MY PILGRIMAGE TO ISRAEL

As I prepare for setting off to Israel, I must say it is a very exciting time for me. As we read the Bible, from Old Testament to New Testament, we read about the history and spiritual significance of so many places found in this area.

To be able to walk the places that Jesus walked, to see the very places described in the Bible that are so important to our faith, being there physically, seeing and touching these places with my own eyes is truly the longing of my heart.

As we read in 1 John 1:1-3, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.” Yes, the Apostle John was describing his personal, physical relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. What I am looking forward to is having the opportunity to see, look and touch the very places from which he ministered.

I have heard time and again about the enormous spiritual significance of Jerusalem, especially the Temple Mount. We read from Jewish writing the significance of the place…

“As the navel is set in the centre of the human body,
so is the land of Israel the navel of the world...
situated in the centre of the world,
and Jerusalem in the centre of the land of Israel,
and the sanctuary in the centre of Jerusalem,
and the holy place in the centre of the sanctuary,
and the ark in the centre of the holy place,
and the foundation stone before the holy place,
because from it the world was founded.”
-- Midrash Tanchuma, Qedoshim

There is truly a spiritual battle going on in the world we live in. The physical earth we live on is so much more than just physical, it is also spiritual. Any time we write off the significance of Israel, Jerusalem, or the Temple Mount, and the importance that place plays in our lives, we do so at our own risk. Whenever we ignore the Spiritual Battle going on in the world for the souls of man, and for the sacred places on earth, we are ignoring God’s active presence with us in the world.

Yes, I understand that places don’t hold as important of place in the eyes of the Lord. Remember he said to the woman at the well in John 4:21-ff, Jesus declared, (21) "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. (22) You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. (23) Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. (24) God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

Worshiping the Lord in “spirit and in truth” is more important than making a pilgrimage to certain historical and spiritual sites, but it is still very exciting for me to go and see these places that have played such an important role in the history of our faith. Pray for me as I travel, I treasure your prayers. And I look forward to returning (Lord willing) with lots of stories, pictures, and experiences to share with you all. See you in a couple of weeks.

God Bless,
Roger

The Just One Challenge

(A Letter from Bob Russell)

The Presidents of our Bible Colleges are concerned and I am certain most of us reading this share their concern. We are seeing a declining number of students interested in ministry, an alarming drop in students with a desire to preach the gospel. Why? Various factors may contribute: the secularization of society, the postmodern mindset that denigrates anything authoritative, the declining number of teems in Christian Service camps, and the passive involvement of ministers in the lives of teens. Whatever the reasons, the bottom line is this: we are not recruiting future laborers for the potential harvest. While the Restoration Movement is actually now witnessing its most significant influence in a century, we may soon be experiencing a severe shortage of ministers and missionaries.

That’s a crying shame! The independent Christian Churches are one of the few Christian movements that have actually experienced an increase in church attendance over the past two decades. We now have more mega churches per capita than any other movement. Some of our new church plants serve as models for the evangelical world, and some of our preaches are
being called to pulpits of denominational churches that want to return to Biblical principles. More and more doors are opening for us! The opportunities for future evangelism and influence are beyond what we could have imagined 30 years ago!

That’s why I’ve joined with over two dozen of our college presidents who have issued the Just One Challenge—asking God’s people all over this nation to pray for just one more worker for the harvest field. Jesus said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers in his harvest field.” (Matthew 9:37-38).

The Just One Challenge is a unique, united effort on the part of these presidents to motivate thousands of our people to intentionally pray for and recruit future preachers. Of course we all know that genuine prayer results in action, so I want to invite Christian leaders al across the country to join with us in honoring the Lord’s request.

Let’s make the most of this present opportunity and aggressively, wisely pray of laborers for the harvest field….because “as long as it is day, we must do the work of him who set me. Night is coming, when no one can work.” (John 9:4)

Yours in Christ,
Bob Russell, Retired Senior Minister Southeast Christian Church Louisville, Kentucky

NOTE: Bob Russell will be the speaker for the Boise Bible College Spring Conference—May 10-12, 2011.