Israel stands on the brink of war! Next month the UN will vote whether or not to recognise a Palastinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital along the 1967 boarderlines. The proposal will take territory away from Israel, including the East section of Jerusalem, the ancient Jewish captial. This has had no news coverage on British television, although there is a helpful article about it on the bbc website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13701636
The consequences of a UN recognised Palastinian state would most probably result in war as Israel would defend her territory by force if necessary. No doubt this would bring condemnation upon her by the international community and world's media. Ever since Israel was granted sovereignty in 1948 the Islamic world has sought its destruction. There have been numerous assaults on Israeli territory by the Arab world of the Middle East and there has ever only been a fragile peace between Israel and her neighbours. Even in peace time Israel has still had to contend with terrorist attacks from Gaza led by Hamas, supplied via underground tunnels from Egypt.
From Israel's ancient enemies of the Philistines and her exile in Bablyon, the destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of the Roman Empire, which led to the diaspora all across Europe in the second century, the Inquisition and martyrdom of the Middle Ages for being the 'Christ-killers', to the Holocaust of WWII; sadly Israel's history has been intrinsically linked with a history of anti-semitism. Whether through racial theory or religion the spirit of anti-semitism has raised its head in almost every century. But why?
I believe there is a very simple reason. In the Bible Israel is always identified in connection to God. The first commandment is:
"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me." Exodus 20:2-3
Therefore a recognition of the sovereignty of Israel is also a recognition of the God of Israel - Yahweh. The Jews were a slave cast in ancient Egypt. An immigrant race forced into Egypt through famine in Israel, they multiplied until the Egyptian authorities decided to enslave them in order to control them. Four hundred years later and Moses led them back to Israel across the Sinai peninsula. For centuries the land of Israel was seen as the Holy Land by both Jews and Christians, the fateful Crusades evidence of the important link between Israel and the God of the Bible. Today Muslims claim Jerusalem as being one of their most holy sites. To the secular mind this has nothing to do with a recognition of the god of Islam, but historically the land of Israel has never been able to be separated from the claims of the major Abrahamic religions. Indeed even today Israel is the only democratic country in the Middle East and certainly a strengthed Palastinian state along 1967 boarderlines would be another Islamic state amongst the many other Islamic states of the Middle East. The Middle East view the land of Israel in religious terms.
Indeed one cannot truly understand the troubles with securing lasting peace in the Middle East unless they know the Bible. The West has become secularised ever since the Enlightenment of the 18th century. Science and reason have replaced religion in terms of world view and moral authority. However, secularism opposes the Biblical mandate that Israel has to the land precisely because it would be a recognition of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This God whom Neitzche declared was dead, the God whom Fraud said was a psychological crutch and the God whom Dawkin's says is an illusion. Therefore the modern state of Israel is wrenched from its ancient predecessor and denied its heritage in order to fabricate some other kind of justification for its existence, one which can be taken away from it by the changing of political winds. What the secular world will not admit is that it is embarrassed by the existence of Israel because no matter how hard it tries it can never truly detach it from the God whom established it (Genesis 17:8).
The denial of Israel as a covenant nation before God is the very same spirit that denies Jesus as the Christ. This is known in the Bible as the spirit of anti-Christ. How are the two connected? Because Jesus himself said:
"Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me." John 5:46
A denial of the God of Israel is a denial of Jesus. Satan is actively at work in this world blinding peoples' hearts and minds towards the God of Israel and is aggressively persecuting the Jewish people. Even in the Church Satan is at work, twisting its theology to deny that the covenant that God made with Israel is still valid. This is known as Replacement Theology - the belief that the modern state of Israel no longer has any scriptural connection to ancient Israel as God's chosen people. Replacement Theology is a distortion of Scripture. This is plain to see when one just examines the New Testament in its historical and theological context - see Romans 11. How could the Church be deceived? Because a house divided against itself cannot stand! This is Satan's purpose.
God made His first covenant with Israel in the Old Testament with Abraham, in a ritual in which he symbolically passed through as a torch (Genesis 15:17-18). Abraham did not participate in this ritual convenant signing, this is significant because it meant Abraham was then not able to break that covenant. It was an eternal covenant made by God himself. In the New Testament, after hundreds of years of prophesy, God made a second covenant with Israel through the person of Jesus Christ - the Son of God, the incarnation of God Himself. Jesus took the world's sin upon himself on the cross. Again the covenant was made by God Himself without any human mediators who could potentially break the said covenant. God cannot deny Himself or be unfaithful to His promises (2 Timothy 2:13).
The state of Israel and its future will have spiritual ramifications. It is unavoidable. Over the centuries there has been a spirit of anti-Christ at work that has manifested itself through anti-semitism, replacement theology and secularism. Do not be deceived.
Thursday, 25 August 2011
Tuesday, 16 August 2011
A Moment Suspended in Time
Well my adventure in Japan has come to an end. I arrived safely home after what seemed like an eternity in the sky flying first to Rome then connecting for my flight to London. Nevertheless I am grateful for intercontinental flights and what would have taken months a century ago now only takes a day! It's actually quite incredible when you think about it. Hurrey for aviation! My last week in Japan was not without incident; after my day in Kyoto the following day I was treated to a sushi lunch by a lovely elderly Japanese couple before going the following day to WEC HQ, an impressive large, old Japanese building where I spent time with Simon and Henrietta, a missionary couple just recently returned from Bible college in England. Simon gave me a copy of his Masters' thesis on Japanese house churches, which I read with much enthusiasm having determined in my own mind that house churches were potentially the way forward, not just for Japan but for Christianity in Britain too. We discussed his analysis, evaluation and conclusions of the effectiveness and relevance of the house church model to the situation in Japan, which I found both informative and stimulating.
Thursday was the start of the third and final camp back by Lake Biwa. This camp was called Friendship Camp and was focussed on adults in their twenties and thirties primarily. The first night we were there I got to meet a 24 year old Japanese man by the nickname of 'Sugi'. After the evening meeting in our small group we discussed the message, which was from Jesus' meeting with the Samaritan woman in John 4. The emphasis was on how encounters with others can define and reshape our lives. Sugi had been particularly challenged by the message as he had many issues going on in his life and struggled to believe God could forgive him. Through Peter who translated for me I shared what was on my heart for him after listening intently to his life story. Sugi seemed very grateful for my comments and insights and I felt compelled to physically hug him as he seemed in need of acceptance. I believe God was working powerfully in Sugi's life that night. The next morning he left the camp early before I had a chance to say goodbye. I reflected on how it was almost like a chance encounter with Sugi, but maybe our brief meeting together and the message he heard was all Sugi needed at that time.
Unfortunately my own camp experience was cut short after my feet and ankles started to swell up and I developed a red swollen rash on the right side of my body. Thinking initially it was just a mosquito bite I left it but gradually as the day progressed the swellings became more uncomfortable and sore until I had to recognise something more serious had happened. I went home with Peter on Friday night and went to hospital Saturday morning with Edi as the swelling and rash hadn't improved. The doctor thought it was caused by an insect bite and gave me an intravenous injection and a perscription for three days worth of medication. I was praying that God would heal me before my flight and others prayed too. I felt very reassured that I was covered by so much prayer and God really looked after me those last few days. Yesterday morning as I was due to get the train to Kansai airport, Peter informed me that he now could spare the time to go all the way to the airport with me and handle my luggage for me. I was incredibly grateful for his time and sacrifice.
The swelling hadn't gone completely by the time I was due to fly but had improved sufficiently that the flight didn't cause me any further problems. It wasn't the way I wanted to end my trip to Japan but I have no regrets about my time in Japan which was one of personal and spiritual growth, new experiences and new friendships. In so many ways it was a rich blessing to me and a challenge God enabled me to undertake on my own for the very first time. I returned to two very happy and relieved parents who were thankful I was back home safe.
I want to thank everyone in Japan who I befriended, it was a very special and exciting time. Will I return to Japan that most beautiful and enigmatic country? I would like to say most definitely yes. God is not finished with that country and neither am I! I felt I heard from God while I was there. These feelings and the scriptures I believe God used to speak to me I will continue to pray over and take before my pastors here at home, but I do believe my adventure in Japan is not completely over.
Thank you to everyone here in Britain and over the world who has been with me in prayer and been interceeding for Japan with me. Please pray that:
1. Sugi would encounter the risen Lord Jesus and know the love and restoration of a relationship with God.
2. The house church model would bear fruit and new believers in Japan
3. That I would settle back into life here in Essex and return to work and church with vigor and passion for God's Kingdom work here at home
...Oh one last thing the more observant readers of my last blog will have realised I made a mistake in my geography of Japan - I got the names of the islands mixed up and we were infact on Honshu island not Hokkaido! I was quite embarrassed when I realised after I had posted it and felt I needed to correct it.
"(Heavenly Father) I know you will complete this work started in me; I need you more than ever now that I know who you are" P.O.D. 'Portrait'
Thursday was the start of the third and final camp back by Lake Biwa. This camp was called Friendship Camp and was focussed on adults in their twenties and thirties primarily. The first night we were there I got to meet a 24 year old Japanese man by the nickname of 'Sugi'. After the evening meeting in our small group we discussed the message, which was from Jesus' meeting with the Samaritan woman in John 4. The emphasis was on how encounters with others can define and reshape our lives. Sugi had been particularly challenged by the message as he had many issues going on in his life and struggled to believe God could forgive him. Through Peter who translated for me I shared what was on my heart for him after listening intently to his life story. Sugi seemed very grateful for my comments and insights and I felt compelled to physically hug him as he seemed in need of acceptance. I believe God was working powerfully in Sugi's life that night. The next morning he left the camp early before I had a chance to say goodbye. I reflected on how it was almost like a chance encounter with Sugi, but maybe our brief meeting together and the message he heard was all Sugi needed at that time.
Unfortunately my own camp experience was cut short after my feet and ankles started to swell up and I developed a red swollen rash on the right side of my body. Thinking initially it was just a mosquito bite I left it but gradually as the day progressed the swellings became more uncomfortable and sore until I had to recognise something more serious had happened. I went home with Peter on Friday night and went to hospital Saturday morning with Edi as the swelling and rash hadn't improved. The doctor thought it was caused by an insect bite and gave me an intravenous injection and a perscription for three days worth of medication. I was praying that God would heal me before my flight and others prayed too. I felt very reassured that I was covered by so much prayer and God really looked after me those last few days. Yesterday morning as I was due to get the train to Kansai airport, Peter informed me that he now could spare the time to go all the way to the airport with me and handle my luggage for me. I was incredibly grateful for his time and sacrifice.
The swelling hadn't gone completely by the time I was due to fly but had improved sufficiently that the flight didn't cause me any further problems. It wasn't the way I wanted to end my trip to Japan but I have no regrets about my time in Japan which was one of personal and spiritual growth, new experiences and new friendships. In so many ways it was a rich blessing to me and a challenge God enabled me to undertake on my own for the very first time. I returned to two very happy and relieved parents who were thankful I was back home safe.
I want to thank everyone in Japan who I befriended, it was a very special and exciting time. Will I return to Japan that most beautiful and enigmatic country? I would like to say most definitely yes. God is not finished with that country and neither am I! I felt I heard from God while I was there. These feelings and the scriptures I believe God used to speak to me I will continue to pray over and take before my pastors here at home, but I do believe my adventure in Japan is not completely over.
Thank you to everyone here in Britain and over the world who has been with me in prayer and been interceeding for Japan with me. Please pray that:
1. Sugi would encounter the risen Lord Jesus and know the love and restoration of a relationship with God.
2. The house church model would bear fruit and new believers in Japan
3. That I would settle back into life here in Essex and return to work and church with vigor and passion for God's Kingdom work here at home
...Oh one last thing the more observant readers of my last blog will have realised I made a mistake in my geography of Japan - I got the names of the islands mixed up and we were infact on Honshu island not Hokkaido! I was quite embarrassed when I realised after I had posted it and felt I needed to correct it.
"(Heavenly Father) I know you will complete this work started in me; I need you more than ever now that I know who you are" P.O.D. 'Portrait'
Monday, 8 August 2011
Memphis will be laid to waste
So I'm back in Ono in Shiga-Ken (prefecture) after an amazing week in Tohoku. The experience was emotionally and spiritually challenging, but ultimately rewarding. We traveled by van on Monday - a twelve hour journey across the island of Hokkaido. 80% of Japan is uninhabitable mountain range and every mountain is covered in trees! We finally arrived at the Karate Dojo in Miyagi-ken, Tohoku late Monday evening. I was personally looking forward to spending time in a real Japanese Dojo. The Dojo itself conformed in the main to what I had expected. There were white and blue mats permanently laid in the main hall. There were certificates (presumably of the students) all around the walls. However, on one side of the hall there were two Buddhist shrines. Nevertheless, culturally it was an impressive site.
Tuesday we began work with the rest of the team that were already there, mostly made up of Americans. We were working with the 'Be-One' team, a group of volunteers from house churches from Osaka. We drove into the city of Ishinomaki where the Be-One team had a base, a house that had been damaged by the Tsunami but that they were renting and had refurbished. Our main task for the week was to clean out mud and sand clogged drains. Over the course of the week we managed to dig out and clear drains in two streets. The reason why the Be-One team was working in the area of Ishinomaki was because there were still people living there trying to rebuild their lives. It was tough work and some of the most physically strenuous work I have ever done. It mostly involved lifting concrete slabs then shovelling out the dirt that was filled with all kinds of debris, filling plastic bags and then transporting the bags to the designated dumping ground.
As the Dojo did not have shower facilities and the Be-One house only had cold water we had to bathe in a local Onsen. For anyone unfamiliar with a Japanese Onsen it is a public bath, where people pay to wash and then relax in a steaming hot communal bath...naked! I must admit Tuesday evening I really struggled with having to use the Onsen, I resented my forced naked exposure and was particularly uncomfortable with the public nudity, especially as children and adults bathed together (although in separate genders). However I put the experience into the bigger picture and the grand scheme of what we were doing in serving the local population and bringing hope to the area, as well as glorifying God through our service. As the week progressed I learnt to resent it less and refused to let it ruin my week of which I grew so much serving the local people and sharing fellowship with the other volunteers. It truly was a great time to bond with others in our common goal and vision to reflect God's love and grace to the people of Ishinomaki.
Ishinomaki itself was a surreal place - literally metres away from the Tsunami devastated areas, only a minutes drive away businesses and roads were reopened and life carried on. As we were digging out the drains there were even a few people living in the houses around us - in the middle of such destruction! Houses were left barely standing, entire walls and rooms ripped apart by the Tsunami - there were huge mounds of mangled metal from vehicles etc and boats deposited in the middle of buildings or left on the streets. The most emotive thing I encountered as I surveyed the ruination was a family's photo album - the photos damaged by the water. It was particularly evocative and moving as it was putting a human face to the tragedy of the Tsunami. I didn't know whether the family were dead, killed in the Tsunami, or had just fled the area. But it was a powerful reminder that there was an entire community in that area that had been swept away by the powerful force of nature.
On Wednesday afternoon we went down to the local park, which the Be-One team had salvaged and restored a few months earlier and invited the children to come out and play. It was such a blessing to bring joy to these young children, many of whom had witnessed people dying in the Tsunami and to hear them laughing and seeing the smiles on their faces. I was incredibly thankful to God that in a small way we were able to bring happiness into their lives and let them be children again. We played tag and ball games and had face painting and guitar lessons. At the end of the afternoon we gave all the children that wanted one a pack of Christian children's books and note pad and colouring pencils.
On Thursday something rather bizarre and exciting yet alarming happened. I went with a small group of men to transport an elderly couples furniture to their new temporary residence on the outskirts of the city; on our way back we were pulled over by the police! As the van only had three seats in the cab of the van, I was riding in the back with another team member, who happened to be our team leader. The police pulled us over for the violation but unfortunately we had hardly any identification on us. I didn't have my passport or wallet on me as they were back at the Dojo and Chad our leader didn't have his foreigner ID card on him. To make matters worse we didn't have all the legal paperwork in the van we needed either! Thankfully the police only gave us a warning and we got away without a ticket. It was a wake up call to not take liberties with the road laws but at the same time we were frustrated because we were there for a good cause. Nevertheless God blessed our service and our outreach.
On Saturday it was a particularly hot day and my body finally succumbed to the nature of the work; I became dehydrated and I felt light headed as well as the circulation in my hands was effected. I had a strange throbbing sensation in my hands and what felt like pins and needles. After lunch and drinking a lot of fluids I felt much better and the sensation in my hands had gone. But I took it easy in the afternoon not pushing myself. Sunday I returned, but as we got back so late I had missed the last train home from Kyoto. Very kindly Catherine let me stay in her apartment complex as there was a spare room. We arrived back in Kyoto at one am in the morning, absolutely shattered! Earlier today, as I was already in Kyoto and had nothing planned, Catherine and I went and did some site seeing. Catherine took me to Nijo Castle, a fabulous historical castle complete with traditional Japanese architecture. It was very exciting to walk around the halls where the Shogun once walked with the Feudal lords. We also went to one of the more historical quarters of the ancient capital and passed through a large Shinto Shrine. I was extremely grateful to Catherine for giving up her own time to show me the city.
Finally I had to take a bus from Catherine's apartment to Kyoto train station and then get a train to Ono where Peter came and picked me up. After the last 24 hours I was very glad to be back in my temporary home while here in Japan. But I have had an amazing week, giving and helping the people of Tohoku as well as making new friends and sharing new experiences with other missionaries from around Japan.
"Am I only in this to feel comfort - without pain I'd never know what comfort was." War of Ages 'When Faith turns to Ashes'
Please give thanks to God for the following:
1. The relief work of the Be-One team in Tohoku and their extraordinary witness to the local people
2. That I am home safe
Please pray for the following:
1. That more missionaries and church groups as well as non-Christians would feel convicted to go and help in the relief work in Tohoku
2. That many people in Ishinomaki would come to faith through the witness and service of the several Christian groups working there
Tuesday we began work with the rest of the team that were already there, mostly made up of Americans. We were working with the 'Be-One' team, a group of volunteers from house churches from Osaka. We drove into the city of Ishinomaki where the Be-One team had a base, a house that had been damaged by the Tsunami but that they were renting and had refurbished. Our main task for the week was to clean out mud and sand clogged drains. Over the course of the week we managed to dig out and clear drains in two streets. The reason why the Be-One team was working in the area of Ishinomaki was because there were still people living there trying to rebuild their lives. It was tough work and some of the most physically strenuous work I have ever done. It mostly involved lifting concrete slabs then shovelling out the dirt that was filled with all kinds of debris, filling plastic bags and then transporting the bags to the designated dumping ground.
As the Dojo did not have shower facilities and the Be-One house only had cold water we had to bathe in a local Onsen. For anyone unfamiliar with a Japanese Onsen it is a public bath, where people pay to wash and then relax in a steaming hot communal bath...naked! I must admit Tuesday evening I really struggled with having to use the Onsen, I resented my forced naked exposure and was particularly uncomfortable with the public nudity, especially as children and adults bathed together (although in separate genders). However I put the experience into the bigger picture and the grand scheme of what we were doing in serving the local population and bringing hope to the area, as well as glorifying God through our service. As the week progressed I learnt to resent it less and refused to let it ruin my week of which I grew so much serving the local people and sharing fellowship with the other volunteers. It truly was a great time to bond with others in our common goal and vision to reflect God's love and grace to the people of Ishinomaki.
Ishinomaki itself was a surreal place - literally metres away from the Tsunami devastated areas, only a minutes drive away businesses and roads were reopened and life carried on. As we were digging out the drains there were even a few people living in the houses around us - in the middle of such destruction! Houses were left barely standing, entire walls and rooms ripped apart by the Tsunami - there were huge mounds of mangled metal from vehicles etc and boats deposited in the middle of buildings or left on the streets. The most emotive thing I encountered as I surveyed the ruination was a family's photo album - the photos damaged by the water. It was particularly evocative and moving as it was putting a human face to the tragedy of the Tsunami. I didn't know whether the family were dead, killed in the Tsunami, or had just fled the area. But it was a powerful reminder that there was an entire community in that area that had been swept away by the powerful force of nature.
On Wednesday afternoon we went down to the local park, which the Be-One team had salvaged and restored a few months earlier and invited the children to come out and play. It was such a blessing to bring joy to these young children, many of whom had witnessed people dying in the Tsunami and to hear them laughing and seeing the smiles on their faces. I was incredibly thankful to God that in a small way we were able to bring happiness into their lives and let them be children again. We played tag and ball games and had face painting and guitar lessons. At the end of the afternoon we gave all the children that wanted one a pack of Christian children's books and note pad and colouring pencils.
On Thursday something rather bizarre and exciting yet alarming happened. I went with a small group of men to transport an elderly couples furniture to their new temporary residence on the outskirts of the city; on our way back we were pulled over by the police! As the van only had three seats in the cab of the van, I was riding in the back with another team member, who happened to be our team leader. The police pulled us over for the violation but unfortunately we had hardly any identification on us. I didn't have my passport or wallet on me as they were back at the Dojo and Chad our leader didn't have his foreigner ID card on him. To make matters worse we didn't have all the legal paperwork in the van we needed either! Thankfully the police only gave us a warning and we got away without a ticket. It was a wake up call to not take liberties with the road laws but at the same time we were frustrated because we were there for a good cause. Nevertheless God blessed our service and our outreach.
On Saturday it was a particularly hot day and my body finally succumbed to the nature of the work; I became dehydrated and I felt light headed as well as the circulation in my hands was effected. I had a strange throbbing sensation in my hands and what felt like pins and needles. After lunch and drinking a lot of fluids I felt much better and the sensation in my hands had gone. But I took it easy in the afternoon not pushing myself. Sunday I returned, but as we got back so late I had missed the last train home from Kyoto. Very kindly Catherine let me stay in her apartment complex as there was a spare room. We arrived back in Kyoto at one am in the morning, absolutely shattered! Earlier today, as I was already in Kyoto and had nothing planned, Catherine and I went and did some site seeing. Catherine took me to Nijo Castle, a fabulous historical castle complete with traditional Japanese architecture. It was very exciting to walk around the halls where the Shogun once walked with the Feudal lords. We also went to one of the more historical quarters of the ancient capital and passed through a large Shinto Shrine. I was extremely grateful to Catherine for giving up her own time to show me the city.
Finally I had to take a bus from Catherine's apartment to Kyoto train station and then get a train to Ono where Peter came and picked me up. After the last 24 hours I was very glad to be back in my temporary home while here in Japan. But I have had an amazing week, giving and helping the people of Tohoku as well as making new friends and sharing new experiences with other missionaries from around Japan.
"Am I only in this to feel comfort - without pain I'd never know what comfort was." War of Ages 'When Faith turns to Ashes'
Please give thanks to God for the following:
1. The relief work of the Be-One team in Tohoku and their extraordinary witness to the local people
2. That I am home safe
Please pray for the following:
1. That more missionaries and church groups as well as non-Christians would feel convicted to go and help in the relief work in Tohoku
2. That many people in Ishinomaki would come to faith through the witness and service of the several Christian groups working there
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