When we read the story of Mary and Martha and their encounter with Jesus, it is evident that their reactions to the Lord’s presence were quite different. Mary recognized that she needed to seize the opportunity to be in God’s presence, even at the expense of her due diligence. We know how she laid aside her tasks for a moment in the presence of the Lord while Martha continued working to prepare for their company. I don’t believe Martha was avoiding being in the room with Jesus, nor was she being rebellious. I think I understand her because I have…
“I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.” (John 10:14) Our first trip to the Middle East was a culture shock. Most of the passengers on Royal Jordanian Flight 264 were Middle Easterners. My husband and I were a minority on the airplane. Service announcements were bilingual, Arabic, and English. As we navigated through Queen Alia International Airport customs, we were greeted by chaos and less-than-clean bathrooms. Once outside the airport, our missionary hosts picked us up, and we headed to their home in Marj al Hamam. It was on the south side of Amman, Jordan. It was apparent that I was in a different world from the cozy America I had left twelve hours before. The climate was hot, the air dry and dusty, the landscape flat and boring. But what surprised me most during the car ride was the sheep. They meandered right along the side of the highway! No fences or barricades kept them from walking onto the road. I wondered what kind of place this was that I had committed to living and ministering in. Never had I been to a place where sheep freely roamed along the edge of…
In Jordan, where my husband and I have lived, the Muslim call to prayer sounds five times daily. Mosques all over the country synchronize their calls to prayer. Varying tones of the Arabic-speaking muezzins echo against the stone and concrete walls of the buildings. A friend of mine who visited Jordan on a layover disliked the sound of the Muslim call to prayer. She described it as eerie. Although my husband and I do not necessarily like hearing the Muslim calls to prayer, we grew accustomed to them. They are part and parcel of living in a Muslim country. Jordan is a moderately religious country. This means that many citizens have a moderate view of Islam compared to countries like Iran or Saudi Arabia. Most Muslims in Jordan do not stop what they are doing when they hear the call to prayer. They continue with their day. But a few people stop, unroll a prayer rug, place it on the ground, and go through the physical motions of Islamic prayer. They recite memorized prayers. In Arabic, these prayers are called salat. Have you ever heard the call to prayer? I am not talking about the Islamic call to prayer sounding…
When I was eight, Mount St. Helens erupted in fiery fury. Not long after, I read a book about the disaster. It told the story of Harry Randall Truman. This elderly man lived alone in a cabin at the foot of the mountain. The volcano began to rumble inside the earth—a precursor of death and destruction to come. People were ordered to evacuate their homes. But this one older man refused to leave. People pleaded with him to move to a safer place. He said, “If the mountain goes, I’m going with it.” He had lived near this mountain in…
“And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” Revelation 21:9-14 This week we have been talking about heaven, looking into the Scriptures, and asking the Lord to open our eyes to the wonderful place He is preparing for His people. There is so much that we…
“After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.” Revelation 7:9-10 This Sunday we will be celebrating International Sunday in our church, and we will have 30 different nationalities represented. It is always so amazing to see people march into the sanctuary carrying the flags of the country in which they were born. But can you just imagine this scene in heaven? A multitude so vast that we could not begin to count them; representing every country under heaven; spotless in character; victorious in their conflict with evil; ascribing all glory to the Lamb who had redeemed them. Perhaps this scripture inspired a chorus we used to sing in Sunday School: “A robe of white, a crown of gold, A harp, a home, a mansion fair. A victor’s palm, a joy untold, Are mine when I get there.” Verse 14 says, “These are they which came out of great…