God will welcome us wherever we are. God is our parent, and we are God's daughters and sons.
The issue at the time was trying to prevent the congregation from falling back into idolatry. We have different idols now, but they are still there. That's the bad news.
The good news, however, is the relationship God has in mind, for us and with us. God will be within us and without us. God will walk with us, to Jerusalem, or wherever it is we walk (this coming week, weather permitting, I will be walking in Shagaluk, Grayling, and Anvik). God will welcome us wherever we are. God is our parent, and we are God's daughters and sons.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
We're in Kayseri, Turkey
We're in central Turkey! In the the city of Kayseri in the region known as Anatolia. The city, known as Caesarea in the Roman times in in the region of Cappadocia, and in the 4th century Bishop Basil the Great organized Christian communities here.
At our pace, we'll be in Jerusalem on schedule by Easter!
At our pace, we'll be in Jerusalem on schedule by Easter!
A Walking Song for the Next Week
IT IS GLORY JUST TO WALK WITH HIM
“Were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the road?” Luke 2:32
Words: Avis M. Christiansen, 1918.
Music: Haldor Lillenas
Courtesy of Lillenas Publishing Company
It is glory just to walk with Him Whose blood has ransomed me;
It is rapture for my soul each day.
It is joy divine to feel Him near where’er my path may be.
Bless the Lord, it’s glory all the way!
Refrain
It is glory just to walk with Him,
It is glory just to walk with Him,
He will guide my steps aright
Through the vale and o’er the height,
It is glory just to walk with Him.
It is glory when the shadows fall to know that He is near.
O what joy to simply trust and pray!
It is glory to abide in Him when skies above are clear.
Yes, with Him, it’s glory all the way!
Refrain
’Twill be glory when I walk with Him on Heaven’s golden shore,
Never from His side again to stray.
’Twill be glory, wondrous glory with the Savior evermore,
Everlasting glory all the way!
Refrain
“Were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the road?” Luke 2:32
Words: Avis M. Christiansen, 1918.
Music: Haldor Lillenas
Courtesy of Lillenas Publishing Company
It is glory just to walk with Him Whose blood has ransomed me;
It is rapture for my soul each day.
It is joy divine to feel Him near where’er my path may be.
Bless the Lord, it’s glory all the way!
Refrain
It is glory just to walk with Him,
It is glory just to walk with Him,
He will guide my steps aright
Through the vale and o’er the height,
It is glory just to walk with Him.
It is glory when the shadows fall to know that He is near.
O what joy to simply trust and pray!
It is glory to abide in Him when skies above are clear.
Yes, with Him, it’s glory all the way!
Refrain
’Twill be glory when I walk with Him on Heaven’s golden shore,
Never from His side again to stray.
’Twill be glory, wondrous glory with the Savior evermore,
Everlasting glory all the way!
Refrain
Saturday, March 15, 2008
2 Corinthians 5:7
For we walk by faith, not by sight.
Another famous passage. Oddly, though this passage is very often taken out of context, the section, vss. 1-10, is actually about confidence in facing death. Paul uses the analogies of a "tent" and a "building" to represent death and resurrection.
Paul is saying, once more, death has no power over us ["... we will not be found naked."]. Not only is there life after death, there is life after life after death. Just as Jesus has a glorious resurrected body, so will we (1 Cor. 15:44-50), and we will be "further clothed."
It isn't what is mortal is bad. God created us in the image of God. It's the mortal body is subject to sickness and death and decay. Our resurrected body won't ["what is mortal will be swallowed up in life"]. We have God's Spirit as the guarantee. We have confidence.
The "punch line" to this, for Paul and for us as we walk to Jerusalem, is we aren't to wait passively until we die and are resurrected. "So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please [God]. For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ ..."
Another famous passage. Oddly, though this passage is very often taken out of context, the section, vss. 1-10, is actually about confidence in facing death. Paul uses the analogies of a "tent" and a "building" to represent death and resurrection.
Paul is saying, once more, death has no power over us ["... we will not be found naked."]. Not only is there life after death, there is life after life after death. Just as Jesus has a glorious resurrected body, so will we (1 Cor. 15:44-50), and we will be "further clothed."
It isn't what is mortal is bad. God created us in the image of God. It's the mortal body is subject to sickness and death and decay. Our resurrected body won't ["what is mortal will be swallowed up in life"]. We have God's Spirit as the guarantee. We have confidence.
The "punch line" to this, for Paul and for us as we walk to Jerusalem, is we aren't to wait passively until we die and are resurrected. "So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please [God]. For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ ..."
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