A Dream Come True

Today is the day that Laura and I will be leaving on what we can only call “a dream come true” trip to the Holy Land. As someone who spends large amounts of time each week studying the Bible and who readily enjoys the history and cultural aspects of the Bible, the prospect of seeing the land of the Bible with my own eyes and walking where the great men and women of Scripture walked is nothing short of amazing.

I am excited about all of the different places we will visit that have such historical value to the Christian faith, but I am most eager to visit the Garden of Gethsemane. I can’t wait to spend some time in the very place that Jesus had so many intimate times of laughter, talking and teaching with His disciples. I long to take the time to pray where Jesus’ agony for the redemption of mankind begin as he prayed with such intensity that He sweat great drops of blood ending with the words, “Not My will, but Yours be done.”

It will also be special to spend Laura’s birthday in the town of Bethlehem, the very small city where the God of eternity; the very one who spoke the world into existence, entered our world as a baby in a manger to become our Savior. What a thrill it will be to stand on the hillside where the Shepherds saw the great host of angels announcing those wonderful words, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord.” I am looking forward to our time in Bethlehem as I will be preaching on the significance of that place on Sunday, December 17th in both morning worship services.

Our plane leaves from the Dulles Airport on November 1st for Israel (with a layover in London) and returns back to Dulles on November 13th. I am convinced that this will be a life-changing trip for me. As a result of this trip, I am praying that my preaching will be far more passionate after visiting the Holy Land than ever before in my ministry.

As a result of this trip, I will be out of the office from October 30-November 14. While I am gone, there will still be new entries posted on my blog each and every week day for you to read. I have asked several folks, most of who are from Grace Church, to serve as “Guest Writers” for me for some of the days that I am away. I know that you will enjoy reading their thoughts and hope your will continue to visit daily. Below is the tentative schedule:

Nov 1 – A dream come true (written by me)
Nov 2 – What do Pete Rose and Jesus have in common? (by Rick Glass)
Nov 3 – Growing confident (by John Kegarise)
Nov 6 – Ways to get involved at Grace (by Andrew Norton)
Nov 7 – Gilrfriends at Grace (by Laura Distler)
Nov 8 – The stroke of Bible study (written by me)
Nov 9 – Observing the Bible to death (written by me)
Nov 10 – Putting on your spiritual spectacles (written by me)
Nov 13 – It's all in your head (written by me)
Nov 14 - How to be an effective evangelist by Mike Lutz)
Nov 15 - Let's play the label game (written by me)