Last Night in Armon HaNatsiv (East Talpiot)

Tomorrow morning I move to the neighborhood called the German Colony in Jerusalem. Since I was packing today, this will be a short posting. Moving also means that I have to get reconnected to the internet which is usually a challenge with the young technicians speaking Hebrew trying to understand some old man speaking Texas English. Below is a tree just beginning to bloom outside my apartment. It is a very pretty lavender color. My co-worker, Francette, who will be moving in this apt said "in France, the tree is called Flower of Judah." That makes sense since we are in the Biblical land of Judah, Jacob's 4th of 12 sons, and the lineage of the Lord Jesus. For God will save Zion And build the cities of Judah, That they may dwell there and possess it. Psalm 69:35.

When my sister-in-law, Gail, and my good friend, Margaret, packed for me to come to Israel everything was very neat and orderly. Now I just sort of throw things in a box or bag and hope for the best. Put a towel in between the dishes and glasses, etc. There will be 4 Arabs moving me. Should be an interesting morning. Ibrihim and his sons have done many moving jobs and other labor for CFI down through the years. Everything goes including the frig, un-used oven, and the washing machine. Francette has her own furniture.

In order to make it look like a bigger blog posting, I borrowed one of Jacki's photos from our day trip a couple of week's ago looking for almond trees. She took this picutre in the grove we discovered next to mini Israel.

I'm actually moving on the day many Christians will be celebrating the Triumphal Entry of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus, into Jerusalem. Many just call it Palm Sunday. “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey. Zechariah 9:9. The Lord Jesus fulfilled that prophecy by Zechariah. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:
“Hosanna to the Son of David!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’
Hosanna in the highest!”
And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?” So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.” Matthew 21:8-11. On Tuesday night of this week Christians filled the Baptist House for a night of Intercessory Prayer. Several local pastors attended. One item we proclaimed was "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord." In English then again in Hebrew. Next Sunday morning several of us are planning to attend sunrise services at the Garden Tomb. The Lord Jesus still won't be there, but His presence most certainly will be. But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. Matthew 28:5-6. The Lord Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God waiting for His appointed time to return. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. Hebrews 10:12-13. Have a blessed passion week keeping your eyes focused on the Lord Jesus. We will also be enjoying it in Jerusalem, the City where He will reign. Until He comes again.

Tragedy in Jerusalem; New Apartment

The above photo was taken as I began my Shabbat walk last Saturday. On Wednesday night approximately 20 of us from Christian Friends of Israel attended the opening of a musical drama called The Covenant. The Covenant is performed by believers in Israel and designed for the Jews to learn about their heritage and God's Covenant with Abraham. Songs and narration guide the audience through the scriptures and all the way to the rebirth of the Nation Israel in 1948. It was a wonderful time and we certainly enjoyed the evening. I even bumped into two good friends from North Texas who had just led a tour group in Israel. You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11
However the next night in Jerusalem turned joy into tragedy when 8 young men were murdered while studying the Torah at Mercaz HaRav Yeshiva. Mercaz is a Yeshiva known for the highest achievers, the best of the best. Just young men reading their Bible. The murderer actually came from Jebl Mukaber which is the neighborhood adjacent to East Talpiot where I currently live. Just like on 9/11, the Palestinians celebrated in the streets passing out "sweets" and dancing. These are the people that the US are trying to force Israel to make "peace" with. Secretary of State Rice left Jerusalem just a few hours earlier. I will say to God my Rock, “Why have You forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?” Psalm 42:9

The God of Israel, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is in control. His word will not return void. There will not be peace until the Lord Jesus returns to this earth. He is sitting at the right hand of God awaiting the appointed time of His return. Then all His enemies will be "under His footstool". The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool." Psalm 110:1
Below is the first of many street signs photographed on my walk from East Talpiot to my new apartment in the German Colony. Adam is a good Biblical name for a street. However, Eve street was not close by which is not good. And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” Genesis 2:18
Below are pink almond blossoms on my walk. One site I "googled" said white blossoms are generally sweet almonds and pink blossoms are bitter almonds. Interesting if it's true.

More Biblical streets. Issachar was the 5th son of Jacob birthed by Leah. And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. Leah said, “God has given me my wages, because I have given my maid to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar. Genesis 29:17

Leah's maiden, Zilpah, carried Gad and bore Jacob a son. Then Leah said, “A troop comes!” So she called his name Gad. Genesis 30:10-11 Yehuda is Hebrew for Judah, Jacob's 4th son by Leah. Of course the Lord Jesus descends from Judah through the line of King David. The scepter shall not depart from Judah... Genesis 49:10. In John's vision of the Revelation, he wept because he believed that no one was worthy to take the scroll of the earth from God. Only the Lord Jesus qualifies. But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.” Revelation 5:5

Rachel's hand maiden, Bilhah, carried Naphtali. The tribe of Naphtali settled in the area that we know as the Galilee. “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned.” Matthew 4:15-16 Only in Jerusalem can you give driving directions like this: "Go down Gad until it stops. Then turn left on Gad's older brother Judah for a couple of blocks and then turn left on Judah's younger brother Naphtali which runs parallel with Naptali's older brother Issachar, who is actually Judah's younger brother but has the same mother who is buried in Hebron...etc.

Currently I am staying in a CFI apartment in East Talpiot. Another volunteer is currently in a CFI apartment that is being sold by the landlord and must vacate. My apartment was a good location and fit for her, so I began looking at apartments in the last couple of weeks. I was hoping to be a little closer to the City Center so I could walk to work more often. I found a small apt in a popular little neighborhood called the German Colony. Below is Emek Refa'im Street, the main street in the German Colony (HaMoshava HaGermanit).

The German Colony is known for popular restaurants and coffee shops. I look forward to trying the Buffalo Steakhouse below.

Bagel shops in Jerusalem are more like what we would call a deli. You can get an egg salad sandwich on different types of bagels or bread. If you want egg salad.

Below is a Japanese sushi place in Jerusalem. I will probably try this place after all the other restaurants have completely closed down, been boarded up, and I'm out of peanut butter.

McDonald's in the German Colony. It was open on Saturday and I was hungry from my walk. Is it McLawful for McDonald's to be open on the Sabbath? That may not be scripture.

This is the grocery store where I will shop. Notice the Pillsbury dough boy is international.

A falafel and shawarma shop. I'm in tall cotton now.

Pizza.

Competing falafel shop. That's good. The coffee shop is where I met my friend from Arutz Sheva a few weeks ago. He's the one who dedicated a room to Kay in a girl's school in Bet El. I hope to go see it in late March after Resurrection Sunday.

A main road off of Emek Refa'im is Rachel Immenu (Mother Rachel). I'm two blocks away.

Another coffee shop. A few years ago Starbucks came to Israel but could not make it for the number of local coffee shops. I don't drink fancy coffee but a lot of the young girls at CFI do.

The German Colony also enjoys God's beauty.

Since Ruth was a Gentile living with her Jewish mother-in-law this street sign seems appropriate. ...For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God. Ruth 1:16

The back of the apartment building next to mine.

My new address will be on Haim Bajayo street. It actually is a small compound of 12 buildings that form a private park in the middle. Under the compound is a complete parking garage where I will get a designated parking place. Since parking locations are hard to find in The German Colony, I may get a few requests to borrow the spot. That's bseder (ok).

Below is the private park in the compound.

Still looking inside the compound just a little further west.

I'm the second floor of a 3-story building. That is my picture window that is closed but when I am there it will always be open. I like looking out. I have already met my neighbors below and above me. They all speak English. I had a lengthy conversation Saturday with my upstairs neighbor. She is the only sister of the only Israeli killed in the London bus bombings two years ago. After that tragedy, she lost her father. After listening to her, I told her about Kay. She had tears in her eyes. Here we were comforting each other and I have not even moved in yet. Word had spread quickly that a "goy" (Gentile) had rented the apartment. Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. Matthew 5:4.

My view from the balcony.

Living room.

Smaller bedroom.

Larger bedroom. Overall, I don't believe the apartment is any larger than my current one. It does cost a little more because of location, location, location.

Looking out the smaller bedroom window at mature olive and date palm trees.

Sidewalk and tree on the other side of Rachel Immenu.

Below is the closest bus stop to my apartment. However, if I walk two blocks there will be a lot more buses. Jerusalem is stocked full of park benches. It makes a long walk like Saturday's very enjoyable to be able to rest once in a while.

Still taking photos while waiting on a taxi to go on to work.

Zion's Square on Shabbat in Jerusalem at the bottom of Ben Yehudah and Jaffa Road. Any other time this location is packed with Israelis, tourists, police, street musicians, demonstrators, etc. About halfway up Ben Yehudah is CFI's bank where I make bi-weekly deposits.

As tragic as Thursday night was that causes a small nation of Jewish people to grieve, our responsibility as Christians is to stand firm, watch, and pray. The Lord Jesus talked about these end times in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. In Mark's Gospel, the Lord Jesus states that many tragic things must occur. But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows. Mark 13:7-8. But look at the magnificent promise for those that endure to the end. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven. Mark 13:26-27. Maranatha. Come quickly, Lord Jesus. ... Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! Revelation 22:20

Chasing Almond Trees on a Day Trip

On my walk last week, I spotted a couple of almond trees blooming. The almond tree is the first to bloom in Israel and the blossoms only last 2-3 weeks. On Saturday, March 3rd, I rented a vehicle and some of the young volunteers joined me in a day trip to find almond trees. We do work long hours at Christian Friends of Israel. While serving the Lord Jesus in Jerusalem is such a privilege, it is also good to remember that Israel encompasses all His Land. It is also fun and exciting to travel outside of Jerusalem where Bible stories truly come alive. Below are the blossoms of an almond tree.

We started our drive by heading through Ein Karem just southwest of Jerusalem. Ein Karem is traditionally the little town where the infant John the Baptist "lept" in his mother's womb. Luke does not specificaly say Ein Karem but a "city of Judah". Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Luke 1: 39-41

We drove thru the Jerusalem Forest in the Judean Hills and then came to the Martyrs Forest. The Martyrs Forest was created in 1951 when the newly established Nation of Israel planted six million trees in memory of the lives lost in the Holocaust. Below is a magnificent sculpture called Scroll of Fire. To give you an idea of the size of the monument, I asked a young CFI volunteer from Canada, Stephan, and his friend, Marcus, from Finland, to "pose".

The sculpture is very detailed and was done by the same Polish artisan that did Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem.

One of Christian Friends of Israel's outreaches is to Holocaust survivors. We have a multi-talented, multi-lingual caring team of volunteers that visit survivors all over Israel. The project team, called Forsake Them Not, can speak Hebrew, Russian, Dutch, Finnish, English, and probably some other languages that I am not aware of.

The Biblical verse inside the monument is from Ezekiel's "valley of the dry bones"... ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken it and performed it,” says the LORD.’” Ezekiel 37:12-14. The world will definitely know it when the Lord pours out His spirit on the Jews on the Israel.

A single poppy along the pathway to the monument.

Delicate flowers in the Judean Hills of Israel.

The view north from the Martyrs Forest.

Only God Almighty can grow flowers from a rock. The rock could speak if need be just like on the triumphal entry of the Lord Jesus. But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.” Luke 19:40

As we approached Bet Shemesh (House of the Sun), we were at the foot of the Judean Hills. I don't know if the two milk cows that carried the Ark of the Covenant have a monument in Bet Shemesh or not. That will have to be another trip. And they set the ark of the LORD on the cart ... Then the cows headed straight for the road to Beth Shemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and did not turn aside to the right hand
or the left... 1st Samuel 6:10-12 Near the Latrun exit on Jerusalem Highway One, one of the newer attractions in Israel is called "Mini Israel". "Mini Israel" is just what it says. A scaled reconstruction of many of the popular places to visit in Israel. Below is the "mini" Western Wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. It is accurately portrayed with separate mens and womens section. Many of the tiny worshippers move "back and forth" with their "prayers".

"Mini" Tel Aviv complete with tall buildings, a beach, and the Mediterranean Sea.

Below is "mini" Joppa where Jonah tried to avoid God. But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish. Jonah 1:3 In the distance of the photo are the real foothills of Judea and in that direction a little further south would be the Valley of Elah where David slew Goliath. And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and they encamped in the Valley of Elah ... The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath ... 1st Samuel 17:2-4

The Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron. Jacob told his 12 sons to bury him there beside his father, Isaac, and grandfather, Abraham. Then he charged them and said to them: “I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave ... the cave that is in the field of Machpelah ... which Abraham bought ... for a burial place. There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah. Genesis 49:29-31.

A mini "city under construction". Construction is everywhere in Israel especially in Jerusalem. For the LORD shall build up Zion; He shall appear in His glory. Psalm 102:16

A little-bitty Absalom's Pillar that I took a picture of last week.

The "mini" Mount of Olives where I walked last week. The Church of all Nations with the Garden of Gethsemane next to it. The triumphal entry pathway of the Lord Jesus is shown.

The Augusta Victoria hospital on the Mount of Olives. Kay and I went in the real bell tower back in 1998. Kaiser Wilhelm and Germany built this around 1900. His wife's name was Augusta Victoria. All before World War I.

The "mini" port city of Haifa on theMediterranean Sea.

A "mini" bus advertising "mini Israel". It was a fun place to visit. Too many photos to post. What was missing was a "mini" "mini Israel" where little bitty tourists are taking pictures of real live big tourists who are taking pictures of them. If that makes sense.

Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem where football (soccer) is played. There is a ball that actually moves up and down the field then goes in and the crowd says "goallllllllll". Teddy Stadium is named after the long-term mayor of Jerusalem, Teddy Kollek, who passed away a few years ago.

Daisies at mini Israel.

The mini Ben-Gurion Airport with an El Al plane.

Southwest Airlines does not fly to Israel but must have some advertising dollars invested.

Right next to mini Israel was a complete grove of almond trees.

There was a gentle breeze and you can see how the petals are falling off already.

It was beautiful day in Israel. About 30 miles south of us, the IDF was forced to enter Gaza on Saturday because of the hundreds of kassam rockets fired at Ashkelon, Sderot, and the western Negev desert this week. Quite a contrast in our afternoons.

The almond tree blossom was part of the design of the lampstand (menorah) in the tabernacle. “You shall also make a lampstand of pure gold; three branches of the lampstand out of one side, and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side. Three bowls shall be made like almond blossoms on one branch, with an ornamental knob and a flower, and three bowls made like almond blossoms on the other branch, with an ornamental knob and a flower—and so for the six branches that come out of the lampstand. Exodus 25:31-35

Below are Stephan and Kim from Alabama. Just so you know how young these volunteers are, when we pulled up to mini Israel, the young Israeli guard said "you could drop the family off over there". I should have asked for a senior citizens discount. And a cane.

Below are the Lord's bees just doing their job. Their ancestors may have known Samson. ... and she pleased Samson well. ... And behold, a swarm of bees and honey were in the carcass of the lion. Judges 14:7-8

This may be last years almonds still on the tree.

I forgot what the joke was but it must have been good. Jacki from New Zealand with Kim.

On the way back to Jerusalem, we stopped at a guest ranch called Yad HaShmonah (hand of the eight). It is run by Christians and set in the mountains on the way up to Jerusalem. After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. John 5:1

More flowers of the Judean Hills (mountains).

Springtime's close.

This sculpture below is designed around Joel 2:13. “Now, therefore,” says the LORD, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm.

The scripture rock.

Looking west from the Judean Hills. I have seen some beautiful photos of sunsets from here and look forward to taking one someday. And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. Great multitudes followed Him—from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan. Matthew 4:23-25