Masada

Masada

            As every man hath received the gift, [even so] minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God (1 Peter 4:10).

            Only God knows but my great joy comes from sharing my world experiences with others. My first trip to the holy land was a mind bending experience. Tears came so easy as I walked the streets of places that I had read about as a child in a country church Sunday school in eastern North Carolina. The Freewill Baptist Church was built by my great grandparents, 1874.

            I was eating my lunch with an old couple from London. She, 88, was a professor at a London University, he, 92, a diamond cutter. They would first look up at Masada, then down towards the Dead Sea. He said, "This is the trip of our lifetime." Masada is the ancient fortress built by Herod the Great in 37 BC. My guide arranged for me to visit the palace, walls still showing sculptured pediments. This is where the Jews made their last stance against invading Romans-significant because Roman occupation during the life and crucifixion of Jesus. To this day, this is a Holy place for Judaism. The place where Israel's military officers receive their commissions.

            The Dead Sea (sea of salt) is the lowest point on the surface of the earth (1,388 feet below sea level). The sea at the end of the Jordan river, boarders the nation of Jordan. There is no outlet for the Dead Sea, no animals can live in the water. When Christ returns to the mount of olives, the earth will open to the Dead Sea.  Without question, and God knew exactly what he was doing, all in his eternal design, the narrowest strip of land connecting Asia and Africa, sight of all ancient trade routes, has always been the most important geography of earth.

            Diabolical people and nations have always surrounded this small area of land, millions of Arabs who hate Jews, extending from Abraham's sons Isaac and Ishmael.

            I remember arriving in Jerusalem, every street remarkable. Then, just 150 miles away, the city of Damascus which, like Jericho (16 miles from Jerusalem), the two oldest continuous cities of the world. Like the Apostle Paul, you can still walk down the street called "Straight" in Damascus (Acts 9:11). When you have been to these places (they are still there), have seen how the walls of Jericho fell, you have little empathy for the atheist, the non believer, their attacks on Christianity like their attacks on science. Evolutionists know that mutations can not reproduce. The 37 trillion cells in your body, each a chemical factory where everything must behave exactly as designed by God. One should study the Bible as they study the morning's newspaper, same cities, same historical conflicts. Syria, so important in history, like Egypt, now a cesspool of violence (20-80 thousand Syrian people just disappearing). These are not dumb people, King Assad, ophthalmologist-eye surgeon, was in a hospital residency in London when his father died and he became King. Although these Arab nations do not have the technical ability to build a bicycle, their scientific minds may develop biological's which may whip out the world.

            Like Petra in Jordan (fortified city built in rock), most of the world will learn to just leave these people alone. This writer will never forget visiting the city of Petra, only entrance, a very narrow passageway just wide enough for a horse. The visitor rides in on a horse led by an Arab, a long distance. The first thing you see is the large stone treasury building. Over the years, fortresses in this part of the world will grow dim in your memory but the hatred you saw in the eyes of the people will remind you forever why this part of the world stays in the headlines.

            Jews, more or less, Muslims (Arabs), not at all. Only the Christian understands the mercy, grace, divine design of God. Only the Christian understands that the Apostle Paul (writer of 27 books of the New Testament), a brilliant-legalistic Jew was a killer, admitted that he was chief of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15).  Old Testament David, a man of God's own heart (Acts 13:22) was a killer. The Christian rejoices in the knowledge that God forgives sin (Luke 7:48), and therein lies our hope in the world. We are constantly amazed, Paul mostly in the jailhouse, David among the castaways of the world, such as the cave of Engedi, that a man transformed by the love, grace, power of God, can show so much tenderness.

            We find very few Christians among the male homosexual population. It has been the experience of this writer that the "gay guy" was never shown tenderness by his father. You never hear a male homosexual speak of his father. This writer has participated in some of the largest "brick and mortar" churches of the world-active males, and has seen Christianity under a brush arbor-active males. I know that male preachers-pastors are capable of showing tenderness-love to fellow family members, males as well as females in any congregation. There must be an answer for the rapid increase of homosexuality, unbelief as shown by minorities (blacks, homosexuals, protestors). We saw the disdain for Christianity, by democrats, at their convention. No intelligent person can explain how any group can voluntarily come together, expressing so much hatred that they can willingly kill innocent babies, promote the senseless "marriage" of two or more people of the same sex.

            We can understand long Hell hatreds, even tribalism, even strange religious beliefs, the pagan practices of the seven civilizations which the Jews faced as they conquered the promise land, even Zoroastrianism, even unusual philosophy such as that in Egypt, the early Roman Empire, the Greek civilizations, have disappeared or changed with time. God established His rights with one tree in the garden. There are non-negotiable truths, absolutes, right and wrongs, in the world. I have found that most religious systems, even Christian's, want a check-off list...."you can do this, you can't do that." Like Masada, there are times and places, ideas on which you must make a stand. God expects the Christian to put on his whole armor and not yield one inch (Eph 6:13).