ach morning in Israel I read one of the Songs of ascent to Jerusalem which are Psalm 120 through Psalm 134. It wasn’t until my last day in Israel that I realized the number of days I stayed equaled the number of songs of ascent. Was this a coincident or was it part of God’s plan for me.   I believe it was definitely the latter.   God’s plan was for me to stay 15 days, which explains why I had extended my stay an extra 2 days after being there only 4 days.

Psalm 122 which was read this morning, was the Psalm I read the first morning I woke up in Jerusalem

"I rejoiced with those who said to me,
"Let us go to the house of the Lord.
Our feet are standing in your gates,
O Jerusalem"

There I was with my feet firmly planted within the gates of the old city of Jerusalem.   It was indeed a dream come true.   I was filled with sheer delight.   As I reflect on the excitement which was stirring within I realize that we don’t need to be in Jerusalem to be excited about going to the house of the Lord.

I ask you, what was your attitude in coming to the house of the Lord this morning?

Going to house of the Lord can be a chore or a delight.   What makes the difference is your relationship with God.   If we are close to God and enjoy His presence, we will be eager to worship and praise Him. If we are not close to God then worship is a chore.

In a way going to Israel, offered me a similar choice, especially in light of the tension.   I knew when I left that there were many people who saw my going to Jerusalem as a foolish chore.   If I had changed my mind I know some of you would have been filled with sheer delight.

Yet I felt called by God to make this journey.

As I was flying over the Atlantic I read the story of Caleb, (Numbers 13,14). Caleb was one of the 12 Israelites sent by Moses to spy out the land of Canaan, the very land I was going to.   When he and the other 11 came back, he was the only vote cast to enter the land God had called them to.   There was no need for a hand recount to count the hanging or dimpled chads.   The vote was 11 to 1 against.

I could relate with Caleb.   I knew God had laid it on my heart to enter the promised land.   In spite of how giant the tensions appeared.    In spite of the fact that public opinion was not on my side.

God confirmed it in my heart while standing in the gates of Jerusalem on that very first morning.   His confirmation was in the form of the same sign He gave Noah.   The sign I refer to is of course the rainbow.

Several times in my life God used the rainbow in my life.  The sudden death of my secretary in my previous church.   On the road from Due West after leaving Adam at college.   In the parking lot of Home Depot in Clinton, NY when we left Greg at Hamilton College.   And again on my very first day, in the city of Jerusalem.   Each time God’s rainbow brought to my mind God’s eternal promise and love for me.

My trip to Jerusalem impacted my life in many ways.

Most important is that it enabled me to see the Word of God, in Technicolor. I saw it as:

I stood and watched a shepherd tend his flock on the hillside outside of Bethlehem;

I gazed out over the rolling hills of desert wilderness and experienced what Jesus said,

"a city built on a hill cannot be hid."

I stood at the Southeastern corner of the temple mount, the site where it is thought satan would have taken Jesus and tempted Him to throw Himself off.;

I dwelt on top of the OT spot of Azekah and looked out upon the Valley of Elah where David defeated Goliath;

I experienced the wind and waves of the Sea of Galilee as I swam in them;

I encountered the tranquility of the Sea of Galilee as I sailed across reflecting on New Testament stories which occurred on and around it.

Like Jesus, I walked the hilly terrain from Bethany to Bethpage down the Kidron Valley through the Garden of Gethsemane and up into the city of David.

How ironic after having followed Jesus’ Palm Sunday journey that momentarily my faith was shaken and reinforced as the sound of a small explosion echoed throughout the courtyard of the Western wall.   It was the gunshot of an Israeli soldier, fired into an abandoned package.

I stood looking at the courtyard with the echo of the gunshot still reverberating in my mind with tears rolling down my cheek.

It was at this very wall, that earlier in my journey I had rested my hand and prayed for peace.   When I prayed I was overcome with emotions which I still cannot comprehend.   For the first time on 15 days I knew fear.   The sound of the echoing gun blast in my head stopped when Greg asked, "Are you OK?"

Swallowing the lump in my throat and fighting back the tears I answered, "YES."   A few minutes passed when I said to him, "For a brief moment the sound of that man’s gun seemed more powerful than God’s rainbow."

How true this is in life.  When the sound of a doctors diagnosis sounds louder than the promises of God.   When death, or tragedy, or failure or pain and suffering seems louder than God’s promises.   At these times in our life we must embrace the eternal truth that God is more powerful than anything.   At these times we MUST trust in the Lord with all our heart.

My Jerusalem journey concluded with a communion service in a Messianic Jewish church.   We worshipped for a solid 2 hours never once concerned about the length of time.  The praises of God literally rocked the building in which we had gathered.   This was the third time I experienced such joy filled praise.   The first time was with the student body of the Jerusalem University College, as they gathered for a concert of praise and prayer.   The second time was in the church inside the Jaffa gate where a gathering of believers boldly united in voice and faith.

These services completely embraced for the feelings of the Psalmist,

As I reflected on these services I wondered, when did the American church, the American Christian lose the passion of the faith?   When did worship become a chore instead of a delight?   We are passionate in so many areas of her life, why not faith and worship?

May we gain the passion we have lost.   May we be of one mind, spirit and voice with the Psalmist who said,

"I rejoiced with those who said to me,
"Let us go to the house of the Lord.
Our feet are standing in your gates,
O Jerusalem."

amen