DEVOTION - TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 2012

DEVOTION - TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 201

Holy Land Devotions 2010 - Day 36

　

                                                                                

Have you been to Gethsemane?

By Rev. Emil Winkelspecht, Trinity UMC, Clayton

Read: Matthew 26:36-46

"Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me." Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done." When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer!"

                                                                                                                                                                

The one place in Israel that I would choose to spend more time would be the Garden of Gethsemane. There is so much to reflect upon in this passage. What is "this cup" that he asks to be taken from him? The inability of his disciples to stay awake with him during the most difficult evening of his life. Would we stay awake with Jesus, or fall asleep as well?

DEVOTION - MONDAY, APRIL 2, 2012

DEVOTION - MONDAY, APRIL 2, 2012

Holy Land Devotions 2010 - Day 35

                                                                                                         

The En Gedi Oasis

Living Water

by Rev. Tom Austin, Deerfield, UMC

En Gedi is an oasis located west of the Dead Sea, close to Masada and the caves of Qumran. In the middle of the desert surrounded by dry, barren mountains we visited these beautiful gardens

surrounding this cool waterfall. It is fed by a spring bubbling out of the rocks. The stream flows for several hundred yards before being absorbed by the desert. It seems to come from nowhere and goes to nowhere.

In the deserts of our lives, God comes and brings us a spring of living water, a cool breeze and beautiful flowers to brighten our days.

　

DEVOTION - SUNDAY, APRIL 1, 2012

DEVOTION - SUNDAY, APRIL 1, 2012

Holy Land Devotions 2010 - Day 34

Jordan River

"Joint Heirs with Jesus"

by Angele Cooper, Glassboro UMC

Read: 1 Peter 2:9-10 "9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his

wonderful light. 10Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy."

Read: John 3:1-21 Jesus Teaches Nicodemus

1Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him."

3In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."

4"How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"

5Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of

water and the Spirit. 6Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' 8The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

9"How can this be?" Nicodemus asked.

10"You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things? 11I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven-the Son of Man. 14Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15that

everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. 19This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

Read: Romans 8:12-39 "12Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation-but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." 16The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. 17Now if we are children, then we are heirs-heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Future Glory 18I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20For the creation was subjected to

frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21that the

creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

22We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? 25But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27And he who

searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in

accordance with God's will. More Than Conquerors 28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

31What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34Who is he that condemns? Christ

Jesus, who died-more than that, who was raised to life-is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written:

"For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Baptismal Covenant of the UMC is "God's word to us, proclaiming our adoption by grace…" and, therefore, with this sacrament we become, as

the title declares, joint heirs with Jesus. We are not only embraced into the universal church of believers, but take our place among the chosen generation, the royal priesthood, the holy nation, the special people of God - able to cry out Abba Father, and obtain His mercy as we are "called out of darkness into His marvelous light."

                                                                      

                                                                                   

When we, ourselves, understand with our hearts, not just believe with our minds, the new birth that Jesus explained to Nicodemus, we personally claim

our salvation that guarantees our eternal home in heaven.

When our lives give witness to our "Sonship" through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, then, indeed, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ" or any of the other promises that are ours through the Trinity?

When we know whose we are, we can expect to know who we are and go forth with enabling confidence wherever ministry for the Kingdom takes us.

May Lent 2010 be a time of realization, renewal or celebration of your adoption into The Family of God.

DEVOTION - SATURDAY, MARCH 31, 2012

DEVOTION - SATURDAY, MARCH 31, 2012

Holy Land Devotions 2010 - Day 33

The Lion's Gate

by Rev. Tom Austin, Deerfield UMC

There are seven gates in the Old City Walls of Jerusalem. This gate is called the Lion's Gate because of the four "lions" that are above the gate.

Jesus is often called the "Lion of Judah" from Revelation 5:5, "And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof."

The Disciples were waiting for Jesus to take his place as the "Lion of Judah" and become the next King David to restore the kingdom of Israel.

John the Baptist saw Jesus differently. "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, 'Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'" (John 1:29)

Some say one was right and the other was wrong. I have come to realize that they all were right. Jesus went to the cross as the "Lamb of God" and will return as the "Lion of Judah."

DEVOTION - FRIDAY, MARCH 30, 2012

DEVOTION - FRIDAY, MARCH 30, 2012
Holy Land Devotions 2010 - Day 32

Church of All Nations next to the Garden of Gethsemane
by Rev. Steven Herman, Richwood UMC
Reading: John 17
"Jesus Prays for Himself
1After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2For you g
granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
                Jesus Prays for His Disciples                     6"I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you.
Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name-the name you gave me-so that they may be one as we are one. 12While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. 13"I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19For them I sanctify myself, that they too m7ay be truly sanctified.           

    Jesus Prays for All Believers   
20"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 24"Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 25"Righteous Father,  though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I 
myself may be in them."The beautiful mosaics in the picture are on the front of the Church of All

Nations located at the Garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem. Many believe  the great intercessory prayer of Jesus found in John 17 was prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before he died on the cross. On that night Jesus prayed that his church would be one through God's love. How appropriate that the church located at this site is named the Church of All Nations. Through the years many people have asked me why there are so many denominations and churches and which one is the "right" or "true" church. My answer is to remind them that Jesus prayed the church would be one, and that the divisive history of the church tells us far more about human nature than divine intent. During Lent, let us pray again with our Lord that the church might be made one through the love of God.

DEVOTION - THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2012

DEVOTION - THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2012

Holy Land Devotions 2010

　

The Road from Jerusalem to Jericho

by Rev. Tom Austin, Deerfield UMC

Read: Luke 10:30-35 "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he
passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. `Look after him,' he said, `and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.' " It is easy to see how a traveler could be ambushed in this desolate area. Jesus asked , "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" Will it ever be asked about us, "Which of these was a neighbor?" or do our actions make the question unnecessary?

DEVOTON - WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28, 2012

DEVOTION – WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28, 2012

Holy Land Devotional

Let is snow, Let it snow, let it snow ????

By Rev. Heidi Bak, Porchtown Zion UMC

ISAIAH 55: 9-12 "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

Henri Nouwen once described Lent as the season during which winter and spring struggle with each other for dominance. Some of us certainly experienced that in Israel and especially these past weeks in NJ. If you look closely at the base of the Olive Tree you will see snow. Yes, Snow. We were told that Israel’s climate would be like “Florida in Winter.” Many of us who traveled in January experienced the Florida part, but some of us got in Winter part.

While no traveler wants the rain to fall during their trip, it must rain some time.

Our guide shared with us that the winter is a very important season of dormancy and replenishment. This is especially true for Israel as it receives 90% of its yearly rain water totals in this short period of time, that must sustain the region for the whole year. But, as desperate as the land is for water, so too, is it for the word of God, as only 7% of the total population is Christian.

Maybe we can look at the rain and snow differently--not dreaded, but welcomed. As the buds open on trees and days lengthen because of God’s watering, so too can this be a spiritual season which calls for greater openness to the word of God and a conversion in every area of our lives, so that God’s word will not return empty.

DEVOTION - TUESDAY, MARCH 27, 2012

DEVOTIONAL – TUESDAY, MARCH 27, 2012

Holy Land Devotional

by Steve Herman, Richwood, UMC

One of the most stunning sights in Jordan is the city of Petra. It was the home of a civilization known as the Nabateans. They became very rich as traders and built their city within natural defenses along the trade routes. Their architecture was influenced by the surrounding cultures with which they traded, including Babylonian, Egyptian, and Greek. Their civilization flourished at the time of Christ, but there is no evidence of Christianity ever being adopted by the Nabateans. Eventually they, like others, were conquered by the Romans. Today the main remains of the culture are the many magnificent facades they carved into the walls of the cliffs. The most famous façade pictured here and in the Indiana Jones movie is called the Treasury, because of its opulent appearance. But in reality it is like the other facades, an empty tomb. How ironic, a wealthy culture that built great monuments to their dead, so close to the kingdom of Christ, but untouched by it. Less than 100 miles away lies another empty tomb, carved in much more simplicity, that changed the world forever. During Lent, the Nabateans cause me to examine what I am building with my wealth, and what I will leave behind.

DEVOTION - MONDAY, MARCH 26, 2010

DEVOTIONAL – MONDAY, MARCH 26, 2012

Holy Land Devotional

Garden of Gethsemane

By Tom Austin, Deerfield UMC

Read: Matthew 26:36-39

"Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit 9here while I go over there and pray." He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."

Gethsemane means oil press. In this garden there are olive trees that are over 2,000 years old and these trees still bear fruit.

When Jesus was overwhelmed with his impending death he went to this garden and prayed. He returned to pray three times while the disciples slept. When Jesus was sorrowful and troubled, the first thing he did was pray. Through prayer he found the strength and courage to go to the cross and give his life for us.

I have heard it said, “When all else fails pray.” Why do we turn to prayer as our last resort? Like Jesus if we pray first, we will find through the power of the Holy Spirit that same strength and courage to face our troubles and temptations.

DEVOTION - SUNDAY, MARCH 25, 2010

DEVOTIONAL – SUNDAY, MARCH 25, 2012

Holy Land Devotional

The Aqueduct at Caesarea Maritime

by

 Rev. Steve Herman, Richwood UMC

Read: John 4:1-32

"Jesus Talks With a Samaritan Woman"

⁴Now he had to go through Samaria. ⁵So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. ⁶Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

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¹⁰Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."

¹¹"Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? ¹²Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?"

¹³Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

"The Disciples Rejoin Jesus"

²⁷Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, "What do you want?" or "Why are you talking with her?"

²⁸Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, ²⁹"Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" ³⁰They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

Water has always been a precious commodity in the Near East. Without water, there is no life. Cities needed fresh water supplies; some built tunnels from streams, and some built aqueducts. The aqueduct pictured brought fresh water several miles from Mt. Carmel to Caesarea by the Mediterranean Sea. Herod the Great built the Aqueduct and the city, and both were a tribute to Roman engineering. The aqueduct had to maintain a perfect angle of descent, or the water would spill over the edges.

The precious necessity of water forms the background of Jesus’ encounter with a Samaritan woman at a well in John 4. Jesus uses water as a metaphor for spiritual life, and says he offers “living water” that once consumed will satiate us forever. The woman replies, “Give me that water!” 2000 years later the city of Caesarea and the aqueduct are in ruins; no water runs to the city anymore. But the eternal water of life from Jesus still flows!

DEVOTION - SATURDAY, MARCH 24, 2010

DEVOTION – SATURDAY, MARCH 24, 2010

Holy Land Devotional

Church Of The Nativity in Bethlehem

by Rev. Tom Austin, Deerfield UMC, NJ

Read Colossians 3:12-14

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity

From the outside, The Church Of The Nativity is very plain and ordinary. It is almost unrecognizable as a church. A doorway that is only 4 feet tall has replaced the once large and ornate entrance. In order to enter we had to bow down and lower our heads. Some had to almost get on their knees to avoid hitting their heads.

It was a wonderful reminder that the incarnate Son of God was born in a stable and was laid in a feeding trough. We need to come to Jesus in humility with our heads bowed and on our knees.

DEVOTION - FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 2012

DEVOTION – FRIDAY, MARCH 23, 2012

Holy Land Devotional

(A view from the boat on the Sea of Galilee)

Who is this?

By Emil Winkelspect, Trinity UMC, Clayton NJ

Read Mark 4:35-41

"That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!" ~ NIV

Our boat trip across the Sea of Galilee was almost cancelled because the sea was so choppy. The dark clouds, wind, waves and rain really brought this Scripture passage to life. We had lunch in a restaurant on the far shore and by the time we came out the sun was shining. It was easy to see how quickly sudden squalls could blow in across the sea. In our lives, sudden squalls sometimes blow in and we like Jesus’ first disciples respond, “[Lord}, don't you care if we drown?” Why do we do this? Because we so quickly forget who this is. Not only is He the Creator who can make the wind and waves obey Him; He is also the One who cares for us enough to come among us, suffer and die for us that the relationship we were created to have with Him might be ours. Repeatedly, in the book of Ezekiel, we hear the words, “…then they will know that I am the Lord.” God wants us to know Him, and He reveals Himself perfectly to us in the person of Jesus Christ. Are you seeking to know God so that it doesn’t even enter your mind that He doesn’t care?

DEVOTION - THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2012

DEVOTION – THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2012

Holy Land Devotional

Sanctuary of the Church in Cana in Galilee

by Rev. Tom Austin, Deerfield, UMC

Read John 2:1-3

"On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, 'They have no more wine.' "

Jesus’ first miracle was changing water into wine when the wine ran out at a wedding reception in Cana in Galilee. Jesus didn’t make just ordinary wine but the best wine. Jesus makes the ordinary extraordinary.

When we give our hearts and lives to Christ, Jesus changes us and brings out the very, very best in us.

DEVOTION - WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2012

DEVOTION – WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2012

Holy Land Devotional

“THE EMPTY TOMB”

by Eunice Vega-Perez, Trinity UMC, Hackettstown, NJ

Read: 1 Corinthians 15:12-17

The Resurrection of the Dead

"¹²But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. ¹⁵More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. ¹⁶For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. ¹⁷And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins."

After spending the entire week visiting the many places Jesus went to do ministry here on earth, our very last destination was the Garden Tomb. In that place the guide who worked there made us stop for a while and reflect about the great sacrifice Jesus the Christ did on the cross for us all. Before we literally went to see the tomb we also reflected in the horrible and cruel death the cross was back in those days. The cross was a death full of humiliation; an inhumane death, a death without dignity. Oh, but we all know the end of the story-The Empty Tomb. There I was standing in the place where it is believed that our Savior victoriously raised from the death so all of us could have a purpose driven life. It was a lot to take in.

Paul reminds us that if we do not believe Christ resurrected from the death, then our faith is in vain. God indeed loved us so much that God entered into humanity through the person of Jesus Christ into a world of hopelessness, into a world of chaos, to bring us hope for today and hope for tomorrow. God sent Jesus into a world to set us free from sin and death so through Jesus we could be in the right relationship with God. Don’t you think we follow and serve a very intentional God? I surely think so!

I have done a lot of reflection since I came back from the Holy Land about my experience standing in front of the empty tomb and the implications it has for me as a spiritual leader in the 21^st century. The empty tomb calls me today to vigorously preach the Good News of Jesus Christ with joy and excitement. The empty tomb moves me to seek justice in places where there is not. It moves me to take risk, it moves me to challenge the status quo and it moves me not to be silent. The empty tomb moves me to expand the kingdom of God just where I am regardless of the consequences. The empty tomb reminded me of the eschatological hope-- that Christ will return for you and for me and we will be together at His heavenly banquet. So whatever we go through for the cause, at the end, it is absolutely worth it!

I am so glad we believe and worship the Savior of the Empty Tomb!

In Christ,

Eunice Vega- Perez

DEVOTION - TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2012

DEVOTION – TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2012

Holy Land Devotional

“Freedom”

by Emil Winkelspecht, Trinity UMC, Clayton, NJ

When we look at the picture of this Bedouin community, it is for us to say, “Oh how terrible that they have to live that way.” But, our guide explained that this is how the Bedouins prefer to live because they are free from the constraints of the world. Out in the Wilderness they don’t have to live by society’s rules. Even if they are moved to a more “normal” house built for them, they will choose to live in a tent right next to the house.

How often do our lives look like a Bedouin village? We would rather live in the “freedom” of sin, doing our own thing; rather than live within the “constraints” of God’s ways. In Galatians 5:13 Paul tells us, “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. Choosing to go our own way, we refuse to submit and live as servants of God. And yet, Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 3:17, “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” True freedom is freedom from self obsession, rather than freedom to serve ourselves. The values of God’s kingdom are upside-down compared to the way of the world. When Jesus announced His ministry in the synagogue in Nazareth, He read from Isaiah 61:1: “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” Are you willing to be what Paul preferred to call himself, “a slave of Jesus Christ” so that you might know true freedom from sin? Let us pray today and every day, “Jesus, I submit myself to your lordship that I might know real freedom in the Spirit.”

DEVOTION - MONDAY, MARCH 19, 2012

DEVOTION – MONDAY, MARCH 19, 201

Holy Land Devotional

by Steve Herman, Richwood UMC, NJ

Read Deuteronomy 34

The Death of Moses

"¹ Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the LORD showed him the whole land—from Gilead to Dan, ² all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, ³ the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar. ⁴ Then the LORD said to him, "This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, 'I will give it to your descendants.' I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it."

⁵ And Moses the servant of the LORD died there in Moab, as the LORD had said. ⁶ He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is. ⁷ Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone. ⁸ The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning was over.

⁹ Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites listened to him and did what the LORD had commanded Moses.

¹⁰ Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, ¹¹ who did all those miraculous signs and wonders the LORD sent him to do in Egypt—to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. ¹² For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel."

Few places in the world offer as thrilling a view as Mt. Nebo. It is not that tall of a peak, but it is the tallest peak in Transjordan, and the place where God took Moses before he died to view the Promised Land. On a clear morning one can still see the entire Jordan River basin from the peaks of Mt. Hermon in the north to the Dead Sea (the lowest elevation of earth) in the south. Directly east one can see Jericho, and on the horizon are the mountains of Jerusalem.

It always seemed sad to me that Moses was not able to enter the Promised Land. It would have seemed the fitting culmination of his life’s work. But Joshua was the leader for that task. Moses had been faithful in his time; he had delivered the children of Israel from the land of Egypt and brought them through the wilderness to the edge of the Promised Land. Now it was time to pass the torch of leadership onto another. All any of us can do is be faithful in our time. We all are links in a chain of God’s redemptive plan for this world, and none of us truly begin a ministry, or end one; we are all merely faithful in our time. But now and then, God allows us, as he did Moses, a glimpse of the future, and as with Mt. Nebo, the view is breathtaking!

DEVOTIOON - SUNDAY, MARCH 18, 2012

DEVOTIONAL – SUNDAY, MARCH 18, 2012

Holy Land Devotional

by Rev. Tom Austin, Deerfield, UMC

Read II Corinthians 5:17

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

We saw the old and the new side by side. The ancient ruins were surrounded by new modern structures.

Paul reminds all that when we are in Christ, the old ruins of our past are gone and are replaced by a new creation in Christ. We leave the scars and brokenness of the past behind for a new life.

DEVOTION - SATURDAY, MARCH 17, 2012

DEVOTION – SATURDAY, MARCH 17, 2012

2010 Holy Land Devotionals

by
  Rev. Tom Austin
Deerfield, UMC

Read Genesis 1:1

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

In America, we measure ancient in hundreds of years. In Jordan and Israel they measure ancient in thousands of years. This stone carving at Petra dates back to before the time of Jesus. Although wind, rain and time has worked to erode the stone, many details of the carvings are just as vivid today as they were when they were made.

Not far from this spot both nature and human hands have destroyed some of the ancient works.

It reminds me that with God there is no beginning or end. God always was and always will be. God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. There is nothing that can change or destroy God.

We can put our full faith and trust in God.