Soul Sister Time

            In some religious Jewish communities, there is nothing more spiritually significant for a Jewish person than to Make Aliyah to Israel .   Transliterated aliyah means stepping up, going up, or assent.   It is considered moving up spiritually when you move to Israel from another country.   The only reason you would make such a dramatic move is for your soul.   It is a spiritual change for your soul.             Lent is a season of soul transformation.   It is an opportunity to move up spiritually.   This season is about perfecting your soul by working on character development.   The church fathers prescribed specific fasts and religious meetings during this season.   When fasts become legalistic, they lose their spiritual power and purpose.   I don’t practice Lent out of cultural conditioning but because the Holy Spirit draws me into this delightful experience.   I have found the season of Lent to be one of the most dramatic spiritual periods of time in my life.   I cannot e

            Wednesday, February 22, is Ash Wednesday.   It marks the beginning of the season of Lent, which will climax on Easter Sunday.   Lent is comprised of the forty days (minus Sundays) before Easter. During this time the church fathers suggest believers prepare themselves for Easter in a way similar to Hebrew preparation for Passover.   It is suggested that Christians take on a Lenten fast.   The church colors change to purple which signifies repentance.             What does it mean to repent?   God blessed me on my recent trip to Israel by seating me beside a religious Jewish woman who taught me a lot about my faith by sharing about hers.   She explained how she had been instructed about repentance.   She said there are three levels of confession before you experience true repentance.   1.        Confess your sin.   She confesses her sins against God to God and her sins against people to people.   What if after brainstorming a list of your sins, you identify the sins against

            I have personally been aware of two genuine yet not famous times of revival.   One was while I was a student at Bryan College in Dayton, Tennessee.   Evidently some of the upperclassmen were so taken by the word of God that they dared to pray like Habakkuk recorded in 3:2 . O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.   (KJV)   I was present the evening that revival broke out on that campus but I wasn’t present to the significance of the spiritual reality.   I felt tired and left in the middle of the revival the Lord brought.   I was glad to hear the reports of the personal meaning the revival had in other’s lives, but I did not feel compelled to be a part of it, either by prayer or through my own confession.   I wish I had been more connected to what was taking place as I now realize that was a rare spiritual happening for the purpose of God’s glory.   In m

    I didn't think I could write today, but do to bad weather we now have extra time at the airport. Today we looked over the model city and I can't believe all I have learned. Some of the excavations since the model was completed reveal differences in what they built in the model. What amazed me was that I could see what wasn't where I expected based on what I experienced. Here is a wide view of the Model City which is 1:5 scale.  It was created by a Jewish man who wanted his son to understand what Jerusalem was once like.  Someone said that if you didn't see Jerusalem during the time of Herod the Great, you have never seen a beautiful city.  Do you understand what I mean about how grand this Temple was?            Next we saw the Dead Sea Scrolls.  I learned a lot about the Essenes.  They lived like monks today.  Like Jesus, they were not happy with the way the Temple was being run and they came to the desert to offer truly holy sacrifices, untainted by the mismanage

Temple Wall Golden Gate Temple Mount      Today was too much to take in. We started at the Eastern Wall of the Temple and saw that what Jesus told the disciples in Mark 13:2 that every stone if the temple would be thrown down was more than true. We stood beside the pinnacle of the Temple that once was so high. I was so thankful that I had memorized Psalm 121.  I quietly repeated this Psalm as I stood on each step.  It literally came to life.  If you look to the hills, you have your back to the where the Temple stood.  I had not realized what a grand Temple this was.  Jerusalem was not a city with a Temple, like all the other Roman towns, it was a Temple with a city.  God allowed a Gentile King to build a magnificent building that would be still standing today if it was His will.  The rubble of the Temple points to the foundation of Jesus.  He is the cornerstone.     Then we walked the Via Dolorosa. I could not take in Jesus' suffering. I could only be grateful. Each place w

Next year in Jerusalem It's Tea Time for Your Soul from Jerusalem. I am literally writing to you from Zion. I'm fighting internet connections and the clock to fulfill my weekly commitment to share a spiritual thought God has given me that week. Spending one week in Israel has given me more spiritual lessons than I could ever write. I tried to blog each day ( http://www.soulsistertime.blogspot.com/ ),  but it is so difficult to put into words what I am learning about God's love by coming here. I've thought about Moses quite a bit, especially yesterday when we were recommitting our baptism vows at the Jordan River. Moses never came here while he was alive, but he spent his whole life leading people here. That is not a bad life! We stood at the place that Joshua led the Israelites out of slavery and into this land of milk and honey. It is the same place that Jesus began His ministry by being baptized by John. Through Jesus' life, death and resurrection, those who

The Lord's Day in Jerusalem!    On our way to the Jordan River to celebrate and renew our baptismal vows we stopped at St Gerassimos Monastery. There are seven Greek Orthodox monasteries in Israel. What a beautiful church served in by loving, welcoming believers. We saw a ossuary with bones from monks who have lived and died here by the Jordan River. The Jordan river is unlike any river I have ever been. It is a place of crossing first by Joshua and the Israelites then years later by Jesus when He began His ministry in the same place by being baptized by John.  Both crossings brought us out of slavery and into the promises of God.    We began the day by renewing our baptism in the Jordan and ended the day celebrating Holy Communion in the Judean wilderness. There is no church more beautiful than a desert at sunset with a full moon for light.      My lesson from the wilderness--my second favorite place...is that the wilderness holds treasures that you can only find by entering

   The day started with looking out over Jerusalem and talking about all the places we would meet for the day. I sang and danced with my girlfriends because of the joy I feel about being in Jerusalem.      As we stand here overlooking the city and discussing the places we will visit, the first spiritual reality I noticed is that though three major religions have holy places that are almost in a straight line, the highest is the holiest place is our Christian Church where we celebrate Christ's crucifixion--Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The other reality I noticed was how far and high it was from the Upper Room to the Mount of Olives. What great shape our Savior was in by all His walking that He could live through that night of suffering.      We were real pilgrims today as we walked from the Church that marks the journey Jesus took on Palm Sunday down into Jerusalem. Here in Bethphage we see the stone that is said to have held the donkey Jesus rode that day.  Our next church was

Day Five—Crossing the Jordan to Possess, February 3, 2012     This is a day of spiritual blessings for sure. Resonating in my mind is the verse God gave me while I was tearfully considering my pilgrimage from Deuteronomy 11:8 “ Debi, observe therefore all the commands I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.” My heart is open to take home with me the spiritual possessions that can never be taken away. Today I officially crossed the Jordan at 2 pm. Israel time. The day centered on taking in all the wonders of Galilee and this amazing lake with so many names and descriptions.   Our boat Captian welcomed up with a special Texas Greeting. He was very talented, not only could he sail a ship, he sang to us in English and Hebrew!  Josephus (3rd Century Jewish Historian) described the Sea of Galilee this way: “Its nature is wonderful as well as its beauty; its soil is so fruitful t

Behind me is a first century home in Nazareth. Jesus lived here or walked here.  What an honor to stand right here. I was amazed to notice the shape of the cross in the rock formation of the wall that stands near Jesus' home! It wasn't put there on purpose by the builder, did Jesus ever notice it? Jesus' favorite time to pray is while it is still dark! Sunrise on Lake Galilee is a moving experience.  The light is purer here.      Nazareth stands out among the places of Galilee that one would look for Jesus. In fact, Isaiah 9:1-2 prophesies that the light will come to Galilee. ”But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone .” Nazar

Ruins of church built on place where Jesus performed His first miracle.  My Savior was physically present here at one time. Jar found near church from Jesus time, used in ceremonial washing. Day Three: Galilee—The Perfect Place to Begin the Spiritual Journey (February 1, 2012) Our first stop is Caesarea. If Jerusalem is my destination, Caesarea is a perfect place to get to Jerusalem. It was the major port for Israel built by Herod the Great. I was impressed to see the condition of the theater that seated about 3,500.  It could have been built yesterday, it's construction has stood the test of time.  Herod the Great was an amazing builder.  The underwater piers he built here are still standing beneath the sea.      Megiddo is the place with which I am least familiar. It means Armageddon—a gathering place of troops. It was one of the three major cities of King Solomon where he kept his chariots. I was amazed to see ruins from the day of King Solomon. This staircase was recen